Online Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Liquid Chromatography/Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry-Based Metabolic Profiling and Comparison Enabling the Characterization of 1146 Ginsenosides and More Explicit Differentiation of Ginseng.

This work was designed for the in-depth characterization and holistic comparison of up to 12 ginseng varieties, which can benefit the development of functional foods and ensure their authenticity in the food industry. An online comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (2D-LC/QTOF-MS) approach was established by configurating the XCharge C18 and HSS Cyano columns. Under the optimal conditions, we characterized a total of 1146 ginsenosides (including 876 potentially new compounds) from 12 ginseng varieties by reference to an in-house library of 573 known ginsenosides and 70 reference compounds. The online 2D-LC/QTOF-MS-based untargeted metabolomics workflows were developed, by which 126 potential ginsenoside markers were unveiled and utilized to establish the key identification points for each ginseng species. Compared with the conventional liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry metabolomics, our multidimensional chromatography approach performed better in discriminating multiple ginseng varieties. This work demonstrates a potent and practical methodology to identify easily confused functional plants.

Realizing Exceptional Points by Floquet Dissipative Couplings in Thermal Atoms.

Exceptional degeneracies and generically complex spectra of non-Hermitian systems are at the heart of numerous phenomena absent in the Hermitian realm. Recently, it was suggested that Floquet dissipative coupling in the space-time domain may provide a novel mechanism to drive intriguing spectral topology with no static analogs, though its experimental investigation in quantum systems remains elusive. We demonstrate such Floquet dissipative coupling in an ensemble of thermal atoms interacting with two spatially separated optical beams, and observe an anomalous anti-parity-time symmetry phase transition at an exception point far from the phase-transition threshold of the static counterpart. Our protocol sets the stage for Floquet engineering of non-Hermitian topological spectra, and for engineering new quantum phases that cannot exist in static systems.

Discovery of Antinociceptive α9α10 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Antagonists by Stable Receptor Expression.

Chronic neuropathic pain is an increasingly prevalent societal issue that responds poorly to existing therapeutic strategies. The α9α10 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) has emerged as a potential target to treat neuropathic pain. However, challenges in expressing functional α9α10 nAChRs in mammalian cell lines have slowed the discovery of α9α10 ligands and studies into the relationship between α9α10 nAChRs and neuropathic pain. Here, we develop a cell line in the HEK293 background that stably expresses functional α9α10 nAChRs. By also developing cell lines expressing only α9 and α10 subunits, we identify distinct receptor pharmacology between homomeric α9 or α10 and heteromeric α9α10 nAChRs. Moreover, we demonstrate that incubation with nAChR ligands differentially regulates the expression of α9- or α10-containing nAChRs, suggesting a possible mechanism by which ligands may modify receptor composition and trafficking in α9- and α10-expressing cells. We then apply our α9α10 cell line in a screen of FDA-approved and investigational drugs to identify α9α10 ligands that provide new tools to probe α9α10 nAChR function. We demonstrate that one compound from this screen, diphenidol, possesses antinociceptive activity in a murine model of neuropathic pain. These results expand our understanding of α9α10 receptor pharmacology and provide new starting points for developing efficacious neuropathic pain treatments.

Longitudinal association of depressive symptoms with cognition and neuroimaging biomarkers in cognitively unimpaired older adults, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease.

We aimed to longitudinally examine the relationship between depression and cognitive function and investigate the mediating effects of imaging indicators in this relationship. 2,251 subjects with longitudinal assessment of geriatric depression scale, Mini-Mental State Examination, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes (CDRSB), Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale11, Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale13 and imaging of 3DT1, diffusion tensor imaging, fluid-attenuated inversion recovery, arterial spin labeling, fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography, 18F-AV45-PET, and 18F-AV1451-PET were included from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database. The multivariate mixed-effects models were employed to analyze the correlation between geriatric depression scale scores, cognitive function, and imaging indicators. The sgmediation software package was utilized to analyze the mediating effects of imaging indicators. The geriatric depression scale was negatively correlated with Mini-Mental State Examination and Montreal Cognitive Assessment, and positively correlated with CDRSB, Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale11, and Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale13 when the subjects were not grouped. The geriatric depression scale was negatively correlated with Montreal Cognitive Assessment and positively correlated with Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scal13 in groups with baseline diagnosis of early mild cognitive impairment and late mild cognitive impairment. Furthermore, depression was associated with regional imaging indicators, while cognitive function was linked to broad imaging indicators. Some of these indicators were related to both depression and cognitive function, playing a mediating role in their relationship. Depression was related to cognitive function, especially in subjects with mild cognitive impairment. Some imaging indicators may represent the underlying basis for the association between depression and cognitive function.

