Ionic Pumping Effect at the Tailored Mesoporous Carbon Interface for an Extra-Stable Lithium Ion Battery at Low Temperatures.

Ion transportation at the interface significantly influences the electrochemical performance of the lithium ion battery, especially at high rates and low temperatures. Here, we develop a controlled self-assembly strategy for constructing a mesoporous carbon nanolayer with a uniform pore size and varied thicknesses on the two-dimensional monolayer MXene substrate. On the basis of the excellent electron conductivity of MXene, the mesoporous carbon layer is found with a voltage-driven ion accumulation effect, acting as an "ionic pump". The thicker mesoporous layer (∼2.28 nm) has the ability to accommodate a substantial quantity of ions, demonstrating enhanced ionic conductivity, remarkable cycling stability (192.8 mAh/g after 9400 cycles at 5.0 A/g), and outstanding rate capability at ambient and sub-zero temperatures (∼601 mAh/g at 0 °C and 0.05 A/g). This work provides valuable insights and guidance for the further development of high-performance electrode materials at high rates or low temperatures.

Myeloid-specific Hdac10 deletion protects against LPS-induced acute lung injury via P62 acetylation at lysine 165.

BACKGROUND: Aberrant activation of macrophages is associated with pathogenesis of acute lung injury (ALI). However, the potential pathogenesis has not been explored. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to identify whether histone deacetylase (HDAC) 10 is involved in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-exposed ALI and reveal the underlying pathogenesis by which it promotes lung inflammation in LPS-exposed ALI via modifying P62 with deacetylation. METHODS: We constructed an ALI mice model stimulated with LPS to determine the positive effect of Hdac10 deficiency. Moreover, we cultured murine alveolar macrophage cell line (MH-S cells) and primary bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) to explore the pro-inflammatory activity and mechanism of HDAC10 after LPS challenge. RESULTS: HDAC10 expression was increased both in mice lung tissues and macrophage cell lines and promoted inflammatory cytokines production exposed to LPS. Hdac10 deficiency inhibited autophagy and inflammatory response after LPS stimulation. In vivo, Hdac10fl/fl-LysMCre mice considerably attenuated lung inflammation and inflammatory cytokines release exposed to LPS. Mechanistically, HDAC10 interacts with P62 and mediates P62 deacetylation at lysine 165 (K165), by which it promotes P62 expression and increases inflammatory cytokines production. Importantly, we identified that Salvianolic acid B (SAB), an HDAC10 inhibitor, reduces lung inflammatory response in LPS-stimulated ALI. CONCLUSION: These results uncover a previously unknown role for HDAC10 in regulating P62 deacetylation and aggravating lung inflammation in LPS-induced ALI, implicating that targeting HDAC10 is an effective therapy for LPS-exposed ALI.

Lactate, histone lactylation and cancer hallmarks.

Histone lactylation, an indicator of lactate level and glycolysis, has intrinsic connections with cell metabolism that represents a novel epigenetic code affecting the fate of cells including carcinogenesis. Through delineating the relationship between histone lactylation and cancer hallmarks, we propose histone lactylation as a novel epigenetic code priming cells toward the malignant state, and advocate the importance of identifying novel therapeutic strategies or dual-targeting modalities against lactylation toward effective cancer control. This review underpins important yet less-studied area in histone lactylation, and sheds insights on its clinical impact as well as possible therapeutic tools targeting lactylation.

CNN-Bi-LSTM: A Complex Environment-Oriented Cattle Behavior Classification Network Based on the Fusion of CNN and Bi-LSTM.

Cattle behavior classification technology holds a crucial position within the realm of smart cattle farming. Addressing the requisites of cattle behavior classification in the agricultural sector, this paper presents a novel cattle behavior classification network tailored for intricate environments. This network amalgamates the capabilities of CNN and Bi-LSTM. Initially, a data collection method is devised within an authentic farm setting, followed by the delineation of eight fundamental cattle behaviors. The foundational step involves utilizing VGG16 as the cornerstone of the CNN network, thereby extracting spatial feature vectors from each video data sequence. Subsequently, these features are channeled into a Bi-LSTM classification model, adept at unearthing semantic insights from temporal data in both directions. This process ensures precise recognition and categorization of cattle behaviors. To validate the model's efficacy, ablation experiments, generalization effect assessments, and comparative analyses under consistent experimental conditions are performed. These investigations, involving module replacements within the classification model and comprehensive analysis of ablation experiments, affirm the model's effectiveness. The self-constructed dataset about cattle is subjected to evaluation using cross-entropy loss, assessing the model's generalization efficacy across diverse subjects and viewing perspectives. Classification performance accuracy is quantified through the application of a confusion matrix. Furthermore, a set of comparison experiments is conducted, involving three pertinent deep learning models: MASK-RCNN, CNN-LSTM, and EfficientNet-LSTM. The outcomes of these experiments unequivocally substantiate the superiority of the proposed model. Empirical results underscore the CNN-Bi-LSTM model's commendable performance metrics: achieving 94.3% accuracy, 94.2% precision, and 93.4% recall while navigating challenges such as varying light conditions, occlusions, and environmental influences. The objective of this study is to employ a fusion of CNN and Bi-LSTM to autonomously extract features from multimodal data, thereby addressing the challenge of classifying cattle behaviors within intricate scenes. By surpassing the constraints imposed by conventional methodologies and the analysis of single-sensor data, this approach seeks to enhance the precision and generalizability of cattle behavior classification. The consequential practical, economic, and societal implications for the agricultural sector are of considerable significance.

