The rise of baobab trees in Madagascar.

The baobab trees (genus Adansonia) have attracted tremendous attention because of their striking shape and distinctive relationships with fauna1. These spectacular trees have also influenced human culture, inspiring innumerable arts, folklore and traditions. Here we sequenced genomes of all eight extant baobab species and argue that Madagascar should be considered the centre of origin for the extant lineages, a key issue in their evolutionary history2,3. Integrated genomic and ecological analyses revealed the reticulate evolution of baobabs, which eventually led to the species diversity seen today. Past population dynamics of Malagasy baobabs may have been influenced by both interspecific competition and the geological history of the island, especially changes in local sea levels. We propose that further attention should be paid to the conservation status of Malagasy baobabs, especially of Adansonia suarezensis and Adansonia grandidieri, and that intensive monitoring of populations of Adansonia za is required, given its propensity for negatively impacting the critically endangered Adansonia perrieri.

Collective behavior of squirmers in thin films.

Bacteria in biofilms form complex structures and can collectively migrate within mobile aggregates, which is referred to as swarming. This behavior is influenced by a combination of various factors, including morphological characteristics and propulsive forces of swimmers, their volume fraction within a confined environment, and hydrodynamic and steric interactions between them. In our study, we employ the squirmer model for microswimmers and the dissipative particle dynamics method for fluid modeling to investigate the collective motion of swimmers in thin films. The film thickness permits a free orientation of non-spherical squirmers, but constraints them to form a two-layered structure at maximum. Structural and dynamic properties of squirmer suspensions confined within the slit are analyzed for different volume fractions of swimmers, motility types (e.g., pusher, neutral squirmer, puller), and the presence of a rotlet dipolar flow field, which mimics the counter-rotating flow generated by flagellated bacteria. Different states are characterized, including a gas-like phase, swarming, and motility-induced phase separation, as a function of increasing volume fraction. Our study highlights the importance of an anisotropic swimmer shape, hydrodynamic interactions between squirmers, and their interaction with the walls for the emergence of different collective behaviors. Interestingly, the formation of collective structures may not be symmetric with respect to the two walls. Furthermore, the presence of a rotlet dipole significantly mitigates differences in the collective behavior between various swimmer types. These results contribute to a better understanding of the formation of bacterial biofilms and the emergence of collective states in confined active matter.

Unexpected reduction in thermal conductivity observed in graphene/h-BN heterostructures.

Heterostructures find wide-ranging applications in fields such as thermal management, thermoelectric energy conversion, and nanoelectronics. This study provides new insights into the thermal conductivity of parallel heterointerfaces by investigating a longitudinal heterostructure composed of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) using molecular dynamics simulations. Interestingly, it is observed that this unique heterostructure possesses a lower thermal conductivity compared to pure h-BN. The analysis reveals that phonon scattering is enhanced by stress at the interface of the heterostructure and the mass distribution through it. The heterostructure model introduced in this study presents new insights for controlling phonon transportation in nanoscale structures.

High Confidence Single Particle Analysis with Machine Learning.

Single particle analysis can effectively determine the heterogeneity between particles based on the local information on a single particle, which is utilized extensively for monitoring chemical reactions and biological activities. However, the study of obtaining ensemble reaction information at the single particle level, which can obtain both the structural and functional heterogeneity of particles as well as the ensemble reaction information, is challenging because the selection of a single particle mainly depends on experience, which will lead to a certain randomness when analyzing the ensemble reaction with single particles. Using machine learning, it is demonstrated that the proposed intelligent single particle analysis strategy can provide single particle and ensemble analyses with high confidence. Convolutional neural network and Gaussian mixture model were utilized to develop a machine learning model for resonance scattering imaging analysis of plasmonic nanoparticles. It can identify the scattered light of single particles and select representative or diverse particles. When single particle scattering imaging is used to obtain ensemble information on the reaction, the error caused by the selection of individual particles can be significantly reduced by selecting representative particles. In addition, the real situation of the reaction can be better revealed by selecting diverse particles. These results indicate that the intelligent single particle analysis strategy has great potential for imaging analysis and biological sensing.

