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Sheng-Hua Chu,1 Dong-Fu Feng,1 Yan-Bin Ma,1 Zhi-Qiang Li21Department of Neurosurgery, No 3 People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China; 2Department of Neurosurgery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, ChinaAbstract: Hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (nano-HAPs) have been reported to exhibit antitumor effects on various human cancers, but the effects of nano-HAPs on human glioma cells remain unclear. The aim of this study was to explore the inhibitory effect of nano-HAPs on the growth of human glioma U251 and SHG44 cells in vitro and in vivo. Nano-HAPs could inhibit the growth of U251 and SHG44 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner, according to methyl thiazoletetrazolium assay and flow cytometry. Treated with 120 mg/L and 240 mg/L nano-HAPs for 48 hours, typical apoptotic morphological changes were noted under Hoechst staining and transmission electron microscopy. The tumor growth of cells was inhibited after the injection in vivo, and the related side effects significantly decreased in the nano-HAP-and-drug combination group. Because of the function of nano-HAPs, the expression of c-Met, SATB1, Ki-67, and bcl-2 protein decreased, and the expression of SLC22A18 and caspase-3 protein decreased noticeably. The findings indicate that nano-HAPs have an evident inhibitory action and induce apoptosis of human glioma cells in vitro and in vivo. In a drug combination, they can significantly reduce the adverse reaction related to the chemotherapeutic drug 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU).Keywords: glioma, hydroxyapatite nanoparticles, growth mechanism

Background: It is well accepted that heavy physical exertion can trigger the onset of myocardial infarction, but the mechanism is uncertain. As platelet and endothelial function play an important role in thrombotic events, platelet and prostacyclin responses to maximal treadmill exercise were studied.Methods/results: The study subjects were 40 healthy men, mean (SEM) age 29 (5) years. Platelet aggregation was measured on a four channel aggregometer. Plasma 6-keto-prostaglandin F1alpha was analysed using an enzyme immunoassay technique. Upright posture and exercise produced an increase in platelet aggregability, as indicated by a fall in the threshold concentration of adrenaline (epinephrine) from 7.6 (1.5) microM at rest to 4.3 (1.0) microM after exercise (p = 0.002). The collagen lag time became significantly shorter with exercise (from 79.1 (3.1) seconds at rest to 71.9 (2.6) seconds after exercise, p = 0.003). Exercise was also associated with a 55% increase in plasma 6-keto-prostaglandin F1alpha (from 38.1 (75%CI 29.0 to 46.5) pg/ml at rest to 59.2 (47.3 to 66.8) pg/ml after exercise, p<0.001).Conclusions: In healthy male subjects, upright posture and maximal exercise increased platelet aggregability but this increase was counteracted by an increase in prostacyclin production. In patients with endothelial dysfunction, a reduced prostacyclin response to exercise may promote a transient prothrombotic imbalance that may trigger cardiovascular disease onset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel bacterium, designated as strain PR12 T , was isolated from intestine of red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii), which appeared as creamy white colonies on TSA plates. Growth occurred at temperatures of 4-37 °C (28-30 °C optimal), pH of 6.0-9.0 (7.0-8.5 optimal), and with 0-4.0% (w/v) NaCl (0-1.5% optimal). The cells were Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, non-motile, aerobic, oxidase- and catalase-positive, and chemoorganotrophic. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain PR12 T was related to members of the genus Comamonas and shared the highest sequence similarities with Comamonas koreensis KCTC 12005 T (99.0%), Comamonas sediminis S3 T (98.8%), and Comamonas piscis CN1 T (98.0%). Whole genome size of PR12 T was 5,111,300 bp and DNA G + C content was 63.5%. The major cellular fatty acids (> 10%) were C 16:0 , C 17:0 cyclo, summed features 3 (C 16:1 ω6c and/or C 16:1 ω7c) and summed features 8 (C 18:1 ω6c and/or C 18:1 ω7c). The major respiratory quinone was Q-8 and the major polar lipids contained diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), phosphatidylglycerol (PG) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). Based on the digital DNA-DNA hybridization, phylogenetic analysis, average nucleotide identity, average aminoacid identity as well as biochemical characteristics, strain PR12 T was clearly distinguishable from all recognized type strains of the genus Comamonas and represents a novel species, for which the name Comamonas squillarum sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is PR12 T (= MCCC 1K08379 T  = JCM 35896 T )., Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. Ethical Approval: This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors., (© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Objective: To investigate the impact of practicing the health Qigong-Baduanjin exercise on lower limb balance among elderly individuals., Methods: Two intervention methods, Baduanjin and brisk walking, were applied to study the effect of exercise on senior balancing. Sixty elderly individuals aged 65 to 79 were selected and randomly divided into the Baduanjin group, the brisk walking group, and the control group that did not engage in exercise. There were a total of 20 individuals in each group, 10 males and 10 females. The first two groups participated in a 16-week exercise regimen. The balance tests for members of all three groups were conducted., Results: (1) For the eyes-open two-legged standing posture, the center of pressure (COP) was more centralized in the Baduanjin group; the swaying range of the body, forward and backward displacement, and left and right displacement among the elderly individuals in this group were significantly lower than those of the other two groups. (2) In the tests for two-legged standing, one-legged standing, and tandem feet stance, the elderly in the Baduanjin group had significantly lower swaying trajectory of the center of gravity, body swaying ellipse area, and maximum vibration parameters than those in the brisk walking and control groups. (3) The 2nd pose of Baduanjin, which involves a considerable amount of knee bending and semi-squatting exercises for the lower limbs, proved to be beneficial for the lower limb joints and body balance among the elderly., Conclusion: Long-term practice of health Qigong-Baduanjin can exert a beneficial impact on improving the muscle strength of the lower limb joints and ankle joint flexibility, improving the static balance ability of the elderly, and consequently reducing their risk of falling., 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 © 2025. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Ferroptosis inducers have shown therapeutic potential in prostate cancer (PCa), but tumor heterogeneity poses a barrier to their efficacy. Distinguishing the regulators orchestrating metabolic crosstalk between cancer cells could shed light on therapeutic strategies to more robustly activate ferroptosis. Here, we found that aberrant accumulation of jumonji domain containing 6 (JMJD6) proteins correlated with poorer prognosis of PCa patients. Mechanistically, PCa-associated speckle type BTB/POZ protein (SPOP) mutants impaired the proteasomal degradation of JMJD6 proteins. Elevated JMJD6 and ATF4 coordinated enhancer-promoter loop interactions to stimulate the glutathione biosynthesis pathway. Independent of androgen receptor, JMJD6 recruited mediator subunits (Med1/14) to assemble de novo enhancers mapping to pivotal genes associated with glutathione metabolism, including SLC7A11, GCLM, ME1, and others. SPOP mutations thus induced intrinsic resistance to ferroptosis, dependent on enhanced JMJD6-ATF4 activity. Consequently, targeting JMJD6 rendered SPOP-mutated PCa selectively sensitive to ferroptosis. The JMJD6 antagonist SKLB325 synergized with erastin in multiple pre-clinical PCa models. Together, this study identifies JMJD6 as a druggable vulnerability in SPOP-mutated PCa to increase sensitivity to ferroptosis inducers.