Parachryseolinea silvisoli gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from forest soil, and reclassification of Chryseolinea flava as Pseudochryseolinea flava gen. nov., comb. nov.

A lemon-chiffon strain, designated QH1ED-6-2T, was isolated from a soil sample collected from Qinghai Virgin Forests, Qinghai Province, PR China. The strain was Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped and motile by gliding. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain QH1ED-6-2T belongs to the family Fulvivirgaceae, and has the highest similarity values of 93.6-92.0 % to Ohtaekwangia koreensis CCUG 58939T, Ohtaekwangia kribbensis CCUG 58938T, Chryseolinea flava SDU1-6T and Chryseolinea serpens DSM 24574T, respectively. The major cellular fatty acids included iso-C15 : 0, C16 : 1 ω5c, iso-C17 : 0 3-OH and summed feature 3. The major polar lipid was phosphatidylethanolamine. The predominant respiratory quinone was menaquinone-7. The average amino acid identity values and percentages of conserved proteins between QH1ED-6-2T and its closely related genera were 66.4-69.6 % and 58.9-64.9 %, respectively, which are interspersed in the intra-genera cutoff values. The digital DNA-DNA hybridization values were 17.6-19.2 %. The draft genome size of strain QH1ED-6-2T was 7.98 Mbp with a DNA G+C content of 51.4 mol%. Based on phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, phylogenetic data, genomic DNA G+C content, as well as AAI, POCP and dDDH results, strain QH1ED-6-2T represents a novel species of a new genus in the family Fulvivirgaceae, for which the name Parachryseolinea silvisoli sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is QH1ED-6-2T (=GDMCC 1.2318T=JCM 35041T). We also propose the reclassification of Chryseolinea flava as Pseudochryseolinea flava gen. nov., comb. nov. (type strain SDU1-6T=CGMCC 1.13492T=JCM 32520T).

Establishment of a medical device adverse event management system for hospitals.

BACKGROUND: The management of medical device adverse event (MDAE) is one of the most important aspects of improving medical quality and safety management. Nonetheless, hospitals still lack standardized and unified initiatives to improve MDAE management. METHODS: This study, thus, established a MDAE monitoring system on May 1 in 2011 for suspected adverse events and designed a hospital-based dynamic warning system, aiming to standardize the process of MDAE handling and provide real-time monitoring for MDAEs in a hospital. This system was used in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine. Numbers and the compound growth rate of MDAE reports from 2010 to 2020 were compared to test the effectiveness of the MDAE monitoring system. Numbers of MDAE reported to the National Adverse Event Monitoring System were also compared over 2013 to 2020, due to the loss of data before 2013 after shutdown of the old system. Efficacy and usability of the hospital-based dynamic warning system was then verified by analyzing risk and warning levels of MDAEs in 2020. Descriptive statistics was used for data analysis in this study. RESULTS: Results showed that the compound annual growth rates of MDAE reports and those submitted to the National Adverse Event Monitoring System from 2013 to 2020 were 35.0% and 31.5%, respectively. A standardized management of MDAE with full participant, timely response and effective feedback was formed in the hospital by establishment of the MDAE system. CONCLUSIONS: This system effectively improved the monitoring level of MDAEs, helping to improve early detection, early warning, and early intervention of risk of medical device. This study may provide suggestions for medical institutions to establish a MDAE monitoring system, and may promote development of medical quality and safety management for hospitals to some extent.

Wide spread and diversity of mutation in the gyrA gene of quinolone-resistant Corynebacterium striatum strains isolated from three tertiary hospitals in China.

