Multiple plateaus of high-sideband generation from Floquet matters.

We theoretically report that high-order sideband generation (HSG) from Floquet matters driven by a strong terahertz light while engineered by weak infrared light can achieve multiple plateau HSG. The Floquet-engineering systems exhibit distinctive spectroscopic characteristics that go beyond the HSG processes in field-free band-structure systems. The spatial-temporal dynamics analyses under Floquet-Bloch and time-reversal-symmetry theories clarify the spectra and its odd-even characteristics in the HSG spectrum. Our work demonstrates the HSG of Floquet matters via Floquet engineering and indicates a promising way to extract Floquet material parameters in future experiments.

FASTKD1 as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for STAD: Insights into m6A modification and immune infiltration.

Fas-activated serine/threonine kinase domain 1 (FASTKD1), a known modulator of mitochondrial-mediated cell death and survival processes, has garnered attention for its potential role in various biological contexts. However, its involvement in gastric cancer remains unclear. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between FASTKD1 expression and key factors, including clinicopathological characteristics, immune infiltration and m6A modification in stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD). The expression of FASTKD1 was analyzed in STAD and normal adjacent tissues to assess its association with clinicopathological characteristics and survival prognosis. Data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases were used in this study. Additionally, the findings were validated through immunohistochemical staining. Co-expression analysis of FASTKD1 was performed using Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (GO/KEGG) enrichment analysis, Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) and LinkedOmics database analysis. An in-depth analysis was conducted using databases, such as Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER), Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA), GEO and TCGA to explore the potential correlation between FASTKD1 expression and immune infiltration and m6A modification in STAD. The results revealed that FASTKD1 was significantly upregulated across different tumor types, including STAD. Notably, FASTKD1 was able to distinguish between tumor and normal tissue samples with accuracy. Furthermore, the expression levels of FASTKD1 were significantly associated with clinical stage and survival. Through GO/KEGG enrichment analysis and GSEA, it was revealed that the genes co-expressed with FASTKD1 were active in a variety of biological processes. Within the TIMER, GEPIA and TCGA databases, a notable inverse correlation was observed between FASTKD1 expression and the abundance of immune cell subsets. Notably, significant correlations were established between FASTKD1 and m6A modification genes, YTHDF1 and LRPPRC, in both TCGA and GEO datasets. In conclusion, FASTKD1 may serve a significant role in m6A modification and immune infiltration processes, making it a potentially valuable diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in STAD.

Simultaneous electrocoagulation and E-peroxone coupled with ultrafiltration membrane for shale gas produced water treatment.

Membrane fouling caused by the organics-coated particles was the main obstacle for the highly efficient shale gas produced water (SGPW) treatment and recycling. In this study, a novel hybrid electrocoagulation (EC) and E-peroxone process coupled with UF (ECP-UF) process was proposed to examine the efficacy and elucidate the mechanism for UF fouling mitigation in assisting SGPW reuse. Compared to the TMP (transmembrane pressure) increase of -15 kPa in the EC-UF process, TMP in ECP-UF system marginally increased to -1.4 kPa for 3 filtration cycles under the current density of 15 mA/cm2. Both the total fouling index and hydraulically irreversible fouling index of the ECP-UF process were significantly lower than those of EC-UF process. According to the extended Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek theory, the potential barriers was the highest for ECP-UF processes due to the substantial increase of the acid-base interaction energy in ECP-UF process, which was well consistent with the TMP and SEM results. Turbidity and TOC of ECP-UF process were 63.6% and 45.8% lower than those of EC-UF process, respectively. According to the MW distribution, the variations of compounds and their relative contents were probably due to the oxidation and decomposing products of the macromolecular organics. The number of aromatic compound decreased, while the number of open-chain compounds (i.e., alkenes, alkanes and alcohols) increased in the permeate of ECP-UF process. Notably, the substantial decrease in the relative abundance of di-phthalate compounds was attributed to the high reactivity of these compounds with ·OH. Mechanism study indicated that ECP could realize the simultaneous coagulation, H2O2 generation and activation by O3, facilitating the enhancement of ·OH and Alb production and therefore beneficial for the improved water quality and UF fouling mitigation. Therefore, the ECP-UF process emerges as a high-efficient and space-saving approach, yielding a synergistic effect in mitigating UF fouling for SGPW recycling.

Pan-cancer analysis reveals correlation between RAB3B expression and tumor heterogeneity, immune microenvironment, and prognosis in multiple cancers.

