Immune protection of three serine protease inhibitors vaccine in mice against Rhipicephalus sanguineus.

Bioactive molecules in tick saliva are considered to be key to successful feeding and further the transmission of tick-borne pathogens. Problems such as pathogen transmission and animal weight loss result in tick infestation can cause tremendous economic losses to the livestock industry. Therefore, the development of a universal tick vaccine is urgently needed. In this paper, three serine protease inhibitor (serpin) proteins RMS-3, L7LRK7 and L7LTU1 were analyzed with bioinformatics methods. Subsequently the proteins were expressed and purified, and inoculated into Kunming mice for immune protection analysis. The amino acid sequence similarities between RMS-3, L7LRK7 and L7LTU1 were up to 90% in Rhipicephalus sanguineus. The recombinant RMS-3 + L7LRK7 + L7LTU1 showed anticoagulant reaction function and could inhibit the activity of CD4+ lymphocytes, when inoculated into Kunming mice. Additionally, After the immunized mice were challenged with Rhipicephalus sanguineus, the percentage of larvae and nymphs that were fully engorged dropped to 40.87% (P < 0.05) and 87.68% (P > 0.05) in the RmS-3 + L7LRK7 immune group, 49.57% (P < 0.01) and 52.06% (P < 0.05) in the RmS-3 + L7LTU1 group, and 45.22% (P < 0.05) and 60.28% (P < 0.05) in the RmS-3 + L7LRK7 + L7LTU1 immune group, in comparison with the control group. These data indicate that RmS-3 + L7LRK7 + L7LTU1 has good immune protection and has the potential to be developed into a vaccine against the larvae and nymphs of R. sanguineus.

Inserting auxeticity into graphene oxide via bottom-up strategy.

Carbon-based materials that process a wide bandgap, high mechanical performance, thermal stability and adjustable characteristics are in high demand. Auxeticity is one of the factors that helps enhances the mechanical performance. Based on this concept, two stable layered carbon-based materials, namely α-C2O and ß-C2O, are proposed. A new mechanism (multi-directional negative Poisson's ratio (NPR) effect) is induced, which is attributed to the interaction of modified pz orbitals between interfacial layers. This effect introduces high mechanical properties into materials. Besides, all layered materials are ultrawide bandgap semiconductors, which endows them comparable dielectric properties to those of diamond. Furthermore, α-BK-C2O would maintain its configuration over 2000 K, thereby guaranteeing extremely high thermodynamic stability. So far, these advantages suggested that these carbon-based layer materials could be used in nanoelectronics, especially in electromechanical devices.

The antimicrobial peptide Abaecin alleviates colitis in mice by regulating inflammatory signaling pathways and intestinal microbial composition.

Abaecin is a natural antimicrobial peptide (AMP) rich in proline from bees. It is an important part of the innate humoral immunity of bees and has broad-spectrum antibacterial ability. This study aimed to determine the effect of Abaecin on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) -induced ulcerative colitis (UC) in mice and to explore its related mechanisms. Twenty-four mice with similar body weight were randomly divided into 4 groups. 2.5% DSS was added to drinking water to induce colitis in mice. Abaecin and PBS were administered rectally on the third, fifth, and seventh days of the experimental period. The results showed that Abaecin significantly alleviated histological damage and intestinal mucosal barrier damage caused by colitis in mice, reduced the concentration of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ, and the phosphorylation of NF-κB / MAPK inflammatory signaling pathway proteins, and improved the composition of intestinal microorganisms. These findings suggest that Abaecin may have potential prospects for the treatment of UC.

Molecular surveillance and genetic diversity of Anaplasma spp. in cattle (Bos taurus) and goat (Capra aegagrus hircus) from Hainan island/province, China.

