Meta-analyses of the global multilocus genotypes of the human pathogen Campylobacter jejuni.

Campylobacter infections are a leading cause of bacterial diarrheal illness worldwide, with increasing reports of outbreaks in both developing and developed countries. Most studies investigating strain genotypes and epidemiology of Campylobacter jejuni examined on a local scale. Using the archived multilocus sequence typing data at seven loci, and associated strain metadata from the PubMLST database, here we investigated the spatial and temporal genetic structure of the global population of C. jejuni. Our analyses revealed evidence for clonal dispersals of multiple sequence types (STs) among countries and continents. However, despite the observed clonal dispersal and that most genetic variations were found within individual geographic subpopulations, both the non-clone-corrected and clone-corrected samples showed evidence of significant genetic differentiation among national and continental subpopulations, with non-clone-corrected samples showing greater differentiation than clone-corrected samples. Phylogenetic incompatibility analyses provided evidence for recombination within each continental subpopulation. However, linkage disequilibrium analyses rejected the hypothesis of random recombination across the samples. Temporally, multiple STs were found to persist across four decades and the five globally most common STs showed relatively stable frequencies over the last two decades. We discussed the implications of our results to food security, disease transmission, and public health management.

The value of histopathologic examination and Xpert (MTB/RIF) assay in diagnosis of cervical lymph node tuberculosis after coarse needle biopsy guided by CEUS: a retrospective analysis of 612 cases.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the value of histopathological examination (HPE) and Xpert Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacilli/rifampicin (MTB/RIF) assay in diagnosis of cervical lymph node tuberculosis (LN TB) after coarse needle biopsy (CNB). METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 612 samples obtained from October 2017 to August 2023 from patients suspected cervical LN TB with surgically pathological, microbial culture confirmed, and clinically confirmed cervical lymph node enlargement who received ultrasound-guided CNB assisted by contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) at our hospital. All specimens were assessed by HPE and the Xpert (MTB/RIF) assay. We analyzed the results to determine the diagnostic value of HPE and Xpert (MTB/RIF) assay in samples taken after CEUS-assisted CNB of LN TB, and to evaluate the safety of CNB. RESULTS: Based on the comprehensive reference standard established in this study, 532 of 612 patients were diagnosed with cervical LN TB, of which 476 were CNB positive cases, the positive rate of diagnosis was 89.5%。The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative and predictive value of HPE were 80.4%, 91.2%, 98.4%, 41.2% respectively, while those of the Xpert MTB/RIF assay were 75.7%, 98.7%, 99.7%, 38.0% respectively. No postoperative complications were noted, and the Clavien-Dindo grade was 2. CONCLUSION: CEUS-assisted CNB has high diagnostic value and is safe for cervical LN TB. The sensitivity of HPE is slightly higher than that of Xpert (MTB/RIF) assay, and the specificity of Xpert (MTB/RIF) assay is higher than that of HPE, so Xpert (MTB/RIF) assay can correct the cervical lymph node tuberculosis with negative HPE.

Application of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in the diagnosis of tuberous vas deferens tuberculosis.

BACKGROUND: To assess the value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in the diagnosis of tuberous vas deferens tuberculosis (VD TB) and improve the positive diagnostic rate of VD TB. METHODS: CEUS and routine ultrasound (US) images of 17 patients with tuberous VD TB confirmed by surgery, pathology, or laboratory semen examination were retrospectively analyzed and summarized, and the positive rates of both imaging techniques were compared. RESULTS: The 19 VD lesions of the 17 patients were divided into two types according to the CEUS findings: Type I and Type II, and type II was divided into Types IIa, IIb, and IIc. Of the nodules with transverse diameters > 1 cm, 100% presented as type II. Of the nodules with transverse diameters < 1 cm, 37.5% (3/8) presented as type I and 62.5% (5/8) presented as type II. The sonographic manifestations of tuberous VD TB were hypoechoic and mixed echoic. The positive diagnostic rate was 89.5% for CEUS and 68.4% for US, but the difference was not significant (χ2 = 2.533; P = 0.111). CONCLUSIONS: CEUS was able to show the blood supply characteristics of tuberous VD TB, the internal necrosis of nodules was more easily observed by CEUS than by routine US, which is helpful for the diagnosis of tuberous VD TB.