Anti-HER2 biparatopic antibody KJ015 has near-native structure, functional balanced high affinity, and synergistic efficacy with anti-PD-1 treatment in vivo.

Currently approved human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-targeted antibody therapies are largely derived from trastuzumab, including trastuzumab-chemotherapy combinations, fixed-dose trastuzumab-pertuzumab combinations, and trastuzumab antibody-drug conjugates. To expand the options, bispecific antibodies, which may better utilize the benefits of combination therapy, are being developed. Among them, biparatopic antibodies (bpAbs) have shown improved efficacy compared to monoclonal antibody (mAb) combinations in HER2-positive patients. BpAbs bind two independent epitopes on the same antigen, which allows fine-tuning of mechanisms of action, including enhancement of on-target specificity and induction of strong antigen clustering due to the unique binding mode. To fully utilize the potential of bpAbs for anti-HER2 drug development, it is crucial to consider formats that offer stability and high-yield production, along with a functional balance between the two epitopes. In this study, we rationally designed a bpAb, KJ015, that shares a common light chain with two Fab arms and exhibits functionally balanced high affinity for two HER2 non-overlapping epitopes. KJ015 demonstrated high-expression titers over 7 g/L and stable physicochemical properties at elevated concentrations, facilitating subcutaneous administration with hyaluronidase. Moreover, KJ015 maintained comparable antibody-dependent cytotoxicity, phagocytosis, and complement-dependent cytotoxicity with trastuzumab plus pertuzumab. It exhibited enhanced synergy when administered subcutaneously with hyaluronidase and anti-PD-1 mAb in a mouse tumor model, suggesting promising clinical prospects for this combination.

Green Synthesis of Dracocephalum kotschyi-Coated Silver Nanoparticles: Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, and Anticancer Potentials.

BACKGROUND The environmentally friendly production of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) has gained significant attention as a sustainable alternative to traditional chemical methods. This study focused on synthesizing AgNPs using extract of Dracocephalum kotschyi (D. kotschyi), a medicinal plant. MATERIAL AND METHODS The biosynthesis of AgNPs was monitored using UV-visible spectrophotometry. The role of phytoconstituents from D. kotschyi in stabilizing AgNPs was analyzed using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) spectroscopy was used to determine the size, charge, and polydispersity of the nanoparticles, while scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was employed to assess their morphology. We evaluated the antimicrobial efficacy of the synthesized AgNPs against various bacteria, their antioxidant properties via a 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, and their cytotoxic activity against the HeLa cervical cancer cell line. RESULTS The formation of AgNPs was indicated by a color change and the emergence of a surface plasmon resonance peak at 418 nm. The nanoparticles demonstrated significant antimicrobial, antioxidant, cytotoxic, and anticancer activities. Morphology, size, and shape analysis revealed nearly spherical particles with an average size of 43 nm. FTIR confirmed the presence of phenolic compounds in the extract, serving as reducing and capping agents. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the crystalline structure of the nanoparticles. Antimicrobial assessments showed effectiveness against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The DPPH scavenging assay demonstrated efficient antioxidant activity, and potent apoptotic anticancer effects were observed on cervical cancer cells. CONCLUSIONS The extract of D. kotschyi was effective as a reducing agent in the environmentally friendly synthesis of AgNPs, which exhibited noteworthy antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anticancer properties. These findings suggest potential biomedical applications for the synthesized AgNPs.

