Functional study of a rare L1CAM gene c.1759G>C variant prove its pathogenicity.

L1 syndrome, a neurological disorder with an X-linked inheritance pattern, mainly results from mutations occurring in the L1 cell adhesion molecule (L1CAM) gene. The L1CAM molecule, belonging to the immunoglobulin (Ig) superfamily of neurocyte adhesion molecules, plays a pivotal role in facilitating intercellular signal transmission across membranes and is indispensable for proper neuronal development and function. This study identified a rare missense variant (c.1759G>C; p.G587R) in the L1CAM gene within a male fetus presenting with hydrocephalus. Due to a lack of functional analysis, the significance of the L1CAM mutation c.1759G>C (p.G587R) remains unknown. We aimed to perform further verification for its pathogenicity. Blood samples were obtained from the proband and his parents for trio clinical exome sequencing and mutation analysis. Expression level analysis was conducted using western blot techniques. Immunofluorescence was employed to investigate L1CAM subcellular localization, while cell aggregation and cell scratch assays were utilized to assess protein function. The study showed that the mutation (c.1759G>C; p.G587R) affected posttranslational glycosylation modification and induced alterations in the subcellular localization of L1-G587R in the cells. It resulted in the diminished expression of L1CAM on the cell surface and accumulation in the endoplasmic reticulum. The p.G587R altered the function of L1CAM protein and reduced homophilic adhesion capacity of proteins, leading to impaired adhesion and migration of proteins between cells. Our findings provide first biological evidence for the association between the missense mutation (c.1759G>c; p.G587R) in the L1CAM gene and L1 syndrome, confirming the pathogenicity of this missense mutation.

Anomalous Structural Transformation of Cu(I) Clusters into Multifunctional CuAg Nanoclusters.

We report an anomalous structural transformation of a Cu(I) cluster into two different types of copper-silver (CuAg) alloy nanoclusters. Different from previous reports, we demonstrate that under specifically designed reaction conditions, the Ag-doping could induce a substantial growth of the starting Cu15 and a Ag13Cu20 nanocluster was obtained via the unexpected insertion of an Ag13 kernel inside the Cu(I)-S shell. Ag13Cu20 demonstrates high activity to initiate the photopolymerization of previously hard-to-print inorganic polymers in 3D laser microprinting. Interestingly, a slight modification of the reaction condition leads to the formation of another Ag18-xCuxS (8≤x) nanocluster templated by a central S2- anion, which possesses a unique electronic structure compared to conventional template-free CuAg nanoclusters. Overall, this work unveils the intriguing doping chemistry of Cu clusters, as well as their capability to create different types of alloy nanoclusters with previously unobtainable structures and multifunctionality.

A prospective cohort study of exposure to household pesticide with cardiovascular diseases mortality in older adults.

OBJECTIVES: We examined the associations of self-reported exposures, and urinary metabolites related to household pesticide with cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in older adults based on the 2007 to 2014 waves of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). METHODS: Information on application and urinary metabolites related to household pesticide exposure were collected. We estimated the risks of household pesticide exposure, urinary metabolites with subsequent incident CVD death using Cox proportional hazards regression models. The indirect effects of urinary metabolites and effect modifications were examined. RESULTS: The participants who reported exposure to household pesticide had a higher risk of incident CVD death (adjusted HR 1.40, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.81). Per 1-log10 increase in urinary N, N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET) related to household insect repellents was associated with a higher risk of incident CVD death (adjusted HR 1.97, 95% CI 1.14 to 3.40). Urinary DEET explained 4.21% of the total association between household pesticide exposure and CVD death risk. The participants who persisted a low level of health diet exhibited pronounced CVD death risks with household pesticide exposures. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to household pesticide, especially household insect repellents, was consistently associated with an elevated CVD death risk in older adults. A heatlhy diet could partly attenuate the associations.

Plant and soil responses to tillage practices change arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi populations during crop growth.