Halocatena marina sp. nov., a novel filamentous halophilic archaeon isolated from marine tidal flat and emended description of the genus Halocatena.

Three novel filamentous halophilic archaea, strains DFN5T, RDMS1, and QDMS1, were isolated from the coastal saline soil samples of the intertidal zones located in different regions of Jiangsu Province, China. The colonies of these strains were pinkish-white due to the presence of white spores. These three strains are extremely halophilic and grew optimally at 35-37 °C and pH 7.0-7.5. Based on 16S rRNA and rpoB' gene analysis, strains DFN5T, RDMS1, and QDMS1 gathered together in phylogenetic trees and then clustered with the current species of the genus Halocatena showing 96.9-97.4% and 82.2-82.5% similarities, respectively. Both the 16S rRNA gene-based and rpoB' gene-based phylogenies were fully supported by the phylogenomic analysis, and the overall genome-related indexes indicated that strains DFN5T, RDMS1, and QDMS1 should be a novel species of the genus Halocatena. Genome mining revealed that there are considerable differences in the genes related to ß-carotene synthesis among these three strains and the current species of Halocatena. The major polar lipids of strains DFN5T, RDMS1, and QDMS1 are PA, PG, PGP-Me, S-TGD-1, TGD-1, and TGD-2. The minor polar lipids, S-DGD-1, DGD-1, S2-DGD, and S-TeGD may be detected. According to the phenotypic characteristics, phylogenetic analysis, genomic and chemotaxonomic features, strains DFN5T (= CGMCC 1.19401 T = JCM 35422 T), RDMS1 (= CGMCC 1.19411) and QDMS1 (= CGMCC 1.19410) were classified as a novel species of the genus Halocatena with the proposed name, Halocatena marina sp. nov. This is the first report of the description of a novel filamentous haloarchaeon isolated from marine intertidal zones.

Construction and validation of a risk prediction model for acute kidney injury in patients after cardiac arrest.

OBJECTIVE: Identifying patients at high risk for cardiac arrest-associated acute kidney injury (CA-AKI) helps in early preventive interventions. This study aimed to establish and validate a high-risk nomogram for CA-AKI. METHODS: In this retrospective dataset, 339 patients after cardiac arrest (CA) were enrolled and randomized into a training or testing dataset. The Student's t-test, non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test, or χ2 test was used to compare differences between the two groups. Optimal predictors of CA-AKI were determined using the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO). A nomogram was developed to predict the early onset of CA-AKI. The performance of the nomogram was assessed using metrics such as area under the curve (AUC), calibration curves, decision curve analysis (DCA), and clinical impact curve (CIC). RESULTS: In total, 150 patients (44.2%) were diagnosed with CA-AKI. Four independent risk predictors were identified and integrated into the nomogram: chronic kidney disease, albumin level, shock, and heart rate. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses showed that the nomogram had a good discrimination performance for CA-AKI in the training dataset 0.774 (95%CI, 0.715-0.833) and testing dataset 0.763 (95%CI, 0.670-0.856). The AUC values for the two groups were calculated and compared using the Hanley-McNeil test. No statistically significant differences were observed between the groups. The calibration curve demonstrated good agreement between the predicted outcome and actual observations. Good clinical usefulness was identified using DCA and CIC. CONCLUSION: An easy-to-use nomogram for predicting CA-AKI was established and validated, and the prediction efficiency of the clinical model has reasonable clinical practicability.

Synaptic loss in a mouse model of euthyroid Hashimoto's thyroiditis: possible involvement of the microglia.