High diversity within and low but significant genetic differentiation among geographic and temporal populations of the global Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is the major cause of invasive pneumococcal disease. However, the global population structure remains largely unexplored. In this study, we investigated the spatial and temporal patterns of genetic variation of S. pneumoniae based on archived multilocus sequence typing data from PubMLST.org. Our analyses demonstrated both shared and unique distributions of sequence types (STs) and allele types among regional populations. Among the 17 915 global STs, 36 representing 15 263 isolates were broadly shared among all six continents, consistent with recent clonal dispersal and expansion of this pathogen. The analysis of molecular variance revealed that >96% genetic variations were found within individual regional populations. However, though low (<4%), statistically significant genetic differentiation among regional populations was observed. Comparisons between non-clone-corrected and clone-corrected datasets showed that localized clonal expansion contributed significantly to the observed genetic differentiations among regions. Temporal analyses of the isolates showed that implementation of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine impacted the distributions of STs, but the effect on population structure was relatively limited. Linkage disequilibrium analyses identified evidence for recombination in all continental populations; however, the inferred recombination was not random. We discussed the limitations and implications of our analyses to the global epidemiology and future vaccine developments for S. pneumoniae.

Predictive value of serum MDA and 4-HNE levels on the occurrence of early neurological deterioration after intravenous thrombolysis with rt-PA IVT in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the predictive value of serum MDA and 4-HNE levels on early neurological deterioration (END) after recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients. METHODS: This study analyzed 287 AIS patients with standard-dose rt-PA IVT. Clinical baseline and pathological data were recorded before rt-PA IVT, and neurologic deficit was assessed by NIHSS. AIS patients were classified into Non-END and END groups. Serum MDA and 4-HNE levels were determined by ELISA and their correlations with NIHSS scores were evaluated. AIS patients were allocated into groups with high and low MDA or 4-HNE expression, and post-IVT END incidence was compared. Independent risk indexes for post-IVT END and the predictive value of serum MDA+4-HNE levels on post-IVT END were assessed. RESULTS: Serum MDA and 4-HNE were higher in AIS patients with post-IVT END. NIHSS score showed a positive correlation with serum MDA and 4-HNE levels. MDA levels were positively correlated with 4-HNE levels in AIS patients. END after IVT was increased in AIS patients with high MDA/4-HNE expression. FBG, lymphocyte percentage, PLR, NIHSS score, serum MDA, and 4-HNE levels were independent risk factors for END after IVT. The diagnostic efficacy of MDA+4-HNE in assessing post-IVT END in AIS patients (sensitivity 92.00 %, specificity 82.70 %) was higher than MDA or 4-HNE alone. CONCLUSION: Serum MDA and 4-HNE levels were higher in AIS patients with post-IVT END than in those with non-END, and MDA+4-HNE possessed a higher predictive value for post-IVT END in AIS patients.

Insight into the evolutionary and domesticated history of the most widely cultivated mushroom Agaricus bisporus via mitogenome sequences of 361 global strains.

Agaricus bisporus is the most widely cultivated edible mushroom in the world with a only around three hundred years known history of cultivation. Therefore, it represents an ideal organism not only to investigate the natural evolutionary history but also the understanding on the evolution going back to the early era of domestication. In this study, we generated the mitochondrial genome sequences of 352 A. bisporus strains and 9 strains from 4 closely related species around the world. The population mitogenomic study revealed all A. bisporus strains can be divided into seven clades, and all domesticated cultivars present only in two of those clades. The molecular dating analysis showed this species origin in Europe on 4.6 Ma and we proposed the main dispersal routes. The detailed mitogenome structure studies showed that the insertion of the plasmid-derived dpo gene caused a long fragment (MIR) inversion, and the distributions of the fragments of dpo gene were strictly in correspondence with these seven clades. Our studies also showed A. bisporus population contains 30 intron distribution patterns (IDPs), while all cultivars contain only two IDPs, which clearly exhibit intron loss compared to the others. Either the loss occurred before or after domestication, that could suggest that the change facilitates their adaptation to the cultivated environment.