RAB3B is essential for the transportation and secretion within cells. Its increased expression is linked to the development and progression of various malignancies. However, understanding of RAB3B's involvement in carcinogenesis is mostly limited to specific cancer subtypes. Hence, exploring RAB3B's regulatory roles and molecular mechanisms through comprehensive cancer datasets might offer innovative approaches for managing clinical cancer. To examine the potential involvement of RAB3B in the development of cancer, we analyzed data from various sources including The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Genotype-Tissue Expression Project (GTEx), cBioPortal, HPA, UALCAN, and tissue microarray (TAM). Using bioinformatics techniques, we examined the correlation between RAB3B expression and prognosis, tumor heterogeneity, methylation modifications, and immune microenvironment across different cancer types. Our findings indicate that elevated RAB3B expression can independently predict prognosis in many tumors and has moderate accuracy for diagnosing most cancers. In most cancer types, we identified RAB3B mutations that showed a significant correlation with tumor mutational burden (TMB), mutant-allele tumor heterogeneity (MATH), and microsatellite instability (MSI). Abnormal DNA methylation patterns were also observed in most cancers compared to normal tissues. Additionally, we found significant correlations between RAB3B expression, immune cell infiltration, and immune scores across various cancers. Through pan-cancer analysis, we observed significant differences in RAB3B expression levels between tumors and normal tissues, making it a potential primary factor for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. The IHC results revealed that the expression of RAB3B in six types of tumors was consistent with the results of the pan-cancer analysis of the database. Furthermore, RAB3B showed potential associations with tumor heterogeneity and immunity. Thus, RAB3B can be utilized as an auxiliary diagnostic marker for early tumor detection and a prognostic biomarker for various tumor types.

TRIP6 a potential diagnostic marker for colorectal cancer with glycolysis and immune infiltration association.

Thyroid hormone receptor interactor 6 (TRIP6) it is an adaptor protein belonging to the zyxin family of LIM proteins, participating in signaling events through interactions with various molecules. Despite this, TRIP6's role in colorectal cancer (CRC), particularly its correlation with glucose metabolism and immune cell infiltration, remains unclear. Through the TCGA and GEO databases, we obtained RNA sequencing data to facilitate our in-depth study and analysis of TRIP6 expression. To investigate the prognostic value of TRIP6 in CRC, we also used univariate Cox regression analysis. In addition, this study also covered a series of analyses, including clinicopathological analysis, functional enrichment analysis, glycolysis correlation analysis, immunoinfiltration analysis, immune checkpoint analysis, and angiogenesis correlation analysis, to gain a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of this biological phenomenon. It has been found that TRIP6 expression is significantly upregulated in CRC and correlates with the stage of the disease. Its overexpression portends a worse survival time. Functional enrichment analysis reveals that TRIP6 is associated with focal adhesion and glycolysis. Mechanistically, TRIP6 appears to exert its tumorigenic effect by regulating the glycolysis-related gene GPI. A higher level of expression of TRIP6 is associated with an increase in the number of iDC immune cells and a decrease in the number of Th1 immune cells. Also, TRIP6 may promote angiogenesis in tumor cells by promoting the expression of JAG2. Our study uncovers the upregulation of TRIP6 in CRC, illuminating its prognostic and diagnostic value within this context. Furthermore, we examine the relationship between TRIP6 expression levels, glycolysis, angiogenesis and immune cell infiltration. This underscores its potential as a biomarker for CRC treatment and as a therapeutic target.

DeepQs: Local quality assessment of cryo-EM density map by deep learning map-model fit score.

Cryogenic electron microscopy maps are valuable for determining macromolecule structures. A proper quality assessment method is essential for cryo-EM map selection or revision. This article presents DeepQs, a novel approach to estimate local quality for 3D cryo-EM density maps, using a deep-learning algorithm based on map-model fit score. DeepQs is a parameter-free method for users and incorporates structural information between map and its related atomic model into well-trained models by deep learning. More specifically, the DeepQs approach leverages the interplay between map and atomic model through predefined map-model fit score, Q-score. DeepQs can get close results to the ground truth map-model fit scores with only cryo-EM map as input. In experiments, DeepQs demonstrates the lowest root mean square error with standard method Fourier shell correlation metric and high correlation with map-model fit score, Q-score, when compared with other local quality estimation methods in high-resolution dataset (<=5 Å). DeepQs can also be applied to evaluate the quality of the post-processed maps. In both cases, DeepQs runs faster by using GPU acceleration. Our program is available at http://www.csbio.sjtu.edu.cn/bioinf/DeepQs for academic use.