The exterior surface of the human pathogen Campylobacter jejuni is coated with a capsular polysaccharide (CPS) that consists of a repeating sequence of 2-5 different sugars that can be modified with various molecular decorations. In the HS:2 serotype from strain NCTC 11168, the repeating unit within the CPS is composed of d-ribose, N -acetyl-d-galactosamine, and a d-glucuronic acid that is further amidated with either serinol or ethanolamine. The d-glucuronic acid moiety is also decorated with d-glycero-l-gluco-heptose. Here, we show that two different GT2 glycosyltransferases catalyze the transfer of N -acetyl-d-galactosamine from UDP-NAc-d-galactosamine furanoside to the C4-hydroxyl group of the d-glucuronamide moiety at the growing end of the capsular polysaccharide chain. Catalytic activity was not observed with glycosides of d-glucuronic acid, and thus, the C6-carboxylate of the d-glucuronic acid moiety must be amidated prior to chain elongation. One of these enzymes comprises the N-terminal domain of Cj1438 (residues 1-325) and the other is from the N-terminal domain of Cj1434 (residues 1-327). These two glycosyltransferases are ∼87% identical in sequence, but it is not clear why there are two glycosyltransferases from the same gene cluster that apparently catalyze the same reaction. This discovery represents the second polymerizing glycosyltransferase that has been isolated and functionally characterized for the biosynthesis of the capsular polysaccharide in the HS:2 serotype of C. jejuni .

Campylobacter jejuni is the leading cause of food poisoning in Europe and North America. The exterior surface of this bacterium is encased by a capsular polysaccharide that is attached to a diacyl glycerol phosphate anchor via a poly-Kdo (3-deoxy-d- manno -oct-2-ulosinic acid) linker. In the HS:2 serotype of C. jejuni NCTC 11168, the repeating trisaccharide consists of d-ribose, N -acetyl-d-glucosamine, and d-glucuronate. Here, we show that the N-terminal domain of Cj1432 (residues 1-356) is responsible for the reaction of the C2 hydroxyl group from the terminal d-ribose moiety of the growing polysaccharide chain with UDP-d-glucuronate as the donor substrate. This discovery represents the first biochemical identification and functional characterization of a glycosyltransferase responsible for the polymerization of the capsular polysaccharide of C. jejuni . The product of the reaction catalyzed by the N-terminal domain of Cj1432 is the substrate for the reaction catalyzed by the C-terminal domain of Cj1438 (residues 453-776). This enzyme catalyzes amide bond formation using the C6 carboxylate of the terminal d-glucuronate moiety and ( S )-serinol phosphate as substrates. It is also shown that Cj1435 catalyzes the hydrolysis of phosphate from the product catalyzed by the C-terminal domain of Cj1438. These results demonstrate that amide decoration of the d-glucuronate moiety occurs after the incorporation of this sugar into the growing polysaccharide chain.

CRISPR-based base editor (BE) offer diverse editing options for genetic engineering of microorganisms, but its application is limited by protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) sequences, context preference, editing window, and off-target effects. Here, a series of iteratively improved cytosine base editors (CBEs) are constructed using the FrCas9 nickase (FrCas9n) with the unique PAM palindromic structure (NNTA) to alleviate these challenges. The deaminase domain-inlaid FrCas9n exhibits an editing range covering 38 nucleotides upstream and downstream of the palindromic PAM, without context preference, which is 6.3 times larger than that of traditional CBEs. Additionally, lower off-target editing is achieved when incorporating high-fidelity mutations at R61A and Q964A in FrCas9n, while maintaining high editing efficiency. The final CBE, HF-ID824-evoCDA-FrCas9n demonstrates broad applicability across different microbes such as Escherichia coli MG1655, Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1. Collectively, this tool offers robust gene editing for facilitating mechanistic studies, functional exploration, and protein evolution in microbes., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Pyrrole alkaloids are a class of natural products with intriguing structures and promising biological actives. Within the Sauropus plants, these alkaloids are mainly present in Sauropus spatulifolius. An investigation of the leaves of S. spatulifoliuswas conducted to discover novel and bioactive pyrrole alkaloids. This study led to the identification of 38 alkaloids, including 21 new pyrrole alkaloids (1 - 5, 13, 16, 19 - 23, 26 - 31, 33, 35, and 36), along with 17 related analogues (6 - 12, 14, 15, 17, 18, 24, 25, 32, 34 37, and 38). The structures of the new compounds were elucidated by NMR, HRESIMS, electronic circular dichroism (ECD), and X-ray diffraction analysis. Notably, compounds 28 - 31 were identified as pyrrole alkaloids with unprecedented skeletons. Compounds 28 and 29 featured a 2-acylpyrrole alkaloid and a cinnamic acid heterodimers, while 30 and 31 possessed a pyrrolooxazinone scaffold with a 1,2-hexadecanediol moiety. These structures were rare in plants. Three compounds (27, 31, and 38) displayed α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. Particularly, compounds 27 (IC 50 : 320.3 μM) and 31 (IC 50 : 153.7 μM) exhibited stronger activity than that of acarbose (IC 50 : 545.9 μM). Molecular docking studies showed the strong interactions of the three bioactive compounds with the α-glucosidase protein. Additionally, compounds 27, 31, and 38 showed significant effects on enhancing glucose consumption in HepG2 cells., 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 © 2025 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Anaerobic microorganisms are critical in regulating ethane in geothermal environments, where selenate and selenite are common contaminants. Although coupling ethane oxidation with selenate reduction has been demonstrated as feasible, such processes remain poorly explored in geothermal environments. This study addressed this gap by successfully enriching thermophilic anaerobic cultures capable of coupling ethane oxidation with selenate/selenite reduction, achieving selenate and selenite removal rate of 2.7 mg Se/L/d and 2.1 mg Se/L/d, respectively. Metagenomic analysis revealed a novel genus 'Candidatus Ethanivorans selenatireducens', which accounted for 16.0 % and 32.6 % of microbial communities in selenate- and selenite-dependent systems, respectively. This microorganism encoded pathways for anaerobic ethane oxidation via fumarate addition and genes required for the sequential reduction of selenate to elemental selenium. These findings unveiled a novel microbial mechanism linking ethane oxidation and selenate reduction in geothermal systems, providing new insights into the biogeochemical interaction between carbon and selenium in thermophilic environments., 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 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Designing efficient materials is crucial to meeting specific requirements in various electrochemical energy applications. Mono-/bimetallic doped and heterostructure engineering have attracted considerable research interest due to their unique functionalities and potential for electrochemical energy conversion and storage. However, addressing material imperfections such as low conductivity and poor active sites requires a strategic approach to design. This review explores the latest advancements in materials modified by mono-/bimetallic doped and heterojunction strategies for electrochemical energy applications. It can be subdivided into three key points: (i) the regulatory mechanisms of metal doping and heterostructure engineering for materials; (ii) the preparation methods of materials with various engineering strategies; and (iii) the synergistic effects of two engineering approaches, further highlighting their applications in supercapacitors, alkaline ion batteries, and electrocatalysis. Finally, the review concludes with perspectives and recommendations for further research to advance these technologies., (© 2024 Battelle Memorial Institute and The Author(s). ChemSusChem published by Chemistry Europe and Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

During an ongoing investigation of fungi associated with ferns in southwestern China, three hyphomycetes were discovered on the dead rachises of Angiopterisfokiensis and an unidentified fern. Based on morphology and multi-gene phylogenetic analyses, Arthrobotrysangiopteridis and Corynesporaseptata are introduced as new species. Arthrobotrysangiopteridis is a nematode-trapping fungus characterized by macronematous, mononematous, hyaline conidiophores, conidiogenous cells with polyblastic denticles at each node, and 0-1-septate, clavate to elongate pyriform, hyaline conidia. Corynesporaseptata features macronematous, mononematous, pale brown to dark brown conidiophores, integrated, monotretic conidiogenous cells and up to 7-distoseptate with one true septum, subcylindrical to obclavate, hyaline to pale brown conidia. Detailed descriptions and illustrations of these two new species are provided, along with morphological comparisons of the new taxa with closely related species., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Jing-Yi Zhang, Kevin D. Hyde, Li-Juan Zhang, Song Bai, Dan-Feng Bao, Fatimah Al-Otibi, Yong-Zhong Lu.)