The spatial impact of a Western diet in enriching Galectin-1-regulated Rho, ECM, and SASP signaling in a novel MASH-HCC mouse model.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) arising from metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) presents a significant clinical challenge, particularly given the prevalence of the Western diet (WD). The influence of diet on the tumor microenvironment remains poorly understood. Galectin-1 (Gal-1) is a biomarker for HCC and has a crucial role in liver carcinogenesis. Our previous studies demonstrated that silencing Gal-1 effectively treats mouse HCC. However, the impacts of a WD on Gal-1 signaling on MASH to HCC progression are unknown, and this study addresses these knowledge gaps. METHODS: We developed a novel MASH-HCC mouse model. Using spatial transcriptomics and multiplex immunohistochemistry (IHC), we studied the effects of a WD on the liver and tumor microenvironment. By modulating Gal-1 expression through silencing and overexpression, we explored the location-specific impacts of WD on Gal-1 signaling. RESULTS: Pathways such as Rho signaling, extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling, and senescence-associated secretory phenotypes (SASP) were prominently activated in WD-induced metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and MASH-HCC, compared to healthy livers controls. Furthermore, Rho GTPase effectors, ECM remodeling, neutrophil degranulation, cellular stress, and cell cycle pathways were consistently enriched in human and mouse MASH-HCC. Spatially, these pathways were enriched in the tumor and tumor margins of mouse MASH-HCC. Additionally, there was a notable increase in CD11c and PD-L1-positive cells from non-tumor tissues to the tumor margin and inside the tumor of MASH-HCC, suggesting compromised immune surveillance due to WD intake. Moreover, MASH-HCC exhibited significant Gal-1 induction in N-Cadherin-positive cells, indicating enhanced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Modulating Gal-1 expression in MASH-HCC further established its specific roles in regulating Rho signaling and SASP in the tumor margin and non-tumor tissues in MASH-HCC. CONCLUSION: WD intake significantly influences vital cellular processes involved in Gal-1-mediated signaling, including Rho signaling and ECM remodeling, in the tumor microenvironment, thereby contributing to the development of MASH-HCC.

Bioactive proteins and antioxidant peptides from Litsea cubeba fruit meal: Preparation, characterization and ameliorating function on high-fat diet-induced NAFLD through regulating lipid metabolism, oxidative stress and inflammatory response.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) plays an increasingly significant threat to human health. In this study, the processing by-products of Litsea cubeba fruit meal were defatted by ultrasound-assisted methods, then the acetone-precipitated protein of L. cubeba (LCP) was obtained and structural analysis was performed. LCP was hydrolyzed by a two-step sequential hydrolysis method using alcalase and papain. Subsequently, antioxidant peptide fraction (IV2) was isolated and identified from the resultant hydrolysate through membrane ultrafiltration, Sephadex G-15 chromatography, and liquid chromatograph mass spectrometer (LC-MS). Animal experimentation indicated the potential of IV2 to mitigate hepatic steatosis. Moreover, IV2 could effectively reduce oxidative stress-induced damage by modulating the Keap1-Nrf2 pathway to activate downstream heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and NAD(P) H quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1). Integrating metabolomics and transcriptomics revealed enrichment in pathways associated with glycerolipid metabolism and fatty acid ß-oxidation, suggesting the principal mechanisms underlying IV2's ameliorative effects on NAFLD. Transcriptome sequencing identified 3092 up-regulated and 3010 down-regulated genes following IV2 treatment. Interaction analyses based on different lipid compositions (DELs) and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) indicated that IV2 primarily alleviated hepatic steatosis by modulating peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPAR-α) related pathways, thereby augmenting fatty acid ß-oxidation within liver cells. These results indicate that IV2 shows potential in improving high-fat diet (HFD)-induced NAFLD, with improved fatty acid ß-oxidation and reduced triglyceride biosynthesis emerging as underlying mechanisms.

Efficacy of graphene nanocomposites for air disinfection in dental clinics: A randomized controlled study.