Anaplasmosis is a highly prevalent tick-borne intracellular bacterial disease that affects various host species globally, particularly ruminants in tropical and subtropical regions. However, information regarding the distribution and epidemiology of anaplasmosis in small and large ruminants on Hainan Isalnd is limited. To address this knowledge gap, the present study aimed to assess the occurrence of Anaplasma spp. infections in goats (N = 731) and cattle (N = 176) blood samples using nested PCR and conventional PCR based assays. The results revealed an overall prevalence of 30.1% in goats and 14.8% in cattle. The infection rates of A. bovis, A. phagocytophilum, A. ovis and A. capra in goat samples were 22.7%, 13.8%, 2.0% and 3.4%, respectively, while the infection rates of A. bovis, A. phagocytophilum and A. marginale in cattle samples were 11.4%, 6.3% and 5.7%, respectively. A. bovis exhibited the highest prevalence among the Anaplasma spp. in both goat and cattle samples. In addition, the most frequent co-infection was the one with A. phagocytophilum and A. bovis. It was found that the age, sex and feeding habits of cattle and goats were considered to be important risk factors. Evaluation of the risk factor relating to the rearing system showed that the infection rate for the free-range goats and cattle was significantly higher when compared with stall-feeding system.This study represents one of the largest investigations on the distribution, prevalence, and risk factors associated with Anaplasma infection in ruminants on Hainan Island, highlighting a higher circulation of the infection in the region than previously anticipated. Further reasesrch is necessary to investigate tick vectors, reservoir animals, and the zoonotic potential of the Anaplasma spp. in this endemic region of Hainan Island.

Epidemiological and phylogenetic investigation of Babesia spp. in dogs of Hainan Province/Island, China.

Babesiosis is a significant tick-borne disease, which is globally prevalent. Many previous research studies have discussed the presence of Babesia gibsoni, Babesia vogeli, and Babesia canis in dogs in China. In the present study, we have used distinct molecular approaches to detect the presence of Babesia spp. in dogs of Hainan Province/Island, China. A total of 1106 dog blood samples were collected from the Island, of which 61 dog samples were found to be positive for Babesia vogeli. The highest infection rate was 56.7% (17/30) detected from Tunchang, followed by 25.0% (3/12) from Baisha and 10.4% (5/48) from Wenchang. There was only one positive case of Babesia gibsoni, and the infection rate was found to be 0.1% (1/1106). The sequencing results showed that the subjected sample sequences were identical and resembled the Babesia vogeli and Babesia gibsoni sequences available in the database. The results derived from this study will be helpful for planning effective strategies for the treatment, control, and prevention of babesiosis in dogs of Hainan Province/Island.

Gauging urban resilience in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic via social network analysis.

Social distancing policies and other restrictive measures have demonstrated efficacy in curbing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, these interventions have concurrently led to short- and long-term alterations in social connectedness. Comprehending the transformation in intracity social interactions is imperative for facilitating post-pandemic recovery and development. In this research, we employ social network analysis (SNA) to delve into the nuances of urban resilience. Specifically, we constructed intricate networks utilizing human mobility data to represent the impact of social interactions on the structural attributes of social networks while assessing urban resilience by examining the stability features of social connectedness. Our findings disclose a diverse array of responses to social distancing policies regarding social connectedness and varied social reactions across U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). Social networks generally exhibited a shift from dense to sparse configurations during restrictive orders, followed by a transition from sparse to dense arrangements upon relaxation of said orders. Furthermore, we analyzed the alterations in social connectedness as demonstrated by network centrality, which can presumably be attributed to the rigidity of policies and the inherent qualities of the examined MSAs. Our findings contribute valuable scientific insights to support informed decision-making for post-pandemic recovery and development initiatives.

Molecular Detection and Phylogenetic Characterization of Anaplasma spp. in Dogs from Hainan Province/Island, China.