The catalase-peroxidase PiCP1 plays a critical role in abiotic stress resistance, pathogenicity and asexual structure development in Phytophthora infestans.

Catalase-peroxidase is a heme oxidoreductase widely distributed in bacteria and lower eukaryotes. In this study, we identified a catalase-peroxidase PiCP1 (PITG_05579) in Phytophthora infestans. PiCP1 had catalase/peroxidase and secretion activities and was highly expressed in sporangia and upregulated in response to oxidative and heat stresses. Compared with wild type, PiCP1-silenced transformants (STs) had decreased catalase activity, reduced oxidant stress resistance and damped cell wall integrity. In contrast, PiCP1-overexpression transformants (OTs) demonstrated increased tolerance to abiotic stresses and induced the upregulation of PR genes in the host salicylic acid pathway. The high concentration of PiCP1 can also induced callose deposition in plant tissue. Importantly, both STs and OTs have severely reduced sporangia formation and zoospore releasing rate, but the sporangia germination rate and type varied depending on environmental conditions. Comparative sequence analyses show that catalase-peroxidases are broadly distributed and highly conserved among soil-borne plant parasitic oomycetes, but not in freshwater-inhabiting or strictly plants-inhabiting oomycetes. In addition, we found that silencing PiCP1 downregulated the expression of PiCAT2. These results revealed the important roles of PiCP1 in abiotic stress resistance, pathogenicity and in regulating asexual structure development in response to environmental change. Our findings provide new insights into catalase-peroxidase functions in eukaryotic pathogens.

Emergence of Power-Law Particle Size Distribution in Microfluidic Calcium Carbonate Precipitation: An Extended Yule Process with a Ripening Effect.

Precipitation of calcium carbonate in bulk solutions is well known to result in a bell-shaped or bimodal particle size distribution. However, it is unclear how the distribution behaves if precipitation occurs in a small, confined volume. In this Letter, we conduct microfluidic experiments where sodium carbonate and calcium chloride solutions are continuously injected into a microchannel to precipitate calcium carbonate particles. Results show that, regardless of the variations in reagent concentrations, mixing schemes, flow rates, and precipitation time, sizes of precipitated particles in the channel are power law distributed, with an exponent of 1.4. The data are described by an extended Yule process with the introduction of a ripening term. Since the Yule process is a general mechanism for power law generation, the extended Yule process proposed here provides a general model for systems where growth and ripening simultaneously present.

Cytoreductive Surgery and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy in Young Patients With Peritoneal Metastasis of Colorectal Cancer-An Asian Experience.

INTRODUCTION: Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) are accepted treatment options for patients with cancers associated with the abdominal region. Currently, there are insufficient data that evaluate the effectiveness of these therapeutic options in young patients who have peritoneal metastasis (PM) originating from colorectal cancer. METHODS: In this investigation, we evaluated perioperative data, clinicopathological manifestations, and survival consequences in 46 younger (≤50 y) patients who underwent CRS and HIPEC therapy between 2017 June and 2019 June and then compared these data with 94 older patients (aged >50 y). RESULTS: Compared with older patients, younger patients had a higher synchronous PM incidence (78.3% versus 51.1%, P < 0.001) and were more likely to exhibit signet ring histology and mucinous (29.8% versus 60.9%; P < 0.001). The cancer-specific survival rates after CRS and HIPEC treatment were similar in both age sets. Multivariate Cox regression revealed that mucinous/signet adenocarcinoma (hazard ratio 2.20, 95% confidence interval 1.02-4.74; P = 0.044) and rectal origin (hazard ratio 2.51, 95% confidence interval 1.11-5.67; P = 0.027) were independent risk factors for a lower cancer-specific survival rate. CONCLUSIONS: Younger (age ≤50 y) patients who have PM of colorectal cancer origin often present synchronous PM, which is less commonly observed in older patients. Tumors in younger patients are more aggressive; however, post-CRS and HIPEC treatment, the benefits are similar to those observed in older cohorts.