The CRISPR-based detection methods have been widely applied, yet they remain limited by the non-universal nature of one-pot diagnostic approaches. Here, we report a universal one-pot fluorescent method for the detection of epidemic pathogens, delivering results within 15-20 min. This method uses heparin sodium to precisely tunes the cis-cleavage capability of Cas12 via interference with the Cas12a-crRNA binding process, thereby generating significant fluorescence due to the accumulation of isothermal amplification products. Additionally, this universal assay accommodates both classic and suboptimal PAMs, as well as various Cas12a subtypes such as LbCas12a, AsCas12a, and AapCas12b. Such a robust method demonstrates sensitivity and specificity exceeding 95% in the detection of monkeypox pseudovirus, influenza A virus, and SARS-CoV-2 from saliva or wastewater samples, when compared with qPCR or RT-qPCR. Moreover, the cost of heparin sodium per thousand uses is $0.01 to $0.04 only. Collectively, this universal and fast one-pot approach based on heparin sodium offers potential possibilities for point-of-care testing., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Objective: This cross-sectional study aims to assess the levels of stigma among patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and identify the demographic and clinical factors influencing both internal and external stigma., Materials and Methods: A total of 200 patients diagnosed with PD were recruited from Beijing Tiantan Hospital between June 2023 and June 2024 using convenience sampling. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews, including demographic information, disease severity assessed via the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS), and stigma levels measured using the 24-item Stigma Scale for Chronic Illness (SSCI). Statistical analyses included t-tests, ANOVA, correlation analysis, and multivariate linear regression., Results: The average SSCI score among PD patients was 58.74 ± 13.73, with significant variation based on age, gender, educational level, marital status, disease duration, and motor subtype. Patients aged under 60, male, with lower educational attainment, divorced or widowed, and with longer disease duration had higher SSCI scores. MDS-UPDRS Part I-III scores were positively correlated with both internal and external stigma (r = 0.4, 0.5, and 0.5, respectively, p < 0.001). Multivariate linear regression analysis identified MDS-UPDRS scores, age, self-care ability, marital status, disease duration, and motor subtype as independent predictors of stigma., Conclusion: Stigma in PD is influenced by a combination of demographic and disease-related factors, particularly disease severity. Targeted interventions focusing on reducing motor and non-motor symptoms, as well as addressing social determinants, may help alleviate the stigma experienced by PD patients. These findings underscore the need for comprehensive management strategies that incorporate both clinical treatment and psychosocial support., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to there search, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Ethical approval: This study was conducted according to the guidelines laid down in the Declaration of Helsinki., (© 2025. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Belgian Neurological Society.)

Carbon chain elongation offers a promising pathway for converting waste resources into caproate. However, challenges in yield and selectivity have limited its broader application. To address these limitations, anaerobically digested sludge-derived biochar (ADS-B) was incorporated into the carbon chain elongation process. The findings reveal that the addition of 20 g/L ADS-B resulted in the highest net caproate yield (6.5 g/L) and selectivity (61.1%). Further analysis highlighted that ADS-B's superior physicochemical properties enhanced the conversion of butyrate to caproate and facilitated the colonization of key microorganisms, such as Terrisporobacter and Clostridium, essential for caproate production. Additionally, a life cycle assessment indicated that ADS-B addition effectively reduced the environmental impact of caprate production, with additional potential for further mitigation through feedstock substitution. This study provides critical insights into the application of anaerobically digested sludge-derived biochar for enhancing carbon chain elongation, presenting an alternative approach for waste reutilization., 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 © 2025 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Degradable chalcogenide polyesters, e.g., polythioesters (PTEs), typically exhibit improved thermal, mechanical, and optical properties. Anionic ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of thionolactones, an intrinsically promising yet underexplored approach to accessing PTEs, however, is still limited by: intolerance of metal catalysts, inadequate control over chain growth, and the absence of aromatic system. Monomer design-boosted mechanistic studies may address the above challenges. Here, we present a new and highly reactive thionolactone synthesized from 1,1'-binaphthyl-2,2'-diol (BINOL). Our investigations into polymerization kinetics and thermodynamics have underscored the importance of rapid initiation, eventually leading to the discovery of tetrabutylammonium 2-naphthyl-thiocarboxylate as a distinctive initiator that enables genuinely controlled and living polymerization of thionolactones. Ultimately, the atropisomerism inherent in BINOL has resulted in the creation of axially chiral PTE materials with tailored molecular weights, enantiomeric compositions, and topologies., (© 2025 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Objective: The relationship between fish consumption and stroke is inconsistent, and it is uncertain whether this association varies across predicted stroke risks., Methods: A cohort study comprising 95,800 participants from the Prediction for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk in China project was conducted. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect data on fish consumption. Participants were stratified into low- and moderate-to-high-risk categories based on their 10-year stroke risk prediction scores. Hazard ratios ( HRs ) and 95% confidence intervals ( CIs ) were estimated using Cox proportional hazard models and additive interaction by relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI), attributable proportion (AP), and synergy index (SI)., Results: During 703,869 person-years of follow-up, 2,773 incident stroke events were identified. Higher fish consumption was associated with a lower risk of stroke, particularly among moderate-to-high-risk individuals ( HR = 0.53, 95% CI : 0.47-0.60) than among low-risk individuals ( HR = 0.64, 95% CI : 0.49-0.85). A significant additive interaction between fish consumption and predicted stroke risk was observed (RERI = 4.08, 95% CI : 2.80-5.36; SI = 1.64, 95% CI : 1.42-1.89; AP = 0.36, 95% CI : 0.28-0.43)., Conclusion: Higher fish consumption was associated with a lower risk of stroke, and this beneficial association was more pronounced in individuals with moderate-to-high stroke risk., (Copyright © 2025 The Editorial Board of Biomedical and Environmental Sciences. Published by China CDC. All rights reserved.)