BACKGROUND: Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is an autoimmune illness that renders individuals vulnerable to neuropsychopathology even in the euthyroid state, the mechanisms involved remain unclear. We hypothesized that activated microglia might disrupt synapses, resulting in cognitive disturbance in the context of euthyroid HT, and designed the present study to test this hypothesis. METHODS: Experimental HT model was induced by immunizing NOD mice with thyroglobulin and adjuvant twice. Morris Water Maze was measured to determine mice spatial learning and memory. The synaptic parameters such as the synaptic density, synaptic ultrastructure and synaptic-markers (SYN and PSD95) as well as the interactions of microglia with synapses were also determined. RESULTS: HT mice had poorer performance in Morris Water Maze than controls. Concurrently, HT resulted in a significant reduction in synapse density and ultrastructure damage, along with decreased synaptic puncta visualized by immunostaining with synaptophysin and PSD-95. In parallel, frontal activated microglia in euthyroid HT mice showed increased engulfment of PSD95 and EM revealed that the synaptic structures were visible within the microglia. These functional alterations in microglia corresponded to structural increases in their attachment to neuronal perikarya and a reduction in presynaptic terminals covering the neurons. CONCLUSION: Our results provide initial evidence that HT can induce synaptic loss in the euthyroid state with deficits might be attributable to activated microglia, which may underlie the deleterious effects of HT on spatial learning and memory.

Halocatena salina sp. nov., a filamentous halophilic archaeon isolated from Aiding Salt Lake.

A filamentous cell-shaped halophilic archaeon (strain AD-1T) was isolated from Aiding Salt Lake, PR China. Its colonies on HCM7 agar plates were pinkish white, 1-4 mm (diameter), elevated and round. The optimum conditions for growth were observed at 42 °C, 4.3 M NaCl, 0.01 M MgCl2 and pH 7. Strain AD-1T could hydrolyse Tween 60, Tween 80, starch and gelatin. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene, rpoB' and the concatenated 484 single-copy orthologous proteins revealed that strain AD-1T formed a clade with Halocatena pleomorpha SPP-AMP-1T. The average nucleotide identity and in silico DNA-DNA hybridization values between strain AD-1T and Halocatena pleomorpha SPP-AMP-1T were both below the species delineation thresholds (95~96 and 70 %, respectively). The major phospholipids of strain AD-1T were phosphatidic acid, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylglycerol phosphate methyl ester, while the major glycolipids were sulphated galactosyl mannosyl glucosyl diether, galactosyl mannosyl glucosyl diether and glucosyl mannosyl glucosyl diether. The phenotypic, phylogenetic and genome-based analyses suggested that strain AD-1T (=CGMCC 1.13724T=JCM 32960T) represents a novel species, for which the name Halocatena salina sp. nov. is proposed.

Description of Halosolutus amylolyticus gen. nov., sp. nov., Halosolutus halophilus sp. nov. and Halosolutus gelatinilyticus sp. nov., and genome-based taxonomy of genera Natribaculum and Halovarius.

Three extremely halophilic archaeal strains (LT55T, SQT-29-1T and WLHS5T) were isolated from Gobi saline soil and a salt lake, China. These strains were most related to the genera Natribaculum and Halovarius (92.6-95.1 % similarities), and showed low similarities with other genera within the family Natrialbaceae based on 16S rRNA genes. Phylogenomic analysis confirmed that the three strains formed a distinct clade separated from the related genera Halostagnicola and Natronococcus, which indicated that they may represent a novel genus of the family Natrialbaceae. The average nucleotide identity (ANI), in silico DNA-DNA hybridization (isDDH) and average amino acid identity (AAI) values among the three strains were no more than 87, 34 and 85 %, respectively, much lower than the threshold values for species demarcation. The major phospholipids of the three strains were phosphatidic acid (PA), phosphatidylglycerol (PG) and phosphatidylglycerol phosphate methyl ester (PGP-Me). The glycolipid profiles of the three strains were diverse; sulfated mannosyl glucosyl diether (S-DGD-1) and disulfated mannosyl glucosyl diether (S2-DGD) were found in strains LT55T and WLHS5T, while mannosyl glucosyl diether (DGD-1) and S-DGD-1 in strain SQT-29-1T. The combination of phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, phylogenetic and genomic analyses suggested that strains WLHS5T (=CGMCC 1.13781T = JCM 33558T), SQT-29-1T (=CGMCC 1.16065T = JCM 33554T) and LT55T (=CGMCC 1.15188T = JCM 30838T) represent three novel species of a new genus within the family Natrialbaceae, for which the names, Halosolutus amylolyticus gen. nov., sp. nov., Halosolutus gelatinilyticus sp. nov. and Halosolutus halophilus sp. nov., are proposed. Genome-based classification of genera Natribaculum and Halovarius revealed that Halovarius luteus should be transferred to the genus Natribaculum as Natribaculum luteum comb. nov. and Natribaculum longum as a heterotypic synonym of Natribaculum breve Liu et al. 2015.