Anaplasmosis is a serious infection which is transmitted by ticks and mosquitos. There are very few reports and studies that have been carried out to understand the prevalence, distribution, and epidemiological profile of Anaplasma spp. infection in dogs in Hainan province/island. In the present study, we have tried to understand the prevalence, distribution, and occurrence of Anaplasma spp. infections in dogs (n = 1051) in Hainan Island/Province to establish a surveillance-based study. The confirmed positive samples by Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were subjected to capillary sequencing for further strain-specific confirmation, followed by the construction of phylogenetic trees to determine their genetic relations. Various statistical tools were used to analyze related risk factors. There were three species of Anaplasma detected from the Hainan region; namely, A. phagocytophilum, A. bovis, and A. platys. The overall prevalence of Anaplasma is 9.7% (102/1051). A. phagocytopihum was prevalent in 1.0% of dogs (11/1051), A. bovis was found in 2.7% of dogs (28/1051), and A. platys in 6.0% of dogs (63/1051). Our surveillance-based study conducted to understand the occurrence and distribution pattern of Anaplasma spp. in Hainan will help in designing effective control measures along with management strategies so as to treat and control the infection in the area.

In Silico Analysis and Immune Response of YaeT Protein Against Riemerella anatipestifer in Ducks.

Riemerella anatipestifer (RA) is one of the most harmful bacterial pathogens in waterfowl and causes enormous economic loss worldwide. Due to weak cross-immunity protection against different serotypes of RA, inactivated and attenuated vaccines are only effective for RA of specific serotypes. In this paper, outer membrane protein YaeT in RA was analyzed through bioinformatics, in vivo, and in vitro assays. Homology, physicochemical and structural properties, transmembrane domains, and B-cell binding epitopes were investigated. The recombinant outer membrane protein YaeT was then inoculated into Cherry Valley ducks to analyze its immune protection against RA. Results showed that the protein was conservative in different RA strains and had sufficient B-cell binding epitopes. The immunized duck serum contains high-affinity antibodies that could activate complement and promote the opsonophagocytosis of RA by phagocytes. After RA challenge, the survival rate of the YaeT protein-immunized ducks was 80%.

First-principles calculations of monolayered Al2Te5: a promising 2D donor semiconductor with ultrahigh visible light harvesting.

Atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) crystals have piqued the curiosity of researchers due to their unique features and potential applications, such as catalysis and ion batteries. One essential and desirable aspect of 2D materials is that they have a large photoreactive contact surface for optical absorption. Here, a 2D crystal is proposed that possesses a moderate adjustable indirect band gap of 1.95 eV (HSE06) and exhibits ultrahigh visible light harvesting with a absorption coefficient of up to 108 cm-1 in the ∼380 to 800 nm range of the visible light spectrum. Besides that, the indirect band gap can be converted to a direct one under biaxial strain. By means of density functional theory, the 2D Al2Te5 monolayer displays great stability and promise of experimental fabrication. These advantages will provide considerable application potential for future photovoltaics (PV) devices.

Dysregulation of tryptophan metabolism and distortion of cell signaling after oral exposure to ethanol and Kynurenic acid.

Kynurenic acid (KYNA), an unavoidable tryptophan metabolite during fermentation is naturally blended with alcohol in all alcoholic beverages. Thus, alcohol drinking inevitably results in co-intake of KYNA. Effects of alcohol or KYNA on human health have been widely studied. However, the combined effects of both remain unknown. Here we report that alcohol and KYNA have a synergistic impact of on global gene expression, especially the gene sets related to tryptophan metabolism and cell signaling. Adult mice were exposed to alcohol (ethanol) and/or KYNA daily for a week. Transcriptomes of the brain, kidney and liver were profiled via bulk RNA sequencing. Results indicate that while KYNA alone largely promotes, and alcohol alone mostly inhibits gene expression, alcohol and KYNA co-administration has a stronger inhibition of global gene expression. Tryptophan metabolism is severely skewed towards kynurenine pathway by decreasing tryptophan hydroxylase 2 and increasing tryptophan dioxygenase. Quantification of tryptophan metabolic enzymes corroborates the transcriptional changes of these enzymes. Furthermore, the co-administration greatly enhances the GnRH signaling pathway. This research provides critical data to better understand the effects of alcohol and KYNA in mix on human health.