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the impact of glycemic control and diabetes duration on subsequent myocardial infarction (MI) in patients with both coronary heart disease (CHD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D)., Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 33,238 patients with both CHD and T2D in Shenzhen, China. Patients were categorized into 6 groups based on baseline fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels and diabetes duration (from the date of diabetes diagnosis to the baseline date) to examine their combined effects on subsequent MI. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used, with further stratification by age, sex, and comorbidities to assess potential interactions., Results: Over a median follow-up of 2.4 years, 2,110 patients experienced MI. Compared to those with optimal glycemic control (FPG < 6.1 mmol/L) and shorter diabetes duration (< 10 years), the fully-adjusted hazard ratio ( HR ) (95% Confidence Interval [95% CI ]) for those with a diabetes duration of ≥ 10 years and FPG > 8.0 mmol/L was 1.93 (95% CI : 1.59, 2.36). The combined effects of FPG and diabetes duration on MI were largely similar across different age, sex, and comorbidity groups, although the excess risk of MI associated with long-term diabetes appeared to be more pronounced among those with atrial fibrillation., Conclusion: Our study indicates that glycemic control and diabetes duration significant influence the subsequent occurrence of MI in patients with both CHD and T2D. Tailored management strategies emphasizing strict glycemic control may be particularly beneficial for patients with longer diabetes duration and atrial fibrillation., (Copyright © 2025 The Editorial Board of Biomedical and Environmental Sciences. Published by China CDC. All rights reserved.)

Liver ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury is a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-related disease that occurs during liver transplantation and resection and hinders postoperative liver function recovery. Current approaches to alleviate liver I/R injury have limited effectiveness due to the short circulation time, poor solubility, and severe side effects of conventional antioxidants and anti-inflammatory drugs. Herein, a universal strategy is proposed to fabricate a Trojan horse-like biohybrid nanozyme (THBN) with hepatic-targeting capabilities. Tannic acid (TA) mediates adeno-associated virus (AAV8) decoration onto 2D Ti 3 C 2 nanosheets, resulting in THBN with a size of 116.2 ± 9.5 nm. Remarkably, THBN exhibits catalase (CAT)-like activity, broad-spectrum ROS scavenging activity and targeted delivery to liver tissue owing to the presence of AAV8. Both in vivo and in vitro experiments confirmed the efficacy of THBN in attenuating liver I/R injury by mitigating inflammation and oxidative stress and inhibiting hepatocellular apoptosis. RNA-seq analysis suggests that THBN may alleviate liver I/R injury by activating the PKC pathway. The effective targeting and therapeutic capabilities of THBN represent an advancement in nanotherapeutics for hepatic ischemia‒reperfusion injury, shedding light on the promising potential of this next-generation nanotherapeutic approach., (© 2025 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Glutamine metabolism is pivotal in cancer biology, profoundly influencing tumor growth, proliferation, and resistance to therapies. Cancer cells often exhibit an elevated dependence on glutamine for essential functions such as energy production, biosynthesis of macromolecules, and maintenance of redox balance. Moreover, altered glutamine metabolism can contribute to the formation of an immune-suppressive tumor microenvironment characterized by reduced immune cell infiltration and activity. In this study on lung adenocarcinoma, we employed consensus clustering and applied 101 types of machine learning methods to systematically identify key genes associated with glutamine metabolism and develop a risk model. This comprehensive approach provided a clearer understanding of how glutamine metabolism associates with cancer progression and patient outcomes. Notably, we constructed a robust nomogram based on clinical information and patient risk scores, which achieved a stable area under the curve (AUC) greater than 0.8 for predicting patient survival across four datasets, demonstrating high predictive accuracy. This nomogram not only enhances our ability to stratify patient risk but also offers potential targets for therapeutic intervention aimed at disrupting glutamine metabolism and sensitizing tumors to existing treatments. Moreover, we identified ALDH18A1 as a prognostic hub gene of glutamine metabolism, characterized by high expression levels in glutamine cluster 3, which is associated with poor clinical outcomes and worse survival, and is included in the risk model. Such insights underscore the critical role of glutamine metabolism in cancer and highlight avenues for personalized medicine in oncology research., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objective: The primary objective of this study is to explore the significance of concurrent evaluation of HER2 gene amplification and p53 and Ki67 expression in gastric cancer tissues., Methods: Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) methodologies were used to detect HER2 gene amplification, as well as the expression levels of HER2, p53, and Ki67 proteins, across a group of 78 gastric cancer cases., Results: The expression rate of the HER2 protein was determined to be 43.6% (34/78), with 17.9% (14/78) categorized as HER2 protein 3 + , 14.1% (11/78) as HER2 protein 2 + , and 11.5% (9/78) as HER2 protein 1 + . Using FISH technology, the HER2 gene amplification rate was identified as 19.2% (15/78), including 3 cases of HER2 gene cluster amplification, 5 cases of large granular amplification, 4 cases of punctate amplification, and 3 cases of high polysomy. The positive rate of p53 in gastric cancer cells was 52.6% (41/78), with 62.8% (49/78) of patients exhibiting a ki67 proliferation index ≤ 30, and 37.2% (29/78) accounting for a ki67 proliferation index > 30. The expression rates of the HER2 gene, p53, and ki67 in gastric cancer tissues were significantly associated with both gastric cancer staging and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: The HER2 gene amplification rate and gene copy number exhibit a positive correlation with the expression rates of p53 and ki67. Combining these assessments can provide crucial insights into the assessment of metastatic potential, disease progression, and prognosis of gastric tumor cells. This holds paramount importance in steering the formulation of individualized treatment strategies., Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflict of interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Ethical approval and consent to participate: The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (as was revised in 2013). The study was approved by Ethics Committee of the 150th Central Hospital of Luoyang (No. 132102310008). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Federación de Sociedades Españolas de Oncología (FESEO).)

Abstract: Compounds isolated from Epimedium include the total flavonoids of Epimedium , icariin, and its metabolites (icaritin, icariside I, and icariside II), which have similar molecular structures. Modern pharmacological research and clinical practice have proved that Epimedium and its active components have a wide range of pharmacological effects, especially in improving sexual function, hormone regulation, anti-osteoporosis, immune function regulation, anti-oxidation, and anti-tumor activity. To date, we still need a comprehensive source of knowledge about the pharmacological effects of Epimedium and its bioactive compounds on the male reproductive system. However, their actions in other tissues have been reviewed in recent years. This review critically focuses on the Epimedium , its bioactive compounds, and the biochemical and molecular mechanisms that modulate vital pathways associated with the male reproductive system. Such intrinsic knowledge will significantly further studies on the Epimedium and its bioactive compounds that protect the male reproductive system and provide some guidances for clinical treatment of related male reproductive disorders., (Copyright ©The Author(s)(2024).)