Halorussus vallis sp. nov., Halorussus aquaticus sp. nov., Halorussus gelatinilyticus sp. nov., Halorussus limi sp. nov., Halorussus salilacus sp. nov., Halorussus salinisoli sp. nov.: six extremely halophilic archaea isolated from solar saltern, salt lake and saline soil.

Six novel halophilic archaeal strains of XZYJT10T, XZYJ18T, XZYJT40T, XZYJT49T, YCN54T and LT46T were isolated from a solar saltern in Tibet, a salt lake in Shanxi, and a saline soil in Xinjiang, China. Sequence similarities of 16S rRNA and rpoB' genes among strains XZYJT10T, XZYJ18T, XZYJT40T, XZYJT49T, YCN54T, LT46T and current members of Halorussus were 90.6-97.8% and 87.8-96.4%, respectively. The average nucleotide identity and in silico DNA-DNA hybridization values among these six strains and current Halorussus members were in the range of 76.5-87.5% and 21.0-33.8%, respectively. These values were all below the species boundary threshold values. The phylogenomic tree based on 122 conserved archaeal protein marker genes revealed that the six novel strains formed individual distinct branches and clustered tightly with Halorussus members. Several phenotypic characteristics distinguished the six strains from current Halorussus members. Polar lipid analysis showed that the six novel strains contained phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol phosphate methyl ester, phosphatidylglycerol sulfate and two to three glycolipids. Phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic properties showed that the six strains represented six novel species within the genus Halorussus, for which the names Halorussus vallis sp. nov., Halorussus aquaticus sp. nov., Halorussus gelatinilyticus sp. nov., Halorussus limi sp. nov., Halorussus salilacus sp. nov., and Halorussus salinisoli sp. nov. are proposed.

Halorientalis salina sp. nov., Halorientalis marina sp. nov., Halorientalis litorea sp. nov.: three extremely halophilic archaea isolated from a salt lake and coarse sea salt.

Three halophilic archaeal strains, NEN8T, GDY88T and ZY14T, were isolated from a salt lake in Tibet and coarse sea salt samples from Guangdong and Hebei, China, respectively. These strains formed three separate clades (showing 94.4-95.8% and 87.1-89.4% similarities, respectively) and then clustered with the current Halorientalis members (showing 90.7-97.6% and 87.0-91.2% similarities, respectively), as revealed by phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA and rpoB' genes. The overall genome-related index, average nucleotide identity (ANI), in silico DNA-DNA hybridization (DDH), average amino acid identity (AAI) and the percentage of conserved proteins (POCP) values, among the three strains and members of the genus Halorientalis were 76.0-88.0%, 21.3-37.2%, 69.0-88.3% and 57.7-78.1%, clearly below the threshold values for species demarcation. Strains NEN8T, GDY88T and ZY14T could be distinguished from current Halorientalis species according to differential phenotypic characteristics. The major polar lipids of the three strains were phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidylglycerol phosphate methyl ester (PGP-Me), sulfated mannosyl glucosyl diether (S-DGD-1) and disulfated mannosyl glucosyl diether (S2-DGD). In addition, mannosyl glucosyl diether (DGD-1) was detected in strain NEN8T and phosphatidic acid (PA), posssulfated galactosyl mannosyl glucosyl diether (S-TGD-1) and sulfated mannosyl glucosyl diether-phosphatidic acid (S-DGD-PA) were observed in strain ZY14T. These results revealed that strains NEN8T (= CGMCC 1.17213T = JCM 34155T), GDY88T (= CGMCC 1.18548T = JCM 34481T) and ZY14T (= CGMCC 1.17178T = JCM 34154T) represent three novel species of the genus Halorientalis, for which the names Halorientalis salina sp. nov., Halorientalis marina sp. nov. and Halorientalis litorea sp. nov. are proposed.