Melatonin Ameliorates Neuropsychiatric Behaviors, Gut Microbiome, and Microbiota-Derived Metabolites in Rats with Chronic Sleep Deprivation.

With the increasing prevalence of sleep deprivation (SD)-related disorders, the effective treatment of sleep disorders has become a critical health research topic. Thus, we hypothesized and investigated the effectiveness of a 3-week melatonin intervention on neuropsychiatric behavioral responses mediated throughout melatonin receptors, gut microbiota, and lipid metabolites in rats with chronic SD. Eighteen 6-week-old Wistar rats were used and divided into the control grup (C, n = 6), SD group (n = 6), and melatonin-supplemented group (SDM, n = 6). During weeks 0 to 6, animals were provided with the AIN-93M diet and free access to water. Four-week chronic SD was conducted from weeks 7 to 10. Exogenous melatonin administration (10 mg/kg BW) was injected intraperitoneally 1 h before the daily administration of SD for 3 weeks in the SDM group. SD rats exhibited anxiety-like behavior, depression-like behavior, and cognitive impairment. Exogenous melatonin administration ameliorated neuropsychiatric behaviors induced by chronic SD. Analysis of fecal metabolites indicated that melatonin may influence brain messaging through the microbiota-gut-brain axis by increasing the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) and decreasing the production of secondary bile acids (SBA). Four-week SD reduced the cerebral cortex expression of MT1, but not in the colon. Chronic SD led to anxiety and depression-like behaviors and cognitive decline, as well as the reduced intestinal level of SCFAs and the enhanced intestinal level of SBAs in rats. In this work, we confirmed our hypothesis that a 3-week melatonin intervention on neuropsychiatric behavioral response mediated throughout melatonin receptors, gut microbiota, and lipid metabolites in rats with chronic SD.

Clinical Evaluation of Cystic Renal Masses With Bosniak Classification by Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound and Contrast-Enhanced Computer Tomography.

OBJECTIVES: The study aims to compare retrospectively three clinically applied methods for the diagnostic performance of cystic renal masses (CRMs) by contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and contrast-enhanced computer tomography (CECT) with Bosniak classification system. METHODS: A total of 52 cases of Bosniak II-IV CRMs in 49 consecutive patients were diagnosed from January 2013 to July 2022 and their data were analyzed. All patients had been subjected to CEUS and CECT simultaneously. Pathological diagnoses and masses stability were used as standard references to determine whether lesions were malignant or benign. Then 49 CRMs only with pathologic results were classified into group 1 and 2. RESULTS: A total of 52 CRMs in 49 enrolled patients were classified into 8 category II, 16 category IIF, 15 category III, and 13 category IV by CEUS (EFSUMB 2020), 10 category II, 13 category IIF, 16 category III, and 13 category IV by CEUS (V2019), while 15 category II, 9 category IIF, 13 category III, and 15 category IV by CECT (V2019). Pathological results and masses stability longer than 5 years follow-up performed substantially for CEUS (EFSUMB 2020), CEUS (V2019), and CECT (V2019) (kappa values were 0.696, 0.735, and 0.696, respectively). Among 49 pathologic approving CRMs, wall/septation thickness ≥4 mm, wall/septation thickness, presence of enhancing nodule and the diameter were found to be statistically significant for malignancy. Twenty-two malignant masses were correctly diagnosed by CEUS (V2019), while 21 malignant masses were both correctly diagnosed by CEUS (EFSUMB 2020) and CECT (V2019), and 1 mass was misdiagnosed. CONCLUSIONS: Bosniak classification of EFSUMB 2020 version might be as accurate as version 2019 CEUS and version 2019 CECT in diagnosing CRMs, and CEUS is found to have an excellent safety profile in dealing with clinical works.