Optomotor response/reflex (OMR) is a fast and efficient first-in-line visual screening method, especially for rodents. It has the potential to evaluate both the scotopic and photopic visions of nonrestrained animals through tracking head movement, providing a quantitative estimate of visual functions. In restrained animals, optokinetic response (OKR), compensatory eye movements for visual shifts in the surroundings, is utilized. Both OMR and OKR capitalize on an individual's innate reflex to stabilize images for the purpose of capturing clear vision. The two reflexes have similar reliability when evaluating stimulus luminance, contrast, spatial frequency, and velocity. They have emerged as powerful tools to evaluate the efficacy of pharmacological treatments and phenotypes of subjects undergoing study. With OMR and OKR accurately assessing visual acuity (VA) as well as contrast sensitivity (CS), the gold standards for measuring clinical vision, they provide reliable and easily accessible results that further eye and brain research. These methods of sight evaluation have been used in multiple animal models, particularly mice and zebrafish. Through OMR assays, these animal models have been utilized to investigate retinal degenerative diseases, helping researchers differentiate between worsening stages. Alongside tests such as optical coherence tomography (OCT), OMR provides confirmation of visual status, where increased OMR function often correlates with improved visual status. OMR has continued to be used outside of glaucoma in various retinal diseases, such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP), diabetic retinopathy, and age-related macular degeneration.In this chapter, we will introduce the concept and application of visual stimulus-induced head or eye reflex movement in different animal species and experimental models of eye diseases, such as glaucoma and other neurodegenerative disorders, and in patients with glaucoma., (© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Global ecosystem services (ESs) are experiencing a significant decline, necessitating the development of robust environmental governance policies. To address the lack of integrated planning with heavy industry as the research object and a lack of knowledge of ES trade-offs and synergies in China's ecological and environmental governance. In this study, the spatial and temporal variations of four ESs (water yield (WY), soil conservation (SC), carbon storage (CS), and habitat quality (HQ)) were determined in the study area of Liaoning Province. Explore the mechanisms that shape ecosystem service trade-offs and synergies and the factors that influence them. Spearman's correlation and difference analyses were proposed to determine the spatial and temporal distributions of trade-offs and synergistic relationships among ESs. In addition, we constructed a multiscale geo-weighted regression (MGWR) model to investigate driver spatial heterogeneity affecting trade-offs and synergies. The results revealed that (1) In the study area, ESs were on the rise in Liaoning Province. (2) Temporally, ESs were overwhelmingly dominated by synergies; at the spatial scale, ESs were dominated by trade-offs of varying degrees, with the area of synergy between WY and SC being the highest. (3) ESs demonstrated spatial heterogeneity in intensity and were more impacted by natural factors such as vegetation cover, elevation, and precipitation than by characteristics related to human activity. This study helps improve understanding of the interactions and dependencies among ESs and can provide a reference for ecological governance and improvements in Liaoning Province., Competing Interests: Compliance with Ethical Standards. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Four Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped bacteria, designated WL0002 T , WL0024 T , WL0050 T , and WL0075 T , were isolated from sediment in the coastal areas of Nantong City, China. Metagenomic analysis revealed higher relative abundance of taxa closely related to the four strains in sediment (0.79-2.0 %) than in water (0.34-1.3 %) (Mann-Whitney U test: p < 0.001). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene and the bac120 gene set both suggested that the four strains are closely related to the genus Defluviimonas. Additionally, Albidovulum inexpectatum DSM 12048 T formed a distinct branch within Defluviimonas. The evolutionary distance (ED) and percentage of conserved proteins (POCP) analysis indicated that the four strains and the genus strains of Albidovulum and Defluviimonas should be recognized as a single genus. Genomic relatedness analysis among the four strains and type strains of the genera Albidovulum and Defluviimonas was below species delimitation thresholds, except for strains WL0024 T and "D. salinarum" CAU 1641 T , which should belong to the same species. Based on phenotypic and genotypic characterization, the four strains should be recognized as novel species in Albidovulum, and it is reasonable to reclassify the genus Defluviimonas as a later heterotypic synonym of Albidovulum, consistent with the classification of the Genome Taxonomy Database (GTDB). Four names are proposed as follows: Albidovulum marisflavi sp. nov. (type strain WL0002 T  = MCCC 1K06013 T  = JCM 34653 T  = GDMCC 1.2437 T ), Albidovulum salinarum sp. nov. (WL0024 T  = MCCC 1K06062 T  = JCM 34656 T  = GDMCC 1.2438 T ), Albidovulum litorale sp. nov. (WL0050 T  = MCCC 1K07524 T  = JCM 35566 T  = GDMCC 1.3084 T ), and Albidovulum sediminicola sp. nov. (WL0075 T  = MCCC 1K06064 T  = JCM 34660 T  = GDMCC 1.2419 T )., 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 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

The letter to the editor was written in response to the recent article by Wang et al. "The influence of low-dose s-ketamine on postoperative delirium and cognitive function in older adults undergoing thoracic surgery", which is published in Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery. 2024; 19(1):324. This article concludes that intravenous low-dose S-ketamine during thoracic surgery in older patients significantly reduces the incidences of postoperative delirium and cognitive dysfunction, indicating a potential neuroprotective effect of intraoperative low-dose S-ketamine. In view to the retrospective nature of this study and their inconsistent findings with the results of a recent randomized controlled trial performed in patients undergoing non-cardiac thoracic surgery, we believe that several methodological issues and potential confounders in this study deserve further clarification and discussion before accepting their conclusions. Our main concerns include lacking the times and number of delirium monitoring per postoperative day, alone use of the Confusion Assessment Method form for delirium screening, not providing the factors related to the occurrence of postoperative delirium in the ICU stay, and application of a non-standard definition for postoperative cognitive impairment. We believe that clarification of these issues is useful for improving the transparency of their methodology and facilitating the interpretation of their results., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: As our paper is just a letter to the editor that comments a article published in journal, ethics approval and consent are unnecessary. Consent for publication: All authors agree to the contents of the submitted manuscript and acknowledge familiarity with the journal’s instructions for manuscript submission. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has had a significant impact on global health. While the virus primarily affects the respiratory system, the intricate interplay between immune cells and the virus remains poorly understood. This study investigates the causal relationship between 731 immune cell phenotypes and COVID-19 using Mendelian randomization analysis., Methods: A bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was conducted using genetic variants strongly associated with immune cell phenotypes as instrumental variables. Data for 731 immune cell phenotypes were sourced from the GWAS Catalog, while data for COVID-19 susceptibility were obtained from the OPEN GWAS database. Five MR methods (IVW, MR-Egger, weighted median, simple mode, and weighted mode) were employed to estimate causal effects, with IVW as the primary analysis method., Results: The study identified 57 immune cell phenotypes causally associated with COVID-19 risk across two independent GWAS datasets. Five immune cell phenotypes were consistently associated with COVID-19 risk across both datasets: CD3-lymphocyte %lymphocyte (protective), CD27 on CD20- (protective), CD20 on IgD+ CD38- unsw mem (increased risk), CD27 on IgD- CD38- (increased risk), and CD19 on B cell (increased risk). Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of the findings., Conclusion: This study provides compelling evidence for a causal relationship between specific immune cell phenotypes and COVID-19 risk. These findings highlight the potential for targeting these immune cell phenotypes as novel therapeutic targets for COVID-19 treatment and prevention., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to the subject matter or materials discussed in this article., (Copyright © 2024, the Chinese Medical Association.)

Bioproduction of chemicals by using engineered bacteria is promising for a circular economy but challenged the instability of the introduced plasmid by conventional methods. Here, we developed a two-plasmid INTEGRET system to reliably integrate the targeted gene into the Vibrio natriegens genome, making it a powerful strain for efficient and steady bioproduction without requiring antibiotic addition. The INTEGRET system allows for gene insertion at over 75% inserting efficiency and flexibly controllable gene dosages. Additionally, simultaneous gene insertion at four genomic sites was achieved at 54.3% success rate while maintaining stable inheritance of exogenous sequences across multiple generations. The engineered strain could efficiently synthesize PHB from the fermentation of diverse organic wastes, with an efficiency comparable to those with overexpressed plasmid. When the mixture of seawater and molasses was used as the feedstock, it achieved a high PHB yield of 39.41 wt %. An extended application of the INTEGRET system for imparting the riboflavin production ability to the bacterium was also demonstrated. Our work presents a reliable and efficient genomic editing tool to facilitate the development of sustainable and environmentally benign biological platforms for converting biomass wastes into valuable chemicals.