Genotypic diversity and antifungal susceptibility of Cryptococcus neoformans species complex from China, including the diploid VNIII isolates from HIV-infected patients in Chongqing region.

Although previous studies on the genotypic diversity and antifungal susceptibility of the Cryptococcus neoformans species complex (CNSC) isolates from China revealed ST5 genotype isolates being dominant, the information about the CNSC isolates from Chinese HIV-infected patients is limited. In this study, 171 CNSC isolates from HIV-infected patients in the Chongqing region of Southwest China were genotyped using the International Society for Human and Animal Mycology-multilocus sequence typing consensus scheme, and their antifungal drug susceptibilities were determined following CLSI M27-A3 guidelines. Among 171 isolates, six sequence types (STs) were identified, including the dominant ST5 isolates, the newly reported ST15, and four diploid VNIII isolates (ST632/ST636). Moreover, a total of 1019 CNSC isolates with STs and HIV-status information were collected and analyzed from Mainland China in the present study. A minimum spanning analysis grouped these 1019 isolates into three main subgroups, which were dominated by the ST5 clonal complex (CC5), followed by the ST31 clonal complex (CC31) and ST93 clonal complex (CC93). The trend of resistance or decreasing susceptibility of clinical CNSC isolates to azole agents within HIV-infected patients from the Chongqing region is increasing, especially resistance to fluconazole.

In this paper, novel ST15 and four diploid VNIII isolates (ST632/ST636) were found in 171 CNSC isolates in Southwest China, including evidence for resistance to fluconazole. Moreover, we clustered the 1019 clinical CNSC isolates reported so far from Mainland China into three major subgroups.

Value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in the differential diagnosis of ureteral tuberculosis from ureteral malignant tumour in women.

This study aimed to evaluate the contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) features of ureteral tuberculosis (UTB) and ureteral malignant tumour and to explore its application value in the differentiation of UTB from ureteral tumour. The ultrasound (US) and CEUS imaging features of 33 and 12 cases of pathologically confirmed UTB and ureteral malignant tumour, respectively, were retrospectively evaluated, and echo of the ureteral wall, abnormal echo of the lumen, degree of ureteral dilation and CEUS patterns of the two diseases were statistically analysed. The results revealed that the lumen echo of UTB was hyperechoic or anechoic, whereas that of ureteral tumour lesions was hypoechoic (χ2 = 28.22, P < 0.001). The wall echo of the obstruction site differed between the two diseases; in UTB, the ureteral wall was thickened but the outer wall remained intact, whereas in ureteral tumour, both the malignant tumour wall and outer wall were irregular (χ2 = 30.25, P < 0.001). CEUS of UTB revealed nonenhancement or heterogeneous enhancement in the lumen, whereas that of ureteral tumours revealed significant homogeneous enhancement (χ2 = 30.25, P < 0.001). Thus, CEUS can reveal lesion microcirculation and be used to evaluate blood supply characteristics in the lesion, indicating that it has high potential for differentiating the two diseases.

Improved performance of UV-blue dual-band Bi2O3/TiO2 photodetectors and application of visible light communication with UV light encryption.