Characterization of a novel recombinant halophilic ß-glucosidase of Trichoderma harzianum derived from Hainan mangrove.

BACKGROUND: ß-glucosidase is an important biomass-degrading enzyme and plays a vital role in generating renewable biofuels through enzymatic saccharification. In this study, we analyzed the transcriptome of Trichoderma harzianum HTASA derived from Hainan mangrove and identified a new gene encoding ß-glucosidase Bgl3HB. And the biochemically characterization of ß-glucosidase activity was performed. RESULTS: Bgl3HB showed substantial catalytic activity in the pH range of 3.0-5.0 and at temperatures of 40 ℃-60 ℃. The enzyme was found quite stable at 50 ℃ with a loss of only 33.4% relative activity after 240 min of heat exposure. In addition, all tested metal ions were found to promote the enzyme activity. The ß-glucosidase activity of Bgl3HB was enhanced by 2.12-fold of its original activity in the presence of 5 M NaCl. Surprisingly, Bgl3HB also showed a remarkable ability to hydrolyze laminarin compared to other measured substrates. Enzyme efficiency was examined in the sugarcane bagasse saccharification processes, in which Bgl3HB with 5 M NaCl worked better supplementing Celluclast 1.5L than the commercial Novozyme 188 ascertained it as an admirably suited biocatalyst for the utilization of agricultural waste. In this work, this is the first report of a halophilic ß-glucosidase from Trichoderma harzianum, and represents the ß-glucosidase with the highest known NaCl activation concentration. And adding 5 M NaCl could enhance saccharification performance even better than commercial cellulase. CONCLUSIONS: These results show that Bgl3HB has great promise as a highly stable and highly efficient cellulase with important future applications in the industrial production of biofuels.

Assessing myocardial infarction severity from the urban environment perspective in Wuhan, China.

Health inequalities are globally widespread due to the regional socioeconomic inequalities. Myocardial infarction (MI) is a leading health problem causing deaths worldwide. Yet medical services for it are often inequitably distributed by region. Moreover, studies concerning MI's potential spatial risk factors generally suffer from difficulties in focusing on too few factors, inappropriate models, and coarse spatial grain of data. To address these issues, this paper integrates registered 1098 MI cases and urban multi-source spatio-temporal big data, and spatially analyses the risk factors for MI severity by applying an advanced interpretable model, the random forest algorithm (RFA)-based SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) model. In addition, a community-scale model between spatio-temporal risk factors and MI cases is constructed to predict the MI severity of all communities in Wuhan, China. The results suggest that those risk factors (i.e., age of patients, medical quality, temperature changes, air pollution and urban habitat) affect the MI severity at the community scale. We found that Wuhan residents in the downtown area are at risk for high MI severity, and the surrounding suburb areas show a donut-shape pattern of risk for medium-to-high MI severity. These patterns draw our attention to the impact of spatial environmental risk factors on MI severity. Thus, this paper provides three recommendations for urban planning to reduce the risk and mortality from severe MI in the aspect of policy implication.

A Spectral-Spatial-Dependent Global Learning Framework for Insufficient and Imbalanced Hyperspectral Image Classification.

Deep learning techniques have been widely applied to hyperspectral image (HSI) classification and have achieved great success. However, the deep neural network model has a large parameter space and requires a large number of labeled data. Deep learning methods for HSI classification usually follow a patchwise learning framework. Recently, a fast patch-free global learning (FPGA) architecture was proposed for HSI classification according to global spatial context information. However, FPGA has difficulty in extracting the most discriminative features when the sample data are imbalanced. In this article, a spectral-spatial-dependent global learning (SSDGL) framework based on the global convolutional long short-term memory (GCL) and global joint attention mechanism (GJAM) is proposed for insufficient and imbalanced HSI classification. In SSDGL, the hierarchically balanced (H-B) sampling strategy and the weighted softmax loss are proposed to address the imbalanced sample problem. To effectively distinguish similar spectral characteristics of land cover types, the GCL module is introduced to extract the long short-term dependency of spectral features. To learn the most discriminative feature representations, the GJAM module is proposed to extract attention areas. The experimental results obtained with three public HSI datasets show that the SSDGL has powerful performance in insufficient and imbalanced sample problems and is superior to other state-of-the-art methods.