Yuanjiang River (Red River) is one of the six major water systems in Yunnan Province, which originates from western Yunnan Province. This river system features numerous tributaries, complex terrain, and abundant natural resources. During the investigation on the diversity of lignicolous freshwater fungi in the Yuanjiang River, nine species were collected and identified, five belonging to Dothideomycetes and four to Sordariomycetes . Based on morphology and multigene phylogenetic analyses, four species, namely, Aquadictyospora aquatica , Dictyosporium fluminicola , Myrmecridium submersum , and Neomyrmecridium fusiforme , are described as new species. Dictyocheirospora aquadulcis is reported as a new national record, and Myrmecridium hydei is reported as a new habitat record. Dictyocheirospora rotunda , Halobyssothecium aquifusiforme , and Pseudohalonectria lutea were known earlier from freshwater habitats, but we described them in detail in this paper. This study contributes significantly to the understanding of the diversity of lignicolous freshwater fungi in southwestern China.

Fungal laccase producers can effectively address bisphenol A (BPA) and antibiotic-contaminated water. However, the role of small mediators produced by fungal secondary metabolism in enhancing the removal of refractory contaminants is often overlooked. In this work, an efficient laccase-producing strain, Trametes hirsuta La-7, was activated to simultaneously treat BPA and antibiotics. Coexisting tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, sulfadiazine, or roxithromycin inhibited fungal cell growth, reducing laccase biosynthesis but largely increasing the formation of syringaldehyde (SYR), 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (HBA), and vanillin (VAN) through a complex regulatory network. These specialized metabolites (i.e., small mediators) acted as diffusible electron carriers for laccase, enabling the oxidative decomposition of the four antibiotics with high redox potentials. According to laccase-mediator-regulated radical random polymerization and decomposition, the identified intermediates of copollutants were parallelly concentrated in oligomeric coupling products and oxidative cleavage species. By inoculating logarithmic phase cell pellets in conjunction with an artificially added small mediator (SYR, HBA, or VAN), the removal efficiencies of BPA and the four antibiotics within 5 d reached 100% and 69-100% in artificial wastewater, respectively. The low and ultimately non-biotoxic intermediate products generated in the fungus-mediator systems mitigated the eco-environmental risks of the parent compounds. This work highlights the previously underappreciated role of secondary metabolism-derived small mediators in enhancing the degradation of BPA and antibiotics by a laccase-expressing fungus and is beneficial to the rational design of a robust fungus-mediator system for environmental bioremediation., 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 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Acute aortic dissection (AAD) is a life-threatening cardiovascular emergency, which is closely related to the vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) phenotypic switching and extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation. Previous studies have found that the secreted extracellular glycoprotein Follistatin-like 1 (FSTL1) is demonstrated as a protective factor for cardiovascular diseases. However, the role of FSTL1 in AAD remains elusive. We aimed to investigate whether FSTL1 could regulate VSMCs phenotypic switching and ECM degradation in AAD. Firstly, we found that FSTL1 expression in aorta was significantly decreased in human AAD examined by western blot and immunohistochemical staining. Then we established a mouse AAD model by administering β-aminopropionitrile (BAPN) dissolved in drinking water for 28 days. We found that FSTL1 expression in aorta was also decreased in mouse AAD. Exogenous supplement with recombinant human FSTL1 protein could rescue VSMCs phenotypic switching and ECM degradation to reduce the occurrence and progression of mouse AAD. In vitro, FSTL1 protein and adenovirus overexpressing FSTL1 (ad-FSTL1) reversed the primary VSMCs phenotypic switching and decreased the expression of MMP2 induced by PDGF-BB. Knocking down FSTL1 initiates VSMCs phenotypic switching and increases the expression of MMP2. In terms of mechanisms, AMPK phosphorylation was decreased and could be improved by FSTL1 protein in mouse AAD. FSTL1 protein and ad-FSTL1 reversed the decreased AMPK phosphorylation induced by PDGF-BB in primary VSMCs. These findings indicate that FSTL1 protects against VSMCs phenotypic switching and ECM degradation in AAD, and targeting FSTL1 may be a potential new strategy for prevention and treatment of AAD., 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 Ltd.)