Jasmonate- and abscisic acid-activated AaGSW1-AaTCP15/AaORA transcriptional cascade promotes artemisinin biosynthesis in Artemisia annua.

Artemisinin, a sesquiterpene lactone widely used in malaria treatment, was discovered in the medicinal plant Artemisia annua. The biosynthesis of artemisinin is efficiently regulated by jasmonate (JA) and abscisic acid (ABA) via regulatory factors. However, the mechanisms linking JA and ABA signalling with artemisinin biosynthesis through an associated regulatory network of downstream transcription factors (TFs) remain enigmatic. Here we report AaTCP15, a JA and ABA dual-responsive teosinte branched1/cycloidea/proliferating (TCP) TF, which is essential for JA and ABA-induced artemisinin biosynthesis by directly binding to and activating the promoters of DBR2 and ALDH1, two genes encoding enzymes for artemisinin biosynthesis. Furthermore, AaORA, another positive regulator of artemisinin biosynthesis responds to JA and ABA, interacts with and enhances the transactivation activity of AaTCP15 and simultaneously activates AaTCP15 transcripts. Hence, they form an AaORA-AaTCP15 module to synergistically activate DBR2, a crucial gene for artemisinin biosynthesis. More importantly, AaTCP15 expression is activated by the multiple reported JA and ABA-responsive TFs that promote artemisinin biosynthesis. Among them, AaGSW1 acts at the nexus of JA and ABA signalling to activate the artemisinin biosynthetic pathway and directly binds to and activates the AaTCP15 promoter apart from the AaORA promoter, which further facilitates formation of the AaGSW1-AaTCP15/AaORA regulatory module to integrate JA and ABA-mediated artemisinin biosynthesis. Our results establish a multilayer regulatory network of the AaGSW1-AaTCP15/AaORA module to regulate artemisinin biosynthesis through JA and ABA signalling, and provide an interesting avenue for future research exploring the special transcriptional regulation module of TCP genes associated with specialized metabolites in plants.

Effects of rumen-protected folic acid and rumen-protected sodium selenite supplementation on lactation performance, nutrient digestion, ruminal fermentation and blood metabolites in dairy cows.

BACKGROUND: Considering the insufficient ruminal synthesis of folic acid (FA), the higher degradability of FA, and the reduction of sodium selenite (SS) by ruminal microbes into non-absorbable elemental Se, this study evaluated the effects of rumen-protected FA (RPFA) and rumen-protected SS (RPSS) on lactation performance, nutrient digestion and blood metabolites in dairy cows. RESULTS: Dry matter (DM) intake and milk composition were unaltered, milk and milk fat yields were higher for both supplements, and milk protein yield was higher for RPFA addition. Digestibility of DM, neutral detergent fibre and acid detergent fibre was higher for both supplements, whereas that of organic matter and crude protein was higher for RPFA addition. Ruminal pH and ammonia N were lower, and concentration of total volatile fatty acids was higher for both supplements. Activity of cellobiase and xylanase was higher for RPFA addition, whereas that of pectinase and protease was higher for both supplements. The populations of total ruminal fungi, protozoa, Ruminococcus flavefaciens and Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens were higher for both supplements. The RPFA × RPSS interaction was significant for α-amylase activity, total ruminal bacteria and R. albus populations; these three variables were increased by RPSS but the increase was greater when cows were also fed RPFA. CONCLUSION: The results indicated that addition of RPFA or RPSS improved lactation performance, nutrient digestibility and ruminal fermentation in dairy cows by stimulating ruminal microbial growth and enzyme activity. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Hashimoto's thyroiditis induces neuroinflammation and emotional alterations in euthyroid mice.