Background: Tillage practices can substantially affect soil properties depending on crop stage. The interaction between tillage and crop growth on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) communities remains unclear. We investigated the interactions between four tillage treatments (CT: conventional tillage, RT: reduced tillage, NT: no tillage with mulch, and SS: subsoiling with mulch), maintained for 25 years, and two wheat growth stages (elongation stage and grain filling stage) on AMF diversity and community composition. Results: The AMF community composition strongly changed during wheat growth, mainly because of changes in the relative abundance of dominant genera Claroideoglomus, Funneliformi, Rhizophagu, Entrophospora, and Glomus. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed that the grain filling stage had a more complex network than the elongation stage. Redundancy analysis results showed that keystone genera respond mainly to changes in soil organic carbon during elongation stage, whereas the total nitrogen content affected the keystone genera during grain filling. Compared with CT, the treatments with mulch, i.e., NT and SS, significantly changed the AMF community composition. The change of AMF communities under different tillage practices depended on wheat biomass and soil nutrients. NT significantly increased the relative abundances of Glomus and Septoglomus, while RT significantly increased the relative abundance of Claroideoglomus. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the relative abundance of dominant genera changed during wheat growth stages. Proper tillage practices (e.g., NT and SS) benefit the long-term sustainable development of the Loess Plateau cropping systems.

Mechanical Performance of Copper-Nanocluster-Polymer Nanolattices.

A type of copper-nanocluster-polymer composites is reported and showcased that their 3D nanolattices exhibit a superior combination of high strength, toughness, deformability, resilience, and damage-tolerance. Notably, the strength and toughness of ultralight copper-nanocluster-polymer nanolattices in some cases surpass current best performers, including alumina, nickel, and other ceramic or metallic lattices at low densities. Additionally, copper-nanocluster-polymer nanolattices are super-resilient, crack-resistant, and one-step printed under ambient condition which can be easily integrated into sophisticated microsystems as highly effective internal protectors. The findings suggest that, unlike traditional nanocomposites, the laser-induced interface and the high fraction of ultrasmall Cu15 nanoclusters as crosslinking junctions contribute to the marked nonlinear elasticity of copper-nanocluster-polymer network, which synergizes with the lattice-topology effect and culminates in the exceptional mechanical performance.

Dual-controlled guest release from coordination cages.

Despite having significant applications in the construction of controlled delivery systems with high anti-interference capability, to our knowledge dual-controlled molecular release has not yet been achieved based on small molecular/supramolecular entities. Herein, we report a dual-controlled release system based on coordination cages, for which releasing the guest from the cage demands synchronously altering the coordinative metal cations and the solvent. The cages, Hg5L2 and Ag5L2, are constructed via coordination-driven self-assembly of a corannulene-based ligand. While Hg5L2 shows a solvent-independent guest encapsulation in all the studied solvents, Ag5L2 is able to encapsulate the guests in only some of the solvents, such as acetone-d6, but will liberate the encapsulated guests in 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane-d2. Hg5L2 and Ag5L2 are interconvertible. Thus, the release of guests from Hg5L2 in acetone-d6 can be achieved, but requires two separate operations, including metal substitutions and a change of the solvent. Dual-controlled systems as such could be useful in complicated molecular release process to avoid those undesired stimulus-responses.

Recombinase Polymerase Amplification Combined with Lateral Flow Dipstick Assay for the Rapid and Sensitive Detection of Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries.

The harmful algal bloom (HAB) species Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries is widely distributed worldwide and is known to produce the neurotoxin domoic acid, which harms marine wildlife and humans. Early detection and preventative measures are more critical than late management. However, the major challenge related to early detection is the accurate and sensitive detection of microalgae present in low abundance. Therefore, developing a sensitive and specific method that can rapidly detect P. multiseries is critical for expediting the monitoring and prediction of HABs. In this study, a novel assay method, recombinase polymerase amplification combined with lateral flow dipstick (RPA-LFD), is first developed for the detection of P. multiseries. To obtain the best test results, several important factors that affected the amplification effect were optimized. The internal transcribed spacer sequence of the nuclear ribosomal DNA from P. multiseries was selected as the target region. The results showed that the optimal amplification temperature and time for the recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) of P. multiseries were 37 °C and 15 min. The RPA products could be visualized directly using the lateral flow dipstick after only 3 min. The RPA-LFD assay sensitivity for detection of recombinant plasmid DNA (1.9 × 100 pg/µL) was 100 times more sensitive than that of RPA, and the RPA-LFD assay sensitivity for detection of genomic DNA (2.0 × 102 pg/µL) was 10 times more sensitive than that of RPA. Its feasibility in the detection of environmental samples was also verified. In conclusion, these results indicated that the RPA-LFD detection of P. multiseries that was established in this study has high efficiency, sensitivity, specificity, and practicability. Management measures made based on information gained from early detection methods may be able to prevent certain blooms. The use of a highly sensitive approach for early warning detection of P. multiseries is essential to alleviate the harmful impacts of HABs on the environment, aquaculture, and human health.