Can parkland mitigate mental health burden imposed by the COVID-19? A national study in China.

The worldwide coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has seriously affected not only physical health but also mental wellbeing (i.e mental stress and suicide intention) of numerous urban inhabitants across the globe. While many studies have elucidated urban parkland enhances and mental wellbeing of urban residents, the potential for parkland to mitigate mental health burden imposed by the COVID-19 has received no attention. This nationwide study systematically explored the association between parkland, the COVID-19 pandemic situation and mental wellbeing from 296 cities in China. The study innovatively used big data from Baidu Search Engine to assess city-level mental wellbeing, thereby enabling comparisons among cities. The results show that the provision of parkland is positively associated with mental wellbeing during the COVID-19 epidemic. For COVID-19-related indicators, the geographical distance to Wuhan city, work resumption rate, and travel intensity within the city are also positively associated with mental wellbeing, while the number of COVID-19 infections and the proportion of migrants from Hubei Province for each city are negatively associated with mental wellbeing. Last, the most important finding is that parkland reduces the negative effect of COVID-19 on mental wellbeing during the COVID-19 epidemic. To achieve the goal of promoting mental wellbeing through urban planning and design during the future pandemics, policymakers and planners are advised to provide more well-maintained and accessible parkland and encourage residents to use them with proper precautions.

Effect of irradiation pulses on the microstructure and phase composition of a NiCoCrAlY laser cladding coating under the action of a high-current pulsed electron beam.

To reduce the number of microcracks and pores on the surface of laser cladding layers, we used a novel, to the best of our knowledge, surface alloying method to modify the surface of a NiCoCrAlY laser cladding coating using high-current pulsed electron beam technology. The x-ray diffraction peaks of the irradiated coatings were affected by the residual stress, which caused the peaks to shift and significantly broaden. With an increase in the number of pulses, the cleaning effect of the coating surface became significant. At the same time, the degree of surface alloying increased, and different degrees of slip were formed on the surface of the coating. There were many nanocrystals accumulated at the slip angle, and the grain size of the coating surface increased.

Surface Alloying and Improved Property of Nb on TC4 Induced by High Current Pulsed Electron Beam.

In this paper, an Nb alloying layer on a TC4 alloy was fabricated by using high-current pulsed electron beam (HCPEB) irradiation to improve surface performance. X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscopy (OM), laser surface microscope (LSM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to characterize the phase composition and microstructure of the surface layer. The microhardness, wear tests and corrosion resistance were also examined. The results show that after HCPEB alloying, a Nb-alloyed layer was formed with about 3.6 µm in thickness on the surface of the sample, which was mainly composed of α'-Ti martensite, ß-Ti equiaxial crystals, and NbTi4 particles. After HCPEB irradiation, the surface hardness, wear resistance and corrosion resistance of Nb alloying layer on TC4 alloy were improved compared to the initial samples.

Structure and Functions of Bacterial Outer Membrane Protein A, A Potential Therapeutic Target for Bacterial Infection.

Outer membrane protein A (OmpA) is a unique outer membrane protein which is abundantly present in the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. OmpA is a transmembrane structural protein with a conserved amino acid sequence among different bacteria. This protein is involved in a number of functions like adhesion, toxicity, invasiveness, and biofilm formation in Gram-negative bacteria. Many studies have proposed that OmpA could be a therapeutic target for bacterial infection. Our review focusses on the studies involving recent development in the structure and functions of OmpA and further discussing its potential as a therapeutic target for bacterial infection.