BACKGROUND: Although studies have reported an increased risk for mood disorders in Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) patients even in the euthyroid state, the mechanisms involved remain unclear. Neuroinflammation may play a key role in the etiology of mood disorders in humans and behavioral disturbances in rodents. Therefore, this study established a euthyroid HT model in mice and investigated whether HT itself was capable of triggering neuroinflammation accompanied by emotional alterations. METHODS: Experimental HT was induced by immunizing NOD mice with thyroglobulin and adjuvant twice. Four weeks after the last challenge, mice were tested for anxiety-like behavior in the open field and elevated plus maze tests and depression-like behavior in the forced swimming and tail suspension tests. Then, animals were sacrificed for thyroid-related parameter measure as well as detection of cellular and molecular events associated with neuroinflammation. The changes in components of central serotonin signaling were also investigated. RESULTS: HT mice showed intrathyroidal monocyte infiltration and rising serum thyroid autoantibody levels accompanied by normal thyroid function, which defines euthyroid HT in humans. These mice displayed more anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors than controls. HT mice further showed microglia and astrocyte activation in the frontal cortex detected by immunohistochemistry, real-time RT-PCR, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). These observations were also accompanied by enhanced gene expression of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1ß and TNF-α in the frontal cortex. Despite this inflammatory response, no signs of neuronal apoptosis were visible by the TUNEL staining and TEM in the frontal cortex of HT mice. Additionally, IDO1 and SERT, key serotonin-system-related genes activated by proinflammatory cytokines, were upregulated in HT mice, accompanied by reduced frontal cortex serotonin levels. CONCLUSIONS: Our results are the first to suggest that HT induces neuroinflammation and alters related serotonin signaling in the euthyroid state, which may underlie the deleterious effects of HT itself on emotional function.

Effect of Palliative Care for Patients with Heart Failure.

Palliative care might be beneficial to heart failure. However, the results remain controversial. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the effect of palliative care on heart failure.PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, EBSCO, and Cochrane library databases were systematically searched. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effect of palliative care versus usual care on heart failure were included. Two investigators independently searched articles, extracted data, and assessed the quality of included studies. The primary outcome was readmission. Meta-analysis was performed using random-effect model.Five RCTs involving 545 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, compared with control intervention, palliative care intervention was found to significantly reduce the readmission [Std. mean difference = 0.79; 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 0.23 to 1.35; P = 0.006], Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) (Std. mean difference = -2.5; 95% CI = -4.39 to -0.62; P = 0.009), and PHQ-9 (Std. mean difference = -1.16; 95% CI = -1.73 to -0.58; P < 0.005), as well as improve heart failure questionnaire (Std. mean difference = 4.46; 95% CI = 3.44 to 5.47; P < 0.005), but had no influence on mortality (RR = 1.54; 95% CI = 0.80 to 2.96; P = 0.19) and quality of life questionnaire (Std. mean difference = 1.81; 95% CI = -0.14 to 3.77; P = 0.07).Compared with control intervention, palliative care intervention was found to significantly reduce readmission, ESAS, PHQ-9, and improve heart failure questionnaire, but showed no influence on mortality and quality of life questionnaire in patients with heart failure.

Photoactuation Healing of α-FeOOH@g-C3 N4 Catalyst for Efficient and Stable Activation of Persulfate.