Analysis of Factors Correlated with Postoperative Kinesiophobia in Patients with Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of postoperative kinesiophobia in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) and factors influencing the occurrence of kinesiophobia, to provide relevant basis for making clinical decisions for targeted interventions. Methods: We enrolled a total of 85 patients who underwent CSM surgery at two grade-A general public hospitals in Fujian Province between September 2021 and May 2022. We conducted a questionnaire survey using the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK) and the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). Patients evaluated pain using a visual analogue scale. We used one-way ANOVA and logistic multiple regression analysis to identify the relevant influencing factors. Results: The TSK score was (41.88±4.46) in 85 postoperative CSM patients, 65 males and 20 females, and there were 31 patients under 40 years old, 54 patients over 40 years old, 58 patients below high school education and 27 patients above high school education, and among them, 81.17% were diagnosed with kinesiophobia. Age was positively correlated with TSK score (r = 0.379, P < 0.05) and therefore a risk factor for kinesiophobia (OR = 1.941, 95% CI = 1.021-3.690). Additionally, the duration of the disease was a protective factor for kinesiophobia (OR = 0.179, 95% CI = 0.053-0.605). Conclusion: Patients with CSM were at high risk of developing kinesiophobia postoperatively. Age and duration of the disease were factors influencing the occurrence of kinesiophobia in this group.

Design, Synthesis and Characterization of Palladium-Functionalized Covalent Organic Framework and Its Application as Heterogeneous Catalysis for C-H Arylation of Azoles.

A novel triazine-based covalent organic framework (TFPT-Bz COF) has been constructed by the condensation of 2,4,6-tris(5-formyl-2-pyridinoxy)-1,3,5-triazine (TFPT) and benzidine (BZ) with deep eutectic solvent (DES) as the reaction medium. After the introduction of Pd ions through strong coordination to TFPT-Bz COF matrix, the constructed TFPT-Bz COF/Pd composite exhibited excellent catalytic activity for C-H arylation of azoles with aryl halides in 2-methyltetrahydrofuran. The protocol allows the arylation of a variety of substituted azoles with diverse aryl halides in high to excellent yield. Moreover, the TFPT-Bz COF/Pd catalyst can be recycled several times without significantly reducing its activity.

Use of unmanned ground vehicle systems in urbanized zones: A study of vector Mosquito surveillance in Kaohsiung.

Dengue fever is a vector-borne disease that has become a serious global public health problem over the past decade. An essential aspect of controlling and preventing mosquito-borne diseases is reduction of mosquito density. Through the process of urbanization, sewers (ditches) have become easy breeding sources of vector mosquitoes. In this study, we, for the first time, used unmanned ground vehicle systems (UGVs) to enter ditches in urban areas to observe vector mosquito ecology. We found traces of vector mosquitoes in ~20.7% of inspected ditches, suggesting that these constitute viable breeding sources of vector mosquitoes in urban areas. We also analyzed the average gravitrap catch of five administrative districts in Kaohsiung city from May to August 2018. The gravitrap indices of Nanzi and Fengshan districts were above the expected average (3.26), indicating that the vector mosquitoes density in these areas is high. Using the UGVs to detect positive ditches within the five districts followed by insecticide application generally yielded good control results. Further improving the high-resolution digital camera and spraying system of the UGVs may be able to effectively and instantly monitor vector mosquitoes and implement spraying controls. This approach may be suitable to solve the complex and difficult task of detecting mosquito breeding sources in urban ditches.

Azidobenziodazolones as Azido Sources for the Enantioselective Copper-Catalyzed Azidation of N-Unprotected 3-Trifluoromethylated Oxindoles.

Both azido (N3) and trifluoromethyl (CF3) groups are key moieties of numerous valuable molecules that are extensively applied in drug discovery, chemical biology, and synthetic chemistry. However, the asymmetric construction of chiral quaternary stereocenters bearing both N3 and CF3 groups is still unexplored. Herein, we report a kind of bench-stable and easily adjustable benziodazolone-based azidating reagents. These reagents were used to achieve an enantioselective copper-catalyzed azidation of N-unprotected 3-trifluoromethylated oxindoles to provide diverse enantioenriched 3-N3-3-CF3 oxindoles.

An IoT-based smart mosquito trap system embedded with real-time mosquito image processing by neural networks for mosquito surveillance.

An essential aspect of controlling and preventing mosquito-borne diseases is to reduce mosquitoes that carry viruses. We designed a smart mosquito trap system to reduce the density of mosquito vectors and the spread of mosquito-borne diseases. This smart trap uses computer vision technology and deep learning networks to identify features of live Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus in real-time. A unique mechanical design based on the rotation concept is also proposed and implemented to capture specific living mosquitoes into the corresponding chambers successfully. Moreover, this system is equipped with sensors to detect environmental data, such as CO2 concentration, temperature, and humidity. We successfully demonstrated the implementation of such a tool and paired it with a reliable capture mechanism for live mosquitos without destroying important morphological features. The neural network achieved 91.57% accuracy with test set images. When the trap prototype was applied in a tent, the accuracy rate in distinguishing live Ae. aegypti was 92%, with a capture rate reaching 44%. When the prototype was placed into a BG trap to produce a smart mosquito trap, it achieved a 97% recognition rate and a 67% catch rate when placed in the tent. In a simulated living room, the recognition and capture rates were 90% and 49%, respectively. This smart trap correctly differentiated between Cx. quinquefasciatus and Ae. aegypti mosquitoes, and may also help control mosquito-borne diseases and predict their possible outbreak.