BACKGROUND: Aerosols containing disease-causing microorganisms are produced during oral diagnosis and treatment can cause secondary contamination. AIM: To investigate the use of graphene material for air disinfection in dental clinics by leveraging its adsorption and antibacterial properties. METHODS: Patients who received ultrasonic cleaning at our hospital from April 2023 to April 2024. They were randomly assigned to three groups (n = 20 each): Graphene nanocomposite material suction group (Group A), ordinary filter suction group (Group B), and no air suction device group (Group C). The air quality and air colony count in the clinic rooms were assessed before, during, and after the procedure. Additionally, bacterial colony counts were obtained from the air outlets of the suction devices and the filter screens in Groups A and B. RESULTS: Before ultrasonic cleaning, no significant differences in air quality PM2.5 and colony counts were observed among the three groups. However, significant differences in air quality PM2.5 and colony counts were noted among the three groups during ultrasonic cleaning and after ultrasonic treatment. Additionally, the number of colonies on the exhaust port of the suction device and the surface of the filter were significantly lower in Group A than in Group B (P = 0.000 and P = 0.000, respectively). CONCLUSION: Graphene nanocomposites can effectively sterilize the air in dental clinics by exerting their antimicrobial effects and may be used to reduce secondary pollution.

Cascaded Inner-Outer Clip Retformer for Ultrasound Video Object Segmentation.

Computer-aided ultrasound (US) imaging is an important prerequisite for early clinical diagnosis and treatment. Due to the harsh ultrasound (US) image quality and the blurry tumor area, recent memory-based video object segmentation models (VOS) achieve frame-level segmentation by performing intensive similarity matching among the past frames which could inevitably result in computational redundancy. Furthermore, the current attention mechanism utilized in recent models only allocates the same attention level among whole spatial-temporal memory features without making distinctions, which may result in accuracy degradation. In this paper, we first build a larger annotated benchmark dataset for breast lesion segmentation in ultrasound videos, then we propose a lightweight clip-level VOS framework for achieving higher segmentation accuracy while maintaining the speed. The Inner-Outer Clip Retformer is proposed to extract spatialtemporal tumor features in parallel. Specifically, the proposed Outer Clip Retformer extracts the tumor movement feature from past video clips to locate the current clip tumor position, while the Inner Clip Retformer detailedly extracts current tumor features that can produce more accurate segmentation results. Then a Clip Contrastive loss function is further proposed to align the extracted tumor features along both the spatial-temporal dimensions to improve the segmentation accuracy. In addition, the Global Retentive Memory is proposed to maintain the complementary tumor features with lower computing resources which can generate coherent temporal movement features. In this way, our model can significantly improve the spatial-temporal perception ability without increasing a large number of parameters, achieving more accurate segmentation results while maintaining a faster segmentation speed. Finally, we conduct extensive experiments to evaluate our proposed model on several video object segmentation datasets, the results show that our framework outperforms state-of-theart segmentation methods.

Physiological and gene expression response mechanisms of dehydration process in Cinnamomum cassia (L.) J. Presl seeds.

BACKGROUND: A critical factor in the storability of recalcitrant seeds is their moisture content (MC), but its effect on the viability of Cinnamomum cassia (L.) J. Presl (C. cassia) seeds is not fully understood. METHODS AND RESULTS: Measured the germination rate, starch and soluble sugar content, and transcriptome of 8 seed samples with different MC obtained by low-temperature drying method. It was found that the germination rate was significantly negatively correlated with MC. The lethal MC was around 15.6%. During the dehydration process, there was a significant increase in the content of soluble sugars and starch. Transcriptome analysis was performed on CK, W3, W6 showed a total of 62.78 Gb of clean data. Among the 30,228 Unigenes, 28,195 were successfully annotated. In the three comparative groups (CK and W3, CK and W6, W3 and W6), 6,842, 7,640, and 11,628 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained, respectively. These DEGs were found to be involved in a variety of metabolic pathways, including carbon metabolism, amino acid biosynthesis, starch and sucrose metabolism, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, and nucleotide and amino sugar metabolism. A total of 1,416 common genes were identified among all three comparison groups. Furthermore, among all the DEGs, a total of 71 transcription factor families were identified, with the C2H2 transcription factor family having the highest number of genes. CONCLUSIONS: This ground-breaking study sheds light on the physiological response and gene expression profiles of C. cassia seeds after undergoing dehydration treatment, which will provide valuable insights for further research and understanding of this process.