Inspired by living systems, the construction of smart devices that can self-heal in response to structural damage is a promising technology for maintaining the high activity and stability of catalysts during heterocatalytic reactions. Here this study demonstrates an ingenious platform that enabled efficient persulfate (PS) activation for contaminant degradation via integrating a catalyst with photoactuation regeneration. Under irradiation, it is unambiguously confirmed that the collective properties of a tailored FeOOH@C3 N4 catalyst permit interfacial photoexcited electron transport from the photocatalyst substrate to needle-shaped FeOOH. This results in the simultaneous recovery of Fe(III) and optimization of the Fe(II)/Fe(III) ratio on FeOOH surface during PS activation process, so that the healed chemical structure ensures that subsequent PS activation remains unimpaired. Aqueous organic contaminant (bisphenol A) oxidation efficacy in this system is almost 20 times higher than for photo- or Fenton-oxidation alone. This work highlights the concept of catalyst regeneration for stable reactive species generation in solution, which represents alternative application of photocatalysis for practical environmental remediation. Further, the photoactuation healing approach can be expanded into various domains, such as material fabrication or chemical synthesis.

Construction of All-Solid-State Batteries based on a Sulfur-Graphene Composite and Li9.54 Si1.74 P1.44 S11.7 Cl0.3 Solid Electrolyte.

Herein an effective way for construction of all-solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) with sulfur/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and Li9.54 Si1.74 P1.44 S11.7 Cl0.3 solid electrolyte is reported. In the composite cathode, the Li9.54 Si1.74 P1.44 S11.7 Cl0.3 powder is homogeneously mixed with the S/rGO composite to enhance the ionic conductivity. Coupled with a metallic Li anode and solid electrolyte, the designed S/rGO-Li9.54 Si1.74 P1.44 S11.7 Cl0.3 composite cathode exhibits a high specific capacity and good cycling stability. A high initial discharge capacity of 969 mAh g-1 is achieved at a current density of 80 mA g-1 at room temperature and the cell retains a reversible capacity of over 827 mAh g-1 after 60 cycles. The enhanced performance is attributed to the intimate contact between the S/rGO and Li9.54 Si1.74 P1.44 S11.7 Cl0.3 electrolyte, and high electrical conductivity of rGO and high ionic conductivity of the solid electrolyte.

Protein kinase Cδ-mediated phosphorylation of Connexin43 gap junction channels causes movement within gap junctions followed by vesicle internalization and protein degradation.

Phosphorylation of gap junction proteins, connexins, plays a role in global signaling events involving kinases. Connexin43 (Cx43), a ubiquitous and important connexin, has several phosphorylation sites for specific kinases. We appended an imaging reporter tag for the activity of the δ isoform of protein kinase C (PKCδ) to the carboxyl terminus of Cx43. The FRET signal of this reporter is inversely related to the phosphorylation of serine 368 of Cx43. By activating PKC with the phorbol ester phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu) or a natural stimulant, UTP, time lapse live cell imaging movies indicated phosphorylated Ser-368 Cx43 separated into discrete domains within gap junctions and was internalized in small vesicles, after which it was degraded by lysosomes and proteasomes. Mutation of Ser-368 to an Ala eliminated the response to PDBu and changes in phosphorylation of the reporter. A phosphatase inhibitor, calyculin A, does not change this pattern, indicating PKC phosphorylation causes degradation of Cx43 without dephosphorylation, which is in accordance with current hypotheses that cells control their intercellular communication by a fast and constant turnover of connexins, using phosphorylation as part of this mechanism.

Characteristics and Tissue Regeneration Properties of Gingiva-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have 2 specific characteristics: self-renewal and multi- or pluripotency. Extensive studies have demonstrated the regenerative capability of MSCs both in vitro and in vivo. Gingiva-derived MSCs (GMSCs) represent a unique population of MSCs that can be easily isolated and obtained. GMSCs, which maintain a normal karyotype and telomerase activity in long-term cultures, display a stable phenotype and rapidly proliferate in vitro. In addition, GMSCs can be induced to differentiate into osteogenic, chondrogenic, and adipogenic lineages. Therefore, GMSCs are a promising alternative cell source for tissue regeneration in dentistry. In this article we review studies of the characterization, differentiation capacities, and regenerative role of GMSCs derived from the gingiva of humans and other species, focusing on the mechanisms of differentiation and tissue regeneration of human GMSCs. We anticipate that GMSC-based therapies will significantly contribute to regenerative medicine for the treatment of human dental diseases and improve human health.