A second species of Megipocerus Zakhvatkin (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Eurymelinae).

A second species of Megipocerus, M. hunanensis Zhang sp. nov., is recognized here from China, which can be easily distinguished from the type species, M. mordvilkoi Zakhvatkin, by numerous dark brown to black markings on the head and thorax, shorter male pygofer bearing four mastoid processes with longer process and short subapical processes. And the female of M. mordvilkoi was recorded in China for the first time, and an illustrated key is also provided.

Multi-Functionalization of Single crystals Mediated by Gel-Incorporation: A Bioinspired Strategy.

Biominerals are inherently organic-inorganic crystal composites. Drawing inspiration from this biomineral structure, functionalized single crystals can be synthesized using the gel-grown method, resulting in the incorporation of gel-networks into the host crystals. By incorporating gel-networks, diverse guest materials, such as nanoparticles and dye molecules, can be uniformly and isotropically distributed within the crystals, thereby imparting non-intrinsic optical or magnetic properties to the host crystals. Additionally, gel-incorporation enhances the toughness and stability of the crystals as the incorporated gel-fibers and accompanying guest materials act as bridges to prevent crack propagation. Furthermore, gel-incorporation enables protein crystals to exhibit self-healing properties, which can be attributed to the dynamic bonding interaction between gel-networks and crystals. Notably, recent research has demonstrated that the incorporation of zwitterionic gel-networks enhances the charge effects on crystal morphology evolution as the charged groups become bound to the developing crystal surfaces, and their detachment is impeded by the interconnected gel-networks. Therefore, preparing single crystals with gel-incorporation is a remarkable strategy for synthesizing functionalized crystal materials.

Adding siderophores: A new strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in composting.

Microbial community is the primary driver causing the greenhouse gas emissions in composting. Thus, regulating the microbial communities is a strategy to reduce them. Here, two different siderophores (enterobactin and putrebactin) were added, which could bind and translocate iron by specific microbes, to regulate the composting communities. The results showed that adding enterobactin enriched Acinetobacter and Bacillus with specific receptors by 6.84-fold and 6.78-fold. It promoted carbohydrate degradation and amino acid metabolism. This resulted in a 1.28-fold increase in humic acid content, as well as a 14.02% and 18.27% decrease in CO2 and CH4 emissions, respectively. Meanwhile, adding putrebactin boosted the microbial diversity by 1.21-fold and enhanced potential microbial interactions by 1.76-fold. The attenuated denitrification process led to a 1.51-fold increase in the total nitrogen content and a 27.47% reduction in N2O emissions. Overall, adding siderophores is an efficient strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote the compost quality.

Special NaBH4 hydrolysis achieving multiple-surface-modifications promotes the high-throughput water oxidation of CoN nanowire arrays.

Designing an excellent OER catalyst in an alkaline environment is severe yet essential for industrial H2 application under the electrochemical technique. This study has achieved multiple modifications on CoN nanowires, the classic OER catalyst, via a facile room-temperature NaBH4 spontaneous hydrolysis. This facile process simultaneously generates oxygen vacancies and robust BN species. It wraps hydrophilic BOx motifs on the OER response CoN nanowires, producing OER active Co-N-B species, increasing active numbers and guaranteeing structural stability. It suggests that a low NaBH4 concentration (0.1 mol L-1) treatment endows CoNNWAs/CC with excellent OER performance and robust structure, which can drive a current density of 50 mA cm-2 with only 325 mV overpotentials with more than 24 hours' durability. Even, the catalyst can drive 1000 mA cm-2 around 480 mV overpotential. This study allows a novel strategy for designing high-performance OER catalysts.