Dan'e fukang decoction reduces hemorrhage in a rat model of mifepristone induced incomplete abortion and may correlate with cell adhesion molecule signaling interference.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Dan'e fukang decoction(DFD) is a traditional Chinese medicine formula. DFD obtains 10 herbs, including Salvia yunnanensis C.H.Wright (Zidanshen) , Curcuma zedoaria (Christm.) Roscoe (Ezhu), Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels (Danggui), Cyperus rotundus L. (Xiangfuzi), Corydalis yanhusuo (Y.H.Chou & Chun C.Hsu) W.T.Wang ex Z.Y.Su & C.Y.Wu, Bupleurum marginatum Wall. ex DC. (Yanhusuo), Sparganium stoloniferum (Buch.-Ham. ex Graebn.) Buch.-Ham. ex Juz. (Sanleng), Panax notoginseng (Burkill) F.H.Chen (Sanqi), Paeonia lactiflora Pall. (Shaoyao) and Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. (Gancao). DFD is now clinically used for the treatment of menstrual irregularities, dysmenorrhea and menstrual discomfort caused by blood stasis and easing of endometriosis. Based on this, it is reasonable to presume that DFD may be effective in treating incomplete abortion and reducing postpartum bleeding, but no specific studies have been reported so far. AIM OF THE STUDY: To investigate the efficacy of Dan'e fukang decoction (DFD) in reducing prolonged vaginal bleeding followed by mifepristone induced incomplete abortion and explore the mechanisms of action of DFD in treating incomplete abortion. METHODS: An incomplete abortion model of rat was established by single intragastrically administered 8.5 mg/kg mifepristone on the 7th day of pregnancy. From the 8th day of pregnancy, the abortive rats were administered solvent, a positive control drug, or different doses of DFD, respectively for seven consecutive days. The efficacy of DFD was assessed by measuring the vaginal bleeding volume of the rats. Four coagulation parameters and platelet counts were measured. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining was performed to evaluate pathological changes in the uterine embryos. Serum levels of progesterone and estrogen were measured using ELISA. Network pharmacology and transcriptomics were used to predict potential targets and pathways for DFD to reduce hemorrhage. The levels of mRNA related to cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) were detected by RT-qPCR. The levels of progesterone and estrogen receptors and the proteins associated with CAMs pathway in uterine tissues were detected by Western Blot. RESULTS: DFD significantly reduced the volume of vaginal bleeding of the abortive rats and significantly downgraded the pathological scores of uterine embryos. DFD significantly increased serum levels of E2, and had no impact on serum levels of P4 and the protein expression of ER and PR in the uteri of the abortive rats. Pathways in cancer, lipid, focal adhesion and immune-related signaling were predicted to be influenced by DFD via the analysis of network pharmacology. The CAMs signaling was found the most critical pathway regulated by both mifepristone and DFD via RNA-seq assay, followed by axon guidance, basal cell carcinoma, hippo signaling pathway and neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction. Combining the two analytical methods, ICAM-1 was predicted likely the key targeted gene by DFD. Finally, DFD was validated to decrease the protein expression of ICAM-1, ITGB2, ITGB7 and RASSF5 in the uterine tissues, which correlated to suppress the CAMs signaling pathway. CONCLUSION: DFD significantly reduced hemorrhage. DFD significantly increased the serum levels of E2 and inhibited CAMs signaling pathway, which was likely to be involved in the mechanism of action of DFD facilitating residual uterine embryo expulsion in the rat model of incomplete abortion.