Cryo-EM image alignment: From pair-wise to joint with deep unsupervised difference learning.

Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) single-particle analysis is a revolutionary imaging technique to resolve and visualize biomacromolecules. Image alignment in cryo-EM is an important and basic step to improve the precision of the image distance calculation. However, it is a very challenging task due to high noise and low signal-to-noise ratio. Therefore, we propose a new deep unsupervised difference learning (UDL) strategy with novel pseudo-label guided learning network architecture and apply it to pair-wise image alignment in cryo-EM. The training framework is fully unsupervised. Furthermore, a variant of UDL called joint UDL (JUDL), is also proposed, which is capable of utilizing the similarity information of the whole dataset and thus further increase the alignment precision. Assessments on both real-world and synthetic cryo-EM single-particle image datasets suggest the new unsupervised joint alignment method can achieve more accurate alignment results. Our method is highly efficient by taking advantages of GPU devices. The source code of our methods is publicly available at "http://www.csbio.sjtu.edu.cn/bioinf/JointUDL/" for academic use.

Increased antibiotic exposure in early life is associated with adverse outcomes in very low birth weight infants.

BACKGROUND: The use of antibiotics in the early lives of premature infants may alter the microbiota and influence their clinical outcomes. However, whether the administration of probiotics can influence these outcomes remains unknown. In our study, probiotics were routinely administered unless contraindicated. We explored whether increased antibiotic exposure with the routine use of probiotics was associated with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) or bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted, enrolling very low birth weight (VLBW) infants admitted between January 1, 2016, and March 31, 2020, to a medical center. Days of antibiotic exposure in the first 14 days of life were recorded. The primary outcomes were NEC and BPD. Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using multivariable regression analyses to assess risk factors. RESULTS: Of 185 VLBW infants admitted to the medical center, 132 met the inclusion criteria. Each additional day of antibiotic treatment was associated with increased odds of NEC (aOR, 1.278; 95% CI, 1.025-1.593) and BPD (aOR, 1.630; 95% CI, 1.233-2.156). The association remained in the NEC analysis after adjustment for probiotic use. CONCLUSION: Increased antibiotic exposure in the early lives of VLBW infants was associated with increased risks of NEC and BPD. The probiotics did not influence the outcomes. Our findings suggest that clinicians should be alerted to the adverse outcomes of antibiotic use in infants with VLBWs.

Fish Oil Enriched n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Improve Ketogenic Low-Carbohydrate/High-Fat Diet-Caused Dyslipidemia, Excessive Fat Accumulation, and Weight Control in Rats.

Low-carbohydrate and high-fat diets have been used for body weight (BW) control, but their adverse effects on lipid profiles have raised concern. Fish oil (FO), rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, has profound effects on lipid metabolism. We hypothesized that FO supplementation might improve the lipid metabolic disturbance elicited by low-carbohydrate and high-fat diets. Male SD rats were randomized into normal control diet (NC), high-fat diet (HF), and low-carbohydrate/high-fat diet (LC) groups in experiment 1, and NC, LC, LC + 5% FO (5CF), and LC + 10% FO diet (10CF) groups in experiment 2. The experimental duration was 11 weeks. In the LC group, a ketotic state was induced, and food intake was decreased; however, it did not result in BW loss compared to either the HF or NC groups. In the 5CF group, rats lost significant BW. Dyslipidemia, perirenal and epididymal fat accumulation, hepatic steatosis, and increases in triglyceride and plasma leptin levels were observed in the LC group but were attenuated by FO supplementation. These findings suggest that a ketogenic low-carbohydrate/high-fat diet with no favorable effect on body weight causes visceral and liver lipid accumulation. FO supplementation not only aids in body weight control but also improves lipid metabolism in low-carbohydrate/high-fat diet-fed rats.