Drought stress is a common hazard faced by sugarcane growth, and utilizing microorganisms to enhance plant tolerance to abiotic stress has become an important method for sustainable agricultural development. Several studies have demonstrated that Streptomyces chartreuses WZS021 improves sugarcane tolerance to drought stress. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying tolerance at the transcriptional and metabolomic levels remain unclear. We comprehensively evaluated the physiological and molecular mechanisms by which WZS021 enhances drought tolerance in sugarcane, by performing transcriptome sequencing and non-targeted metabolomics; and examining rhizosphere soil properties and plant tissue antioxidant capacity. WZS021 inoculation improved the rhizosphere nutritional environment (AP, ammonia, OM) of sugarcane and enhanced the antioxidant capacity of plant roots, stems, and leaves (POD, SOD, CAT). Comprehensive analyses of the transcriptome and metabolome revealed that WZS021 mainly affects plant drought tolerance through phenylalanine metabolism, plant hormone signal transduction, and flavonoid biosynthesis pathways. The drought tolerance signaling molecules mediated by WZS021 include petunidin, salicylic acid, α-Linoleic acid, auxin, geranylgeraniol and phenylalanine, as well as key genes related to plant hormone signaling transduction (YUCCA, amiE, AUX, CYPs, PAL, etc.). Interestingly, inoculation with WZS021 during regular watering induces a transcriptome-level response to biological stress in sugarcane plants. This study further elucidates a WZS021-dependent rhizosphere-mediated regulatory mechanism for improving sugarcane drought tolerance, providing a theoretical basis for increasing sugarcane production capacity., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Nowadays, the inherent re-stacking nature and weak d-p hybridization orbital interactions within MXene remains significant challenges in the field of electrocatalytic water splitting, leading to unsatisfactory electrocatalytic activity and cycling stability. Herein, this work aims to address these challenges and improve electrocatalytic performance by utilizing cobalt nanoparticles intercalation coupled with enhanced π-donation effect. Specifically, cobalt nanoparticles are integrated into V 2 C MXene nanosheets to mitigate the re-stacking issue. Meanwhile, a notable charge redistribution from cobalt to vanadium elevates orbital levels, reduces π*-antibonding orbital occupancy and alleviates Jahn-Teller distortion. Doping with tellurium induces localized electric field rearrangement resulting from the changes in electron cloud density. As a result, Co-V 2 C MXene-Te acquires desirable activity for hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction with the overpotential of 80.8 mV and 287.7 mV, respectively, at the current density of -10 mA cm -2 and 10 mA cm -2 . The overall water splitting device achieves an impressive low cell voltage requirement of 1.51 V to obtain 10 mA cm -2 . Overall, this work could offer a promising solution when facing the re-stacking issue and weak d-p hybridization orbital interactions of MXene, furnishing a high-performance electrocatalyst with favorable electrocatalytic activity and cycling stability., 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 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Being part of the mature mammalian central nervous system, impairments of the retina and optic nerves caused by trauma or diseases often cannot be restored. Progressive degeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in glaucoma and other optic neuropathies gradually leads to permanent vision loss, which currently has no cure. The purpose of this study is to develop a biocompatible scaffold to support RGC survival and guide axon growth, facilitating optic nerve repair and regeneration. We here report that electrical stimulation (ES) significantly promoted neurite outgrowth and elongation from primary RGCs, mediated through glutamate receptor signaling. To mimic prolonged glutamate stimulation and facilitate sustained nerve growth, we fabricated biocompatible poly-γ-benzyl-L-glutamate (PBG) scaffolds for controlled glutamate release. These PBG scaffolds supported RGC survival and robust long-distance nerve growth in both retinal explants and isolated RGC cultures. In contrast, control polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds with similar physical structures showed little benefits on RGC survival or nerve growth. Moreover, PBG scaffolds promoted the differentiation and neurite outgrowth from embryonic stem cell-derived RGC progenitors. The aligned PBG scaffold drove directed nerve elongation along the fiber alignment. Transplantation of PBG-coated biocompatible conduits induced robust optic nerve regeneration in adult mice following nerve transection. Together, the findings present the exciting possibility of driving optic nerve regeneration and RGC progenitor cell differentiation by imitating ES or glutamate signaling. PBG presents a permissive biomaterial in supporting robust and directed axon growth with promising clinical applications in the future. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: We here reported compelling findings that demonstrate the potent regenerative effects of a bioengineered scaffold incorporating poly-γ-benzyl-L-glutamate (PBG) on the optic nerve. Retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axons, which form the optic nerve, are incapable of regenerating in adulthood, posing a significant hurdle in restoring vision for patients with optic nerve diseases or injuries. Built upon the finding that electrical stimulation promotes RGC axonal growth through glutamate signaling, we developed PBG scaffolds to provide sustained glutamate stimulation and showed their exceptional effects on driving directed axonal elongation in cultured RGCs and neural progenitors, as well as supporting robust optic nerve regeneration after transection in vivo. The findings hold great promise for reversing vision loss in patients with optic nerve conditions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests in financial or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori ) infection-induced changes in gastric mucosal immune cells and glandular epithelial cell damage and the histopathological characteristics of these changes., Methods: We performed a detailed histomorphometry and immunohistochemical analysis of a total of 1635 H. pylori -infected gastric mucosal specimens., Results: Stage-wise features were as follows: Early stage of infection: H. pylori was colonized in the mucous layer, and very few neutrophils were visible in the layer. Gastric surface epithelial cell infection stage: H. pylori specifically and selectively adhered to the cytoplasm of the surface mucous cells, with the presence of a small number of neutrophils, eosinophils, and lymphocytes infiltration, which is termed early immune response. Compensatory mucous neck cell hyperplasia stage: proliferation of stem cells in the deep gastric pit and infiltration of a large number of lymphocytes in the superficial layer of lamina propria were observed, which is termed immune cell mobilization counterinsurgency. Lamina propria lesion stage: excessive upward migration of the proliferative area. Infiltration of a large number of lymphocytes, plasma cells, monocytes, macrophages, and other immune cells was observed in the whole layer of the gastric mucosa, which is termed automatic replication of immune cells. Abnormal proliferative transformation stage: presence of intranuclear milky globular body cells or signet-ring cell-like heterotypic cells at the junction of the gastric pit and the gastric gland, with proliferation of large numbers of immune cells and vacuolar degeneration of immune cells, which is termed the proliferation and degeneration of immune cells. Intraepithelial neoplasia stage: clonal hyperplasia of epithelial cells and immunosuppression., Conclusion: For controlling the occurrence and development of gastric cancer and effective immune intervention, it is essential to grasp the relationship between H. pylori infection-induced changes in gastric mucosal immune cells and glandular epithelial cell damage and its histopathological characteristics.

Most transition metal-based electrocatalysts, when used for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), undergo significant restructuring under alkaline conditions, forming localized oxides/hydroxides (MOOH), which act as the real active centers, activating adjacent metal sites and creating new active sites that enhance electrocatalytic behavior. Nevertheless, inducing rapid and in-depth self-reconstruction of catalyst surfaces remains a huge challenge. Herein, this work achieves rapid and in-depth self-reconstruction by doping fluorine into the lattice of transition metal oxides (MO). As surface restructuring progresses, the continuous leaching of F - ions by the alkaline electrolyte generates OH - ions rapidly, which facilitates the transformation from MO to M-OOH active species, thereby exposing additional active sites. Meanwhile, F doping shifts the d-band center closer to the Fermi level while increasing the occupancy of Ni and Co d-orbitals, leading to a redistribution of electronic density and enhanced spin polarization. Additionally, the significant increase in the energy levels of the e g and t 2g orbitals strengthens d-d orbital coupling, optimizing the adsorption energy of oxygen-containing species and facilitating catalyst surface reconstruction. Accordingly, the catalysts require a remarkably low overpotential of 247 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm -2 . Overall, this work provides a valuable approach for constructing pre-catalysts capable of rapid and in-depth self-reconstruction during the OER process., 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 © 2025 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Heterotrophic nitrification, similar to autotrophic nitrification, involves key enzymes and reactive nitrogen intermediates during ammonia oxidation, which may influence antibiotic transformation. However, the interference between antibiotic transformation products from ammonia oxidation and secondary metabolites in heterotrophic nitrifiers makes antibiotic transformation pathways more complicated. In this work, we observe that the heterotrophic nitrifier Alcaligenes ammonioxydans HO-1 can effectively convert sulfonamide antibiotics. Product analysis reveals the impacts of carbon and nitrogen concentrations as well as their ratio on the biotransformation of sulfamethazine (SMZ). The dnfABC gene cluster is identified as essential for mediating SMZ conversion. In vitro enzymatic activity reconstruction further confirms that DnfA exhibits N-oxygenase activity and can catalyze the conversion of various aryl-amines into aryl-nitro compounds. The results of this work not only expand our understanding of the functions of heterotrophic nitrifiers, but also provide a theoretical basis for developing efficient biotechnologies for treating antibiotics., 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 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Wastewater surveillance programs based at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been widely implemented, becoming a crucial measure for public health. Recently, the scope of monitoring has expanded from influent wastewater to include primary settled solids and activated sludge. The effectiveness of monitoring primary settled solids has been widely validated, but the suitability of activated sludge as a monitoring target remains unclear. In this work, we investigated the total amount distribution coefficients of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in both solid and liquid fractions of influent and biological treatment process in WWTPs. Capitalizing on the strategic timing of policy adjustments in China, we conducted a quantitative analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 monitoring results over a three-month span during the first large-scale COVID-19 outbreak from three WWTPs in Hefei city, China. Importantly, in the monitoring of activated sludge, we observed a significant delayed effect, with the viral peak occurring 1 to 2 weeks later than in the influent. In addition, we also reveal a significant correlation between the abundance of SARS-CoV-2 in influent and urban resident behaviors, providing novel insights into the pandemic's dynamics. Collectively, this work demonstrates that influent sample is more appropriate for wastewater surveillance compared to sludge sample., 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 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The whole plant of Tribulus terrestris (TT) is used to treat hypertension and cardio-cerebrovascular diseases. The harvest time has an important influence on the quality of medicinal plants. Therefore, it is necessary to study the effect of harvest time on the content of components in different parts of TT and compare the antihypertensive effect of different parts of TT at harvest time with a relatively high content of 14 components. Ultraviolet-visible spectrometry (UV-Vis spectrometry) was used to determine the total saponin content in T. terrestris fruit (TTF), T. terrestris stems (TTS), and T. terrestris leaves (TTL) at different harvest times. Within the studied harvest times, the total saponin content was higher in TTL than in TTF or TTS. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry analysis revealed significant differences in the spatial and temporal differences in the content of 14 components in the three plant parts. The multivariate statistical analysis identified six components as markers of different TT content in the different parts. The suitable TTF harvest period was from August 11 to September 1, while TTS and TTL were suitable for harvesting from July 21 to September 11. The treatment effects on blood pressure, serum indexes, and thoracic aorta morphology confirmed that the antihypertensive effects of TTL were better than those of TTF or TTS. The study emphasized the effect of harvest time on the content of components in different parts of TT and confirmed that TTS and TTL also had medicinal value., (© 2025 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), but the existence of NPC protective antibody against EBV-associated antigens remains inconclusive., Methods: NPC cases and matched controls were identified from prospective cohorts comprising 75,481 participants in southern China. ELISA and conditional logistic regression were applied to assess effects of gp42-IgG on NPC. The expression of HLA-II, the gp42 receptor, in nasopharyngeal atypical dysplasia and its impact on EBV infecting epithelial cells were evaluated., Findings: gp42-IgG titers were significantly lower in NPC cases compared to controls across various follow-up years before NPC diagnosis (P<0.05). Individuals in the highest quartile of gp42-IgG titers had a 71% NPC risk reduction comparing to those in the lowest quartile (odds ratios [OR]Q4vsQ1=0.29, 95% confidence intervals [CIs]=0·15 to 0·55, P<0.001). Each unit antibody titer increase was associated with 34% lower risk of NPC (OR=0.66, 95% CI=0.54 to 0.81, Ptrend <0.001). Their protective effect was observed in cases diagnosed ≥5 years, 1-5 years and <1 year after blood collection (P<0.05). HLA-II expression was detected in 13 of 27 nasopharyngeal atypical dysplasia and its overexpression substantially promoted epithelial-cell-origin EBV infection., Conclusion: Elevated EBV gp42-IgG titers can reduce NPC risk, indicating gp42 as a potential EBV prophylactic vaccine design target., Trial Registration: NCT00941538, NCT02501980, ChiCTR2000028776, ChiCTR2100041628., Funding: Noncommunicable Chronic Diseases-National Science and Technology Major Project, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Local Innovative and Research Teams Project of Guangdong Pearl River Talents Program, Central Financial Transfer Payment Projects of the Chinese Government, Cancer Research Grant of Zhongshan City.