In this paper, self-powered photodetectors (PDs) with a dual-band photoresponse and excellent photodetection capabilities in complex environments can meet the needs of diverse detection targets, complex environments and diverse tasks. Herein, Bi2O3 nanosheets were deposited on the surface of TiO2 nanorod arrays (NRs) by chemical bath deposition (CBD) to construct self-powered heterojunction PDs with a UV-blue dual-band photoresponse. The nucleation and growth of Bi2O3 nanosheets on TiO2 NRs substrates were controlled by varying the concentration of the complexing agent triethanolamine (TEA) in the precursor solution, which regulated the morphology, crystalline quality and energy band structure as well as the photoelectronic properties of Bi2O3 films. The devices fabricated at a TEA concentration of 0.3 M exhibited excellent self-powered UV-blue dual-band photoresponse characteristics, achieving a photocurrent (Iph) of 144 nA, a responsivity of 1.79 mA W-1 and a detectivity of 5.94 × 1010 Jones under 405 nm illumination at 0 V, which can be attributed to the large built-in electric field (Eb) of Bi2O3/TiO2 heterojunctions, the low interfacial transfer resistance and suitable carrier transport path. In addition, Bi2O3/TiO2 heterojunction PDs with the UV-blue dual-band photoresponse characteristics can be applied in UV-encrypted visible light communication (VLC) with a light-controlled logic gate to improve the security of information transmission.

Circ_0002295 facilitated myocardial fibrosis progression through the miR-1287/CXCR2 axis.

Myocardial fibrosis (MF) is involved in hypertension, myocardial infarction and heart failure. It has been reported that circular RNA (circRNA) is a key regulatory factor of MF progression. In this study, we revealed that circ_0002295 and CXCR2 were elevated, and miR-1287 was reduced in MF patients. Knockdown of circ_0002295 effectively suppressed the proliferation, migration and MF progression. Circ_0002295 was the molecular sponge of miR-12878, and miR-1287 inhibitor reversed the biological functions of circ_0002295 on the myocardial fibrosis. CXCR2 was a target gene of miR-1287, and CXCR2 silencing relieved the impacts of miR-1287 inhibitor on cardiac myofibroblasts. Circ_0002295 promoted MF progression by regulating the miR-1287/CXCR2 axis, providing a possible circRNA-targeted therapy for MF.

Neuroglobin protects against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats by suppressing mitochondrial dysfunction and endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated neuronal apoptosis through synaptotagmin-1.

Cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury remains a grievous health threat, and herein effective therapy is urgently needed. This study explored the protection of neuroglobin (Ngb) in rats with cerebral I/R injury. The focal cerebral I/R rat models were established by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and neuronal injury models were established by oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) treatment. The brain injury of rats was assessed. Levels of Ngb, Bcl-2, Bax, endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS)-related markers, and Syt1 were measured by immunofluorescence staining and Western blotting. The cytotoxicity in neurons was assessed by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assay. Levels of intracellular Ca2+ and mitochondrial function-related indicators were determined. The binding between Ngb and Syt1 was detected by co-immunoprecipitation. Ngb was upregulated in cerebral I/R rats and its overexpression alleviated brain injury. In OGD/R-induced neurons, Ngb overexpression decreased LDH level and neuronal apoptosis, decreased Ca2+ content, and mitigated mitochondrial dysfunction and ERS-related apoptosis. However, Ngb silencing imposed the opposite effects. Importantly, Ngb could bind to Syt1. Syt1 knockdown partially counteracted the alleviation of Ngb on OGD/R-induced injury in neurons and cerebral I/R injury in rats. Briefly, Ngb extenuated cerebral I/R injury by repressing mitochondrial dysfunction and endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated neuronal apoptosis through Syt1.

Analysis of bleeding after ultrasound-guided needle biopsy of benign cervical lymph nodes.

AIM: Summarized the incidence of bleeding after ultrasound-guided coarse needle biopsy (US-CNB) of benign cervical lymph nodes. METHODS: We retrospectively examined the clinical and follow-up records of 590 patients with benign cervical lymph node disease who underwent US-CNB at our hospital during February 2015-July 2022 and were confirmed to have the disease by CNB and surgical pathology. The number of cases, types of diseases, and degree of bleeding of all patients with bleeding after US-CNB were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 590 patients, bleeding was noted in 44 cases(7.46%), and the infectious lymph node bleeding rate was 9.48%. Infectious lymph nodes were more likely to bleed than noninfectious lymph nodes after CNB, ,x2 = 8.771; P = 0.003, Lymph nodes with pus were more likely to bleed than solid lymph nodes after CNB, x2 = 4.414; P = 0.036,. CONCLUSION: The bleeding of all patients after CNB was minor bleeding. Infected lymph nodes bleed more frequently than noninfected lymph nodes. Lymph nodes with mobility and a large pus cavity, are more likely to bleed after CNB.