Recycling Blast Furnace Ferronickel Slag as a Replacement for Paste in Mortar: Formation of Carboaluminate, Reduction of White Portland Cement, and Increase in Strength.

Blast furnace ferronickel slag (BFFS) is generated in the production of ferronickel alloys and is used as cement replacement in concrete or mortar. The effectivity in reducing cement consumption and improving performance are limited. By referring to the paste replacement method, this work used BFFS to replace an equal volume of the white Portland cement paste to obtain greater performance enhancement. BFFS was used with five levels of replacement (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%) and four water-to-cement ratios (0.40, 0.45, 0.50, 0.55) were designed. Fluidity, mechanical strength, hydration products, and pore structure of every mixture were measured. The results showed that the workability of the mortars decreased due to the reduced volume of water, but the 28-day compressive strength of the mortars increased, and the cement content of the mortars was also reduced by 33 wt %. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns revealed that there existed a carboaluminate phase, and the presence of the ettringite was stabilized, indicating that the accumulating amount of the hydration products of the mortar increased. Furthermore, the BFFS could consume the portlandite and free water to form a higher amount of chemically bound water due to its pozzolanic activity. A high degree of hydration and a large volume of the hydration products refined the porosity of the hardened mortars, which explained the enhancement of the strength of the mortars. Compared to the cement replacement method, the paste replacement method was more effective in preparing eco-friendly mortar or concrete by recycling BFFS for reducing the cement content of the mortar while improving its strength.

An innovative and user-friendly smartphone-assisted molecular diagnostic approach for rapid detection of canine vector-borne diseases.

Present-day diagnostic tools and technologies for canine diseases and other vector-borne parasitic diseases hardly meet the requirements of an efficient and rapid diagnostic tool, which can be suitable for use at the point-of-care in resource-limited settings. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) technique has been always a method of choice in the development and validation of quick, precise, and sensitive diagnostic assays for pathogen detection and to reorganize point-of-care (POC) molecular diagnostics. In this study, we have demonstrated an efficient detection system for parasitic vector-borne pathogens like Ehrlichia canis and Hepatozoon canis by linking the LAMP assay to a smartphone via a simple, inexpensive, and a portable "LAMP box," All the components of the LAMP box were connected to each other wirelessly. This LAMP box was made up of an isothermal heating pad mounted below an aluminum base which served as a platform for the reaction tubes and LAMP assay. The entire setup could be connected to a smartphone via an inbuilt Wi-Fi that allowed the user to establish the connection to control the LAMP box. A 5 V USB power source was used as a power supply. The sensitivity of the LAMP assay was estimated to be up to 10-6 dilution limit using the amplified, purified, and quantified specific DNA templates. It can also serve as an efficient diagnostic platform for many other veterinary infectious or parasitic diseases of zoonotic origin majorly towards field-based diagnostics.

Amorphization and Nano-Crystallization of Ni-Nb Coating on GH3039 Alloys by High Current Pulsed Electron Beam.

In this paper, the Ni-Nb coatings were successfully prepared onto the GH3039 alloys by High current pulsed electron beam (HCPEB). The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results confirmed that the Ni-Nb layer of 10-pulsed samples exhibited partial amorphization, which was consisted of γ-Ni particles, rod-like Ni3Nb particles and nano Ni3Nb with 30 nm in size. After 20-pulsed irradiation, the results show that only Ni3Nb clusters with around 3 nm in size were dispersed in fully amorphization layer. With increased pulse number to 30, the nano-particles embedded into the amorphous layer were grown up, the size of which was about 8 nm. The microstructure evolution during HCPEB irradiation was from the partial amorphous to fully amorphous and then to nano-crystallization. The 20-pulsed samples possessed the best hardness and corrosion resistance. The ultrafine clusters uniformly embedded into amorphous layer were main reason for improving properties.