Plastics aging reduces resistance to microbial degradation. Plastivore Tenebrio molitor rapidly biodegrades polystyrene (PS, size: < 80 μm), but the effects of aging on PS biodegradation by T. molitor remain uncharacterized. This study examined PS biodegradation over 24 days following three pre-treatments: freezing with UV exposure (PS1), UV exposure (PS2), and freezing (PS3), compared to pristine PS (PSv) microplastic. The pretreatments deteriorated PS polymers, resulting in slightly higher specific PS consumption (602.8, 586.1, 566.7, and 563.9 mg PS·100 larvae -1 ·d -1 , respectively) and mass reduction rates (49.6 %, 49.5 %, 49.2 %, and 48.7 %, respectively) in PS1, PS2, and PS3 compared to PSv. Improved biodegradation correlated with reduced molecular weights and the formation of oxidized functional groups. Larvae fed more aged PS exhibited greater gut microbial diversity, with microbial community and metabolic pathways shaped by PS aging, as supported by co-occurrence network analysis. These findings indicated that the aging treatments enhanced PS biodegradation by only limited extent but impacted greater on gut microbiome and bacterial metabolic genes, indicating that the T. molitor host have highly predominant capability to digest PS plastics and alters gut microbiome to adapt the PS polymers fed to them., 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 B.V.)

Background: Based on unique morphological features and phylogenetic analysis of combined LSU and ITS sequences, Paramirandinaguttulata is established as the third species in Paramirandina , along with P.aquatica and P.cymbiformis . All three species of Paramirandina were reported from freshwater habitats in China., New Information: Paramirandinaguttulata sp. nov. is a morphologically conspicuous hyphomycetes species, collected from a plateau lake (Dujuanhu Lake) in Yunnan Province, China. The key distinguishing characteristics of P.guttulata are scattered or gregarious conidiophores, polyblastic, terminal, sympodial conidiogenous cells and fusiform, cymbiform, 4-6-septate, guttulate, hyaline conidia that are solitary or in chains and with truncate base and obtuse apex. Detailed descriptions and illustrations are provided for the new species., (Hong-Wei Shen, Dan-Feng Bao, Na Wu, Fatimah Al-Otibi, Zong-Long Luo, Kevin D. Hyde.)

Epilepsy remains a prevalent chronic neurological disease that is featured by aberrant, recurrent and hypersynchronous discharge of neurons and poses a great challenge to healthcare systems. Although several therapeutic interventions are successfully utilized for treating epilepsy, they can merely provide symptom relief but cannot exert disease-modifying effect. Therefore, it is of urgent need to explore other potential mechanism to develop a novel approach to delay the epileptic progression. Since approximately 30 years ago, histone deacetylases (HDACs), the versatile epigenetic regulators responsible for gene transcription via binding histones or non-histone substrates, have grabbed considerable attention in drug discovery. There are also substantial evidences supporting that aberrant expressions and/activities of HDAC isoforms are reported in epilepsy and HDAC inhibitors (HDACi) have been successfully utilized for therapeutic purposes in this condition. However, the specific mechanisms underlying the role of HDACs in epileptic progression have not been fully understood. Herein, we reviewed the basic information of HDACs, summarized the recent findings associated with the roles of diverse HDAC subunits in epilepsy and discussed the potential regulatory mechanisms by which HDACs affected the development of epilepsy. Additionally, we also provided a brief discussion on the potential of HDACs as promising therapeutic targets for epilepsy treatment, serving as a valuable reference for basic study and clinical translation in epilepsy field., Competing Interests: Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate Not applicable. Consent for publication Not applicable. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Redox cycling of iron plays a pivotal role in both nutrient acquisition by living organisms and the geochemical cycling of elements in aquatic environments. In nature, iron cycling is mediated by microbial Fe(II)-oxidizers and Fe(III)-reducers or through the interplay of biotic and abiotic iron transformation processes. Here, we unveil a specific iron cycling process driven by one single phototrophic species, Rhodobacter ferrooxidans SW2. It exhibits the capability to reduce Fe(III) during bacterial cultivation. A c -type cytochrome is identified with Fe(III)-reducing activity, implying the linkage of Fe(III) reduction with the electron transport system. R. ferrooxidans SW2 can mediate iron redox transformation, depending on the availability of light and/or organic substrates. Iron cycling driven by anoxygenic photoferrotrophs is proposed to exist worldwide in modern and ancient environments. Our work not only enriches the theoretical basis of iron cycling in nature but also implies multiple roles of anoxygenic photoferrotrophs in iron transformation processes., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 Kai-Li Wang et al.)