BACKGROUND: Corynebacterium striatum was confirmed to be an important opportunistic pathogen, which could lead to multiple-site infections and presented high prevalence of multidrug resistance, particularly to quinolone antibiotics. This study aimed to investigate the mechanism underlying resistance to quinolones and the epidemiological features of 410 quinolone-resistant C. striatum clinical strains isolated from three tertiary hospitals in China. METHODS: A total of 410 C. striatum clinical strains were isolated from different clinical samples of patients admitted to three tertiary teaching hospitals in China. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using the microdilution broth method and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used for genotyping. Gene sequencing was used to identify possible mutations in the quinolone resistance-determining regions (QRDRs) of gyrA. RESULTS: In total, 410 C. striatum isolates were sensitive to vancomycin, linezolid, and daptomycin but resistant to ciprofloxacin. Depending on the antibiotic susceptibility testing results of 12 antimicrobial agents, the 410 C. striatum strains were classified into 12 resistant biotypes; of these, the three biotypes R1, R2, and R3 were dominant and accounted for 47.3% (194/410), 21.0% (86/410), and 23.2% (95/410) of the resistant biotypes, respectively. Mutations in the QRDRs ofgyrA were detected in all quinolone-resistant C. striatum isolates, and 97.3% of the isolates (399/410) showed double mutations in codons 87 and 91 of the QRDRs of gyrA. Ser-87 to Phe-87 and Asp-91 to Ala-91 double mutation in C. striatum was the most prevalent and accounted for 72.2% (296/410) of all mutations. Four new mutations in gyrA were identified in this study; these included Ser-87 to Tyr-87 and Asp-91 to Ala-91 (double mutation, 101 isolates); Ser-87 to Val-87 and Asp-91 toGly-91 (double mutation, one isolate); Ser-87 to Val-87 and Asp-91 to Ala-91 (double mutation, one isolate); and Ser-87 to Ile-87 (single mutation, one isolate). The minimum inhibitory concentration of ciprofloxacin for isolates with double (96.5%; 385/399) and single (72.7%; 8/11) mutations was high (≥ 32 µg/mL). Based on the PFGE typing results, 101 randomly selected C. striatum strains were classified into 50 genotypes (T01-T50), including the three multidrug-resistant epidemic clones T02, T06, and T28; these accounted for 14.9% (15/101), 5.9% (6/101), and 11.9% (12/101) of all genotypes, respectively. The multidrug-resistant T02 clone was identified in hospitals A and C and persisted from 2016 to 2018. Three outbreaks resulting from the T02, T06, and T28 clones were observed among intensive care unit (ICU) patients in hospital C between April and May 2019. CONCLUSIONS: Quinolone-resistant C. striatum isolates showed a high prevalence of multidrug resistance. Point mutations in the QRDRs of gyrA conferred quinolone resistance to C. striatum, and several mutations in gyrA were newly found in this study. The great clonal diversity, high-level quinolone resistance and increased prevalence among patients susceptible to C. striatum isolates deserve more attention in the future. Moreover, more thorough investigation of the relationship between quinolone exposure and resistance evolution in C. striatum is necessary.

US-Guided Transforaminal Cervical Nerve Root Block: A Novel Lateral in-Plane Approach.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness and safety of a novel lateral in-plane approach for ultrasound-guided transforaminal cervical nerve root block (US-guided TF-CNRB) in the treatment of cervical radiculopathic pain. DESIGN: The design of the present study consisted of an institutional, retrospective case series. SETTING: The present study was conducted at a university hospital. SUBJECTS: Thirty-two patients with cervical radiculopathy who were resistant to conservative therapies and regular US-guided CNRB were included as participants. METHODS: The included patients were treated with US-guided TF-CNRB. During the treatments, using real-time fluoroscopy, we monitored the spreading patterns of a contrast medium and double confirmed the positions of needle tips. Pain numeric rating scales (NRS) and symptom relief grades were determined via telephone interviews at one, four, and 12 weeks after the procedures. RESULTS: US-guided TF-CNRB was performed at the C5 level in six patients, the C6 level in 18 patients, and the C7 level in eight patients. Compared with NRS at baseline, pain scores decreased throughout the observation period. Symptom relief rates of US-guided TF-CNRB at one, four, and 12 weeks were 72%, 69%, and 63%, respectively. Venous blood was aspirated during the procedures in two patients, and the needle tips were corrected. No intravascular injections or neurologic injuries were observed. CONCLUSION: US-guided TF-CNRB produced circumferential spreading around the involved cervical nerve root and showed significant clinical effectiveness in patients resistant to regular US-guided CNRB.

Pararobbsia silviterrae gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from forest soil and reclassification of Burkholderia alpina as Pararobbsia alpina comb. nov.