Genotype of Varicella-zoster virus isolated in Jiangsu, China.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the genotypes of VZV in Jiangsu province to identify vaccine strains and wild strains, providing a molecular biological background for the effective prevention and control of varicella. METHOD: Stratified sampling was used to collect herpes fluid or throat swab from patients diagnosed with varicella. ORF22 was carried out, and the restriction enzyme site of ORF38, ORF54 and ORF62 were detected. RESULTS: All 207 virus strains were Clade 2 type by sequencing the PCR products of ORF22. The sequencing results showed that five SNP sites changed compared to the Dumas reference strain(Clade 1). From A to G at 37,902, from T to c at 38,055, from A to C at 38,081, and from G to A at 38,177, from G to A at 39,394. The prevalent VZV genotypes in Jiangsu is consistent with the P-Oka. The restriction enzyme site analysis of PCR amplification products from ORF38 (PstI), ORF54 (BglI), ORF62 (SmaI) showed that all 207 virus strains were wild-type. There were two different types of the wild strains, and 183 strains (88.4%) were PstI (+), BglI (+), SmaI (-). The wild strains between different regions showed no significant differences (χ2 = 0.05, P = 0.982). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalent VZV genotypes are Clade 2 and the prevalent virus strains are wild strains in Jiangsu Province, the primary wild strain observed is mainly PstI (+), BglI (+), SmaI (-).

Highly Robust, Compressible, Anisotropic, and Fire-Retardant Polyimide/Hydroxyapatite Nanowires/Reduced Graphene Oxide Aerogel for Rapid Adsorption of Viscous Oil Assisted by Sunlight.

Improving the adsorption efficiency of porous adsorbent materials for organic liquids with high viscosity is crucial for addressing oil spill incidents. In this study, a high-performance aerogel adsorbent composed of polyimide (PI), hydroxyapatite nanowires (HAPnws), and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) has been fabricated, which leverages reduced flow tortuosity through anisotropic structures and solar-assisted viscosity reduction via photothermal materials. The prepared anisotropic PI/HAP/rGO aerogel, with directional channels, shows unique mechanical properties with high stiffness along the axial direction and compressibility along the radial direction. PI/HAP/rGO, featuring vertically aligned channels, demonstrated superior adsorption efficiency (the adsorption coefficient K s reached 0.37 kg m-1 s-1/2 for an engine oil with a viscosity of ~144 mPa·s) for oil of varying viscosities compared to similar aerogels with uniform pores, because of the substantially reduced flow tortuosity. The photothermal properties of rGO further enhance the adsorption speed of PI/HAP/rGO for viscous oil under sunlight, including crude oil with ultrahigh viscosity. In addition, PI/HAP/rGO exhibits excellent fire resistance, allowing for reusability via both adsorption-compression and adsorption-combustion cycles. The robust and compressible PI/HAP/rGO aerogels with high adsorption efficiency for viscous oil and fire resistance represent an ideal solution for practical oil spill treatment, and this approach also offers inspiration for the development of advanced adsorbent materials.

Differential Occupational Health Risks between Methylated PAHs and PAHs: Monitoring 126 PAHs and 6 Oxidative Stress Markers in Paired Serum-Urine Samples.

The hazards of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on occupationally exposed population have been widely acknowledged. However, the occupational exposure risks associated their derivatives, methylated PAHs, remain poorly understood. This study conducted a screen of 126 PAHs and 6 oxidative stress biomarkers (OSBs) in paired serum-urine samples from 110 petrochemical workers to assess the risk associated with different PAHs exposure. The results showed that the median concentrations of unmetabolized 16 priority PAHs (p-PAHs), 16 regular PAHs (R-PAHs), 50 methyl-PAHs (Me-PAHs), and 30 nitro-PAHs (N-PAHs) in serum (urine) were 97.98 (66.46), 11.02 (0.00), 77.76 (31.77), and 1.93 (0.10) ng/mL, respectively. The median concentration of metabolized hydroxy PAHs (OH-PAHs) in urine was 12.00 ng/mL (9.49 ng/mg creatinine). OSBs indicate that the hazards of Me-PAHs on exposed populations manifest as protein damage, while the hazards of p-PAHs mainly result in lipid and DNA damage. Results from common diseases and PAH exposure demonstrate a correlation between liver damage and PAH exposure, and Me-PAHs are more difficult to metabolize through urine due to their stronger lipophilicity. This study suggests that traditional health screenings targeting p-PAHs may be insufficient and likely underestimate the exposure risks for occupational populations.