Aromatic C-C Bond Cleavage in a Curved π-System of Aminocorannulene.

We report a metal- and oxidant-free aromatic C-C bond cleavage in the curved corannulene skeleton. Reaction of 1-aminocorannulene with hydrazonyl chloride generates an amidrazone intermediate that undergoes facile intramolecular proton migrations and ring annulation to give a 1,2,4-triazole derivative of planar benzo[ghi]fluoranthene, in which the release of strain associated with the curved π-surface and the formation of an aromatic triazole moiety are the driving forces. This report provides new insights into the aromatic C-C bond cleavage.

Morphological Evolution of Calcite Grown in Zwitterionic Hydrogels: Charge Effects Enhanced by Gel-Incorporation.

The incorporation of charged biomacromolecules is widely found in biomineralization. To investigate the significance of this biological strategy for mineralization control, gelatin-incorporated calcite crystals grown from gelatin hydrogels with different charge concentrations along the gel networks are examined. It is found that the bound charged groups on gelatin networks (amino cations, gelatin-NH3 + and carboxylic anions, gelatin-COO- ) play crucial roles in controlling the single-crystallinity and the crystal morphology. And the charge effects are greatly enhanced by the gel-incorporation because the incorporated gel networks force the bound charged groups on them to attach to crystallization fronts. In contrast, ammonium ions (NH4 + ) and acetate ions (Ac- ) dissolve in the crystallization media do not exhibit the similar charge effects because the balance of attachment/detachment make them more difficult to be incorporated. Employing the revealed charge effects, the calcite crystal composites with different morphologies can be flexibly prepared.

Stable Lithium Anode of Li-O2 Batteries in a Wet Electrolyte Enabled by a High-Current Treatment.

Rechargeable Li-air (O2) batteries have attracted a great deal of attention because of their high theoretical energy density and been regarded as a promising next-generation energy storage technology. Among numerous obstacles to Li-air (O2) batteries preventing their use in practical applications, water is a representative impurity for Li-air (O2), which could hasten the deterioration of the anode and accelarate the premature death of cells. Here, we report an effective in situ high-current pretreatment process to enhance the cycling performance of Li-O2 batteries in a wet tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether-based electrolyte. With the help of certain levels of H2O (from 100 to 2000 ppm) in the electrolyte, adequate Li2O formed on the lithium anode surface after high-current pretreatment, which is necessary for a robust and uniform solid electrolyte interphase layer to protect Li metal during the long-term discharge-charge cycling process. This in situ high-current pretreatment method in a wet electrolyte is shown to be an effective approach for enhancing the cycling performance of Li-O2 batteries with a stable Li metal anode and promoting the realization of practical Li-air batteries.

Multiple Efficient Fluorescence Emission from Cucurbit[10]uril-[Cd4Cl16]8--Based Pillared Diamond Porous Supramolecular Frameworks.

Cucurbit[10]uril (Q[10] or CB[10]), with the largest rigid cavity (ca. 1.0 nm) yet characterized in the cucurbiturils family, and indeed among all artificial macrocyclic receptors to date, has been successfully exploited to construct a novel Q[10]-[Cd4Cl16]8--based pillared diamond porous supramolecular framework. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the three-dimensional open-nanotube-type porous framework is constructed from free Q[10] molecules and [Cd4Cl16]8- cluster anions through the outer surface interactions of Q[10]. Notably, the Q[10]-based porous framework host can accommodate guest dyes, such as rhodamine B (G1), pyrenemethanamine hydrochloride (G2), and bathocuproine hydrochloride (G3), to form solid materials with efficient red-green-blue (RGB) fluorescence. This work not only exemplifies a facile approach for the construction of macrocycle-based porous frameworks but also offers a simple, lower cost, yet still highly efficient means of preparing multi-emitting, including white-light-emitting, solid luminescent materials.

[Relationship between protein intake and body mass index and waist circumference in Chinese adults using quantile regression analysis].