Effects of Cadmium Stress on Bacterial and Fungal Communities in the Whitefly Bemisia tabaci.

Heavy metal contamination is among the most prominent environmental problems in China, posing serious threats to both ecosystem and human health. Among the diverse heavy metal contaminants, cadmium is the most serious. The whitefly Bemisia tabaci is a cosmopolitan pest capable of causing severe damage to a broad range of agricultural crops, especially vegetables. At present, little is known about the effects of cadmium stress on B. tabaci, including on its bacterial and fungal communities. In the current study, we investigated the effects of cadmium on bacterial and fungal communities in whiteflies. Meta-barcode sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene revealed that the whitefly bacterial community contained 264 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) belonging to 201 known genera and 245 known species. The top five most frequent bacterial genera were Rickettsia, Rhodococcus, Candidatus Portiera, Candidatus Hamiltonella, and Achromobacter. Meta-barcode sequencing of the fungal ITS locus revealed that the whitefly fungal community contained 357 OTUs belonging to 187 known genera and 248 known species. The top five most frequent fungal genera were Wallemia, unclassified_f_Dipodascaceae, Apiotrichum, Penicillium, and unclassified_o_Saccharomycetales. Cadmium exposure reduced the fungal OTU richness but increased the bacterial Shannon and Simpson diversity indices in whiteflies. In addition, upon exposure to cadmium, the microbial community composition in whiteflies changed significantly, with increased prevalence of the bacterial genera Rhodococcus and Exiguobacterium and fungal genus Wallemia. Our results indicate that the whitefly microbiota likely contributed to their adaptation and resistance to cadmium and suggested that whiteflies may contain microbes that could help remediate cadmium contamination in natural environments and agricultural fields.

Twenty years of ocean observations with China Argo.

The international Argo program, a global observational array of nearly 4 000 autonomous profiling floats initiated in the late 1990s, which measures the water temperature and salinity of the upper 2 000 m of the global ocean, has revolutionized oceanography. It has been recognized one of the most successful ocean observation systems in the world. Today, the proposed decade action "OneArgo" for building an integrated global, full-depth, and multidisciplinary ocean observing array for beyond 2020 has been endorsed. In the past two decades since 2002, with more than 500 Argo deployments and 80 operational floats currently, China has become an important partner of the Argo program. Two DACs have been established to process the data reported from all Chinese floats and deliver these data to the GDACs in real time, adhering to the unified quality control procedures proposed by the Argo Data Management Team. Several Argo products have been developed and released, allowing accurate estimations of global ocean warming, sea level change and the hydrological cycle, at interannual to decadal scales. In addition, Deep and BGC-Argo floats have been deployed, and time series observations from these floats have proven to be extremely useful, particularly in the analysis of synoptic-scale to decadal-scale dynamics. The future aim of China Argo is to build and maintain a regional Argo fleet comprising approximately 400 floats in the northwestern Pacific, South China Sea, and Indian Ocean, accounting for 9% of the global fleet, in addition to maintaining 300 Deep Argo floats in the global ocean (25% of the global Deep Argo fleet). A regional BGC-Argo array in the western Pacific also needs to be established and maintained.

Evolutionary innovations through gain and loss of genes in the ectomycorrhizal Boletales.