Genome-Wide Identification of the Maize Chitinase Gene Family and Analysis of Its Response to Biotic and Abiotic Stresses.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Chitinases, enzymes belonging to the glycoside hydrolase family, play a crucial role in plant growth and stress response by hydrolyzing chitin, a natural polymer found in fungal cell walls. This study aimed to identify and analyze the maize chitinase gene family, assessing their response to various biotic and abiotic stresses to understand their potential role in plant defense mechanisms and stress tolerance. METHODS: We employed bioinformatics tools to identify 43 chitinase genes in the maize B73_V5 genome. These genes were characterized for their chromosomal positions, gene and protein structures, phylogenetic relationships, functional enrichment, and collinearity. Based on previous RNA-seq data, the analysis assessed the expression patterns of these genes at different developmental stages and under multiple stress conditions. RESULTS: The identified chitinase genes were unevenly distributed across maize chromosomes with a history of tandem duplications contributing to their divergence. The ZmChi protein family was predominantly hydrophilic and localized mainly in chloroplasts. Expression analysis revealed that certain chitinase genes were highly expressed at specific developmental stages and in response to various stresses, with ZmChi31 showing significant responsiveness to 11 different abiotic and biotic stresses. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides new insights into the role of chitinase genes in maize stress response, establishing a theoretical framework for exploring the molecular basis of maize stress tolerance. The identification of stress-responsive chitinase genes, particularly ZmChi31, offers potential candidates for further study in enhancing maize resistance to environmental challenges.

Effects of resistant starch supplementation on renal function and inflammatory markers in patients with chronic kidney disease: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown that consumption of resistant starch (RS) has beneficial effects on the gut microbiota and immune function in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of RS on inflammation, uremic toxins, and renal function in patients with CKD through a systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS: This systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)-2020. We included randomized controlled trials comparing RS supplementation to placebo. The National Library of Medicine (PubMed), Excerpta Medica Database (Embase), Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Internet (CNKI) databases, and two gray literature sources - Baidu and Research Gate, were used for search, up to 28 August 2024. There was no limitation on publication date, but only manuscripts published in English and Chinese were included. RESULTS: A total of 645 articles were retrieved. Ten articles met the inclusion criteria, and a total of 355 subjects were included. The analysis revealed that RS dietary intervention can significantly reduce indoxyl sulfate (IS) levels (SMD: -0.37, 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.70 to -0.04, p = .03) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels (SMD: -0.30, 95% CI: -0.57 to -0.02, p = .03). There were no significant differences in the levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), p-cresyl sulfate (p-CS), albumin, phosphorus, or tumor necrosis factor-α. CONCLUSIONS: The RS diet has potential beneficial effects on uremic toxin levels and renal function indices in patients with CKD. RS supplementation can reduce uremic toxin levels and improve renal function but does not reduce the inflammatory response in patients with CKD. Nevertheless, results should be cautiously interpreted, because of the limited sample size and different treatment dosages. Further research is necessary to corroborate the beneficial effects of RS2 supplementation in this population.

A GDSL motif-containing lipase modulates Sclerotinia sclerotiorum resistance in Brassica napus.

Sclerotinia stem rot (SSR) caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) De Bary is a devastating disease infecting hundreds of plant species. It also restricts the yield, quality, and safe production of rapeseed (Brassica napus) worldwide. However, the lack of resistance sources and genes to S. sclerotiorum has greatly restricted rapeseed SSR-resistance breeding. In this study, a previously identified GDSL motif-containing lipase gene, Brassica napus GDSL LIPASE-LIKE 1 (BnaC07.GLIP1), encoding a protein localized to the intercellular space, was characterized as functioning in plant immunity to S. sclerotiorum. The BnaC07.GLIP1 promoter is S. sclerotiorum-inducible and the expression of BnaC07.GLIP1 is substantially enhanced after S. sclerotiorum infection. Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) heterologously expressing and rapeseed lines overexpressing BnaC07.GLIP1 showed enhanced resistance to S. sclerotiorum, whereas RNAi suppression and CRISPR/Cas9 knockout B. napus lines were hyper-susceptible to S. sclerotiorum. Moreover, BnaC07.GLIP1 affected the lipid composition and induced the production of phospholipid molecules, such as phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidic acid, which were correlated with decreased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and enhanced expression of defense-related genes. A B. napus bZIP44 transcription factor specifically binds the CGTCA motif of the BnaC07.GLIP1 promoter to positively regulate its expression. BnbZIP44 responded to S. sclerotiorum infection, and its heterologous expression inhibited ROS accumulation, thereby enhancing S. sclerotiorum resistance in Arabidopsis. Thus, BnaC07.GLIP1 functions downstream of BnbZIP44 and is involved in S. sclerotiorum resistance by modulating the production of phospholipid molecules and ROS homeostasis in B. napus, providing insights into the potential roles and functional mechanisms of BnaC07.GLIP1 in plant immunity and for improving rapeseed SSR disease-resistance breeding.