Hesitate between confocal laser endomicroscopy and narrow-band imaging: how to choose a better method in the detection of focal precancerous state of gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: With a high incidence globally, deaths form gastric cancer (GC) are not rare. Early diagnosis is crucial to ameliorate its prognosis. Confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE) and narrow band imaging (NBI) have been extensively applied in gastroscopy, particularly when it comes to the detection and management of premalignant gastric lesion. Our meta-analysis intends to appraise the diagnostic capability and compare the efficacy of NBI and CLE for focal precancerous state of gastric cancer. METHODS: We performed a literature search up to November 5, 2020 in online databases and major conferences. Two investigators assessed the methodological bias by QUADAS-2, followed by sophisticated study selection and data exaction to make a comparison between sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood values, and diagnostic odds ratio. A symmetric summary receiver-operating curve (sROC) and its area under the curve (AUC) were used to estimate threshold effect. Additionally, we evaluated the publication bias by Deeks' asymmetry test. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Four studies involved 248 patients and 526 lesions. In analysis drawn from every lesion, the NBI's pooled sensitivity and specificity were 87% (95% CI: 0.80-0.92) and 85% (95% CI: 0.75-0.91), and those of CLE were 90% (95% CI: 0.85-0.91) and 87% (95% CI: 0.83-0.91). CLE illustrated that the pooled two were slightly higher than NBI when compared at the level of every lesion. The AUC for NBI and CLE was 0.92 (0.90-0.94) and 0.95 (0.92-0.96), and there might be a threshold effect, according to the shoulder-like distribution of scatter points in the sROC. We did not find obvious publication bias in our meta-analysis.

Lab-scale characterization and semi-field trials of Wolbachia Strain wAlbB in a Taiwan Wolbachia introgressed Ae. aegypti strain.

Dengue fever is one of the most severe viral diseases transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, with traditional approaches of disease control proving insufficient to prevent significant disease burden. Release of Wolbachia-transinfected mosquitoes offers a promising alternative control methodologies; Wolbachia-transinfected female Aedes aegypti demonstrate reduced dengue virus transmission, whilst Wolbachia-transinfected males cause zygotic lethality when crossed with uninfected females, providing a method for suppressing mosquito populations. Although highly promising, the delicate nature of population control strategies and differences between local species populations means that controlled releases of Wolbachia-transinfected mosquitoes cannot be performed without extensive testing on specific local Ae. aegypti populations. In order to investigate the potential for using Wolbachia to suppress local Ae. aegypti populations in Taiwan, we performed lab-based and semi-field fitness trials. We first transinfected the Wolbachia strain wAlbB into a local Ae. aegypti population (wAlbB-Tw) and found no significant changes in lifespan, fecundity and fertility when compared to controls. In the laboratory, we found that as the proportion of released male mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia was increased, population suppression could reach up to 100%. Equivalent experiments in semi-field experiments found suppression rates of up to 70%. The release of different ratios of wAlbB-Tw males in the semi-field system provided an estimate of the optimal size of male releases. Our results indicate that wAlbB-Tw has significant potential for use in vector control strategies aimed at Ae. aegypti population suppression in Taiwan. Open field release trials are now necessary to confirm that wAlbB-Tw mediated suppression is feasible in natural environments.

2D Salphen-based heteropore covalent organic frameworks for highly efficient electrocatalytic water oxidation.

The construction of heteroporous covalent organic frameworks (COFs) is still a challenge. Herein, a series of 2D COFs with hexagonal and quadrilateral pores were constructed via in situ salphen or metal salphen formation. Metallized salphen-based COFs can be used as electrocatalysts towards water oxidation with an overpotential of 266 mV at 10 mA cm-2.

Fast Cryo-EM Image Alignment Algorithm Using Power Spectrum Features.

Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) single-particle image analysis is a powerful technique to resolve structures of biomacromolecules, while the challenge is that the cryo-EM image is of a low signal-to-noise ratio. For both two-dimensional image analysis and three-dimensional density map analysis, image alignment is an important step to improve the precision of the image distance calculation. In this paper, we introduce a new algorithm for performing two-dimensional pairwise alignment for cryo-EM particle images, which is based on the Fourier transform and power spectrum analysis. Compared to the existing heuristic iterative alignment methods, our method utilizes the signal distribution and signal feature on images' power spectrum to directly compute the alignment parameters. It does not require iterative computations and is robust against the cryo-EM image noise. Both theoretical analysis and experimental results suggest that our power-spectrum-feature-based alignment method is highly computational-efficient and is capable of offering effective alignment results. This new alignment algorithm is publicly available at: www.csbio.sjtu.edu.cn/bioinf/EMAF/for academic use.