OBJECTIVE: To study the relationship between dietary protein intake and body mass index( BMI) and waist circumference under the distribution of different quantile. METHODS: The data of adult residents of 12 provinces from Chinese Health and Nutrition Survey in 2011 were used to analyze the relationship between protein intake and BMI and waist circumference by quantile regression analysis. RESULTS: There were 11800 subjects in total, 5623( 47. 7%) were male, the average age was( 51. 5 ± 15. 1) years old, for female, 6177( 52. 3%) and( 51. 9 ± 15. 0) years old, respectively. The protein intake was( 1. 1 ± 0. 4) g/kg BW in men and( 1. 0 ± 0. 4) g/kg BW in women. Significant sex differences were found in waist circumference, energy, protein intake, carbohydrate intake, smoking, drinking and working status, activity and educational level( P < 0. 05), but there were no significant difference between male and female in age, BMI, fat intake and urban rural ratio. After sex-stratified, the result of the regression analysis showed that quantile regression coefficients adjusting for other confounders between protein intake and BMI and waist circumference both in male and female, and the parallelism test for regression coefficient at different quantile were statistically significant( P < 0. 05). CONCLUSION: Under the distribution of different quantile, dietary protein intake is negatively correlated with BMI and waist circumference, and there is a descending trend, which means that protein intake has a greater impact on population with higher BMI and higher waist circumference.

[Effects of long-term tillage measurements on soil aggregate characteristic and microbial diversity].

Soil aggregate stability and microbial diversity play important roles in nutrient recycling in soil-crop systems. This study investigated the impacts of different soil tillage systems on soil aggregation and soil microbial diversity based on a 15-year long-term experiment on loess soil in Henan Province of China. Treatments included reduced tillage (RT), no-tillage (NT), sub-soiling with mulch (SM), wheat-peanut two crops (TC), and conventional tillage (CT). Soil aggregates were separated by wet sieving method, and soil microbial (bacterial, archaeal and fungal) diversity was examined by using the techniques of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) analysis. The results showed that water-stable macroaggregates concent (R0.25) and the mean mass diameter (MWD) in the surface soil significantly increased under NT, SM and TC, R0.25 increased by 21.5%, 29.5% and 69.2%, and MWD increased by 18.0%, 12.2% and 50.4%, respectively, as compared with CT. Tillage practices caused changes in bacterial, archaeal and fungal community compositions. With NT, SM and TC, the bacterial, archaeal and fungal Shannon indices increased by 0.3%, 0.3%, and 0.6%, and 20.2%, 40.5%, and 49.1%, and 23.7%, 19.5%, and 25.8%, respectively, as compared with CT. Both bacterial and archaeal Shannon indices were significantly correlated with the indices of R0.25 and MWD, while the fungal Shannon index was not significantly correlated with these two indices. In conclusion, conservation tillage, including NT and SM, and crop rotation, including TC, improved soil aggregation and soil microbial diversity.

[Effects of tillage pattern on the flag leaf senescence and grain yield of winter wheat under dry farming].

A field experiment was conducted to study the effects of different tillage patterns, i.e., deep plowing once, no-tillage, subsoiling, and conventional tillage, on the flag leaf senescence and grain yield of winter wheat, as well as the soil moisture and nutrient status under dry farming. No-tillage and subsoiling increased the SOD and POD activities and the chlorophyll and soluble protein contents, decreased the MDA and O2(-.) contents, and postponed the senescence of flag leaf. Under non-tillage and subsoiling, the moisture content in 0-40 cm soil layer at anthesis and grain-filling stages was decreased by 4.13% and 6.23% and by 5.50% and 9.27%, respectively, and the contents of alkali-hydrolysable N, available P, and available K in this soil layer also increased significantly, compared with those under conventional tillage. Deep plowing once decreased the moisture content and increased the nutrients contents in 0-40 cm soil layer, but the decrement and increment were not significant. The post-anthesis biomass, post-anthesis dry matter translocation rate, and grain yield under no-tillage and subsoiling were 4.34% and 4.76%, 15.56% and 13.51%, and 10.22% and 9.26% higher than those under conventional tillage, respectively. It could be concluded that no-tillage and subsoiling provided better soil conditions for the post-anthesis growth of winter wheat, under which, the flag leaf senescence postponed, post-anthesis dry matter accumulation and translocation accelerated, and grain yield increased significantly, being the feasible tillage practices in dry farming winter wheat areas.