Electrical-Modulated Flexible Acoustic Metamaterial: Enhancing Low-Frequency Absorption via an Ionic Electroactive Polymer.

The growing concern over low-frequency noise pollution resulting from global industrialization has posed substantial challenges in noise attenuation. However, conventional acoustic metamaterials, with fixed geometries, offer limited flexibility in the frequency range adjustment once constructed. This research unveiled the promising potential of ionic electroactive polymers, particularly ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs), as a superior candidate to design tunable acoustic metamaterial due to its bidirectional energy conversion capabilities. The previously perceived limitations of the IPMC, including slow reaction and high energy expenditure, owning to its inherent sluggish intermediary ionic mass transport process, were astutely leveraged to expedite the attenuation of low-frequency sound energy. Both our experimental and simulation results elucidated that the IPMC can generate voltage potentials in response to acoustic pressure at frequencies significantly higher than those previously established. In addition, the peak absorption frequency can be effectively shifted by up to 45.7% with the application of a 4 V voltage. By further integration with a microperforated panel (MPP) structure, the developed metamaterial absorbers can achieve complete sound absorption, which was continuously tunable under minimal voltage stimulation across a wide frequency spectrum. In addition, a microslit structure IPMC metamaterial absorber was designed to realize modulation of the perforation rate, and the absorption peak can be shifted by up to 79.2%. These findings signify a pioneering application of ionic intelligent materials and may pave the way for further innovations of tunable low-frequency acoustic structures, ultimately advancing the pragmatic deployment of both soft intelligent materials and acoustic metamaterials.

The Mechanism of Arsenic Release in Contaminated Paddy Soil with Added Biochar: The Role of Dissolved Organic Matter, Fe, and Bacteria.

The addition of biochar inevitably modifies the acidity (pH), redox potential (Eh), and dissolved organic matter (DOM) level in the soil. These alterations also have coupled effects on the cycling of iron (Fe) and the composition of bacterial communities, thereby impacting the speciation and availability of arsenic (As) in the soil. This study explored the potential mechanisms through which biochar affects As in paddy soil during flooded cultivation with different pyrolysis temperature biochars (300 °C, 400 °C, and 500 °C) added. The results revealed that the TAs concentration increased in the initial 15 days of soil cultivation with SBC300 or SBC400 addition because increasing the concentration of DOM induced the mobility of As though the formation of As-DOM complexes. Meanwhile, biochar addition elevated the pH, decreased the Eh, and promoted the transformation of specific adsorbed As (A-As) and amorphous iron oxide-bound As (Amo-Fe-As) to supernatant As through enhancing the reductive dissolution of Fe(oxy)(hydr)oxides. Moreover, the biochar altered the relative abundance of As (V)-reducing bacteria (such as Firmicutes) and As (III)-oxidizing bacteria (such as Chloroflex), thereby affecting As speciation. However, these mechanistic effects varied depending on the pyrolysis temperature of the biochar. The microbial composition of SBC300 and SBC400 were similar, with both containing larger populations of Enterobacteriaceae (AsRB) and pseudomonas (FeRB) compared to CK and SBC500. It was proposed that lower pyrolysis temperatures (300 °C and 400 °C) are more favorable for the dissolution of Fe(oxy)(hydr)oxides and the reduction of As (V). However, the biochar from the higher pyrolysis temperature (500 °C) showed environmental impacts akin to the control group (CK). This study demonstrated potential mechanisms of biochar's effect on As and the role of pyrolysis temperature.