We aimed to identify genomic traits of transitions to ectomycorrhizal ecology within the Boletales by comparing the genomes of 21 symbiotrophic species with their saprotrophic brown-rot relatives. Gene duplication rate is constant along the backbone of Boletales phylogeny with large loss events in several lineages, while gene family expansion sharply increased in the late Miocene, mostly in the Boletaceae. Ectomycorrhizal Boletales have a reduced set of plant cell-wall-degrading enzymes (PCWDEs) compared with their brown-rot relatives. However, the various lineages retain distinct sets of PCWDEs, suggesting that, over their evolutionary history, symbiotic Boletales have become functionally diverse. A smaller PCWDE repertoire was found in Sclerodermatineae. The gene repertoire of several lignocellulose oxidoreductases (e.g. laccases) is similar in brown-rot and ectomycorrhizal species, suggesting that symbiotic Boletales are capable of mild lignocellulose decomposition. Transposable element (TE) proliferation contributed to the higher evolutionary rate of genes encoding effector-like small secreted proteins, proteases, and lipases. On the other hand, we showed that the loss of secreted CAZymes was not related to TE activity but to DNA decay. This study provides novel insights on our understanding of the mechanisms influencing the evolutionary diversification of symbiotic boletes.

Oscillative Trapping of a Droplet in a Converging Channel Induced by Elastic Instability.

Permanent trapping of an oscillating, nonwetting droplet is observed in a converging-diverging microchannel when aqueous, viscoelastic fluids are injected. Classical theories based on the balance between capillary and viscous forces suggest that the droplet size should decrease with increasing flow rates of a displacing Newtonian fluid, and the droplet should be completely displaced at high injection rates. However, droplets in viscoelastic fluids cannot be removed by increasing flow rates due to the oscillation. The oscillation amplitude linearly increases with the Deborah number (De), which further inhibits the droplet's passing through the constriction, "permanently." Our microfluidic experiments show that the onset of oscillation is determined by a critical De, which is near 1. We derive a linear relationship for the trapped droplet length with Ec^{1/3}, where Ec is the elastocapillary number, by introducing the elastic force into the force balance in addition to the capillary and viscous forces.

miR-29b-3p suppresses the malignant biological behaviors of AML cells via inhibiting NF-κB and JAK/STAT signaling pathways by targeting HuR.

BACKGROUND: HuR/ELAVL1 (embryonic lethal abnormal vision 1) was a downstream target of miR-29b in some cancer cells. HuR protein exerts important prognostic effects of involving in the pathogenesis and development of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This study aims to investigate the role of miR-29b-3p in biological behaviors of AML cells by targeting HuR and the involvement of the NF-κB and JAK/STAT signaling pathways. METHODS: The expressions of HuR and miR-29b-3p in AML cells were determined using RT-qPCR and Western blot, and the association between them was analyzed using the Spearman method. Next, the target relationship between HuR and miR-29b-3p was predicted by biological information databases and verified by the dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. MTS, methyl cellulose, flow cytometry and transwell assay were employed to detect the cell proliferation, clone formation, cell cycle and apoptosis, invasion and migration respectively, the effect of miR-29b-3p targeted HuR on the biological behaviors of AML cells was explored after over- /down-expression of miR-29b-3p and rescue experiment. Then, immunofluorescence assay and western blot were employed to detect location expression and phosphorylation levels of NF-κB and JAK/STAT signaling pathways related molecules respectively. RESULTS: HuR was negatively correlated with miR-29b-3p, and was the downstream target of miR-29b-3p in AML cells. When miR-29b-3p was overexpressed in AML cells, HuR was down-regulated, accompanied by cell viability decreased, cell cycle arrest, apoptosis increased, invasion and migration weakened. Moreover, the opposite result appeared after miR-29b-3p was down-regulated. The rescue experiment showed that miR-29b-3p inhibitor could reverse the biological effect of HuR down-regulation in AML cells. Molecular pathway results showed that miR-29b-3p could inhibit p65 expression in nucleus and phosphorylation levels of p65, IκBα, STAT1, STAT3 and STAT5. CONCLUSION: miR-29b-3p can inhibit malignant biological behaviors of AML cells via the inactivation of the NF-κB and JAK/STAT signaling pathways by targeting HuR. miR-29b-3p and its target HuR can be used as a new potential molecular for AML treatment.