A novel Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-spore-forming, non-motile and rod-shaped bacterial strain, DHC34T, was isolated from forest soil of Dinghushan Biosphere Reserve, Guangdong Province, China (112° 31' E 23° 10' N). It grew optimally on R2A medium at 28 °C, at pH 6.0-7.0 and in the presence of 0-1 % (w/v) NaCl. Strain DHC34T was closely related to Burkholderia alpina LMG 28138T (98.5 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity). 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that strain DHC34T formed a clade with B. alpina LMG 28138T, which is next to but branched deeply with Robbsia andropogonis ICMP 2807T. The phylogenetic relationships among these three strains were also supported with the phylogram based on concatenated partial gyrB, recA and trpB gene sequences. The phylogenomic tree generated with the UBCG tool showed that strains DHC34T and R. andropogonis ICMP 2807T were in a different clade. The DNA-DNA relatedness values between strain DHC34T and B. alpina LMG 28138T and R. andropogonis ICMP 2807T were much lower than 70 %. Strain DHC34T contained ubiquinone 8 as the major respiratory quinone. Its major fatty acids were C16 : 0, C17 : 0 cyclo and C19 : 0 cyclo ω8c. The DNA G+C content of strain DHC34T was 64.2 mol%. The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, three unidentified aminophospholipids, four unidentified phospholipids, one unidentified aminolipid and a polar lipid. The phenotypic, phylogenetic, genotypic and chemotaxonomic data showed that strain DHC34T represents a novel species of a new genus in the family Burkholderiaceae, for which the name Pararobbsia silviterrae gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Pararobbsia silviterrae is DHC34T (=KCTC 42628T=LMG 28845T). On the basis of the current data, Burkholderia alpina is renamed as Pararobbsia alpina comb. nov.

Tamoxifen attenuates reactive astrocyte-induced brain metastasis and drug resistance through the IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway.

Brain metastasis affects approximately 20%-30% of patients with triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs). Even small metastatic lesions in the brain can trigger severe neurological impairments and result in extremely short survival time. Recently, active astrocytes were reported to be associated with brain metastases. However, how activated astrocytes regulate the behaviors of disseminated breast cancer cells in the brain remains unknown. In this study, human primary astrocytes were stimulated with IL-1ß to form active astrocytes to study the cross-talk between stromal cells (astrocytes) and TNBC cells in brain metastases. Our results showed that active astrocytes significantly increase the malignancy of TNBC cells and prevent them from undergoing apoptosis caused by doxorubicin. We also found that the high level of IL-6 secreted by activated astrocytes was responsible for the drug resistance of breast cancer, which could be abolished by treatment of astrocytes with tamoxifen (TAM). The blockage of active astrocyte-derived IL-6 by a neutralizing antibody resulted in the attenuation of drug resistance, consequently enhancing the sensitivity of breast cancer cells to doxorubicin. Furthermore, the possible involved TAM-modulated drug resistance mechanism may be associated with a decrease in IL-6 expression in astrocytes and the downregulation of MAPK and JAK2/STAT3 signaling in cancer cells. Our data suggested that TAMs might reduce drug resistance through the IL-6/JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway, providing a possible therapy to treat brain metastasis in TNBCs, as estrogen receptor inhibitors (TAMs, etc.) can cross the blood-brain barrier.

Chitinophaga silvisoli sp. nov., isolated from forest soil.

A Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped and aerobic bacterium, designated K20C18050901T, was isolated from forest soil collected on 11 September 2017 from Dinghushan Biosphere Reserve, Guangdong Province, PR China (23° 10' 24'' N; 112° 32' 10'' E). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain K20C18050901T belongs to the genus Chitinophaga, and showed the highest similarities to Chitinophaga sancti NBRC 15057T (98.6 %) and Chitinophaga oryziterrae JCM 16595T (96.9 %). The major fatty acids (>10 %) were iso-C15 : 0, C16 : 1ω5c, summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω6c and/or C16 : 1ω7c) and iso-C17 : 0 3-OH. The predominant respiratory quinone was menaquinone-7. The major polar lipid was phosphatidylethanolamine. The draft genome size of strain K20C18050901T was 8.36 Mb with a DNA G+C content of 44.7 mol%. The digital DNA-DNA hybridization and average nucleotide identity values between strain K20C18050901T and C. sancti NBRC 15057T were 31.40 and 85.82 %, respectively. On the basis of phenotypic, genotypic and phylogenetic analysis, strain K20C18050901T represents a novel species of the genus Chitinophaga, for which the name Chitinophagasilvisoli sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is K20C18050901T (=GDMCC 1.1411T=KCTC 62860T).

Paraburkholderia phosphatilytica sp. nov., a phosphate-solubilizing bacterium isolated from forest soil.

A novel Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-spore-forming, non-motile and rod-shaped bacterial strain, 7QSK02T, was isolated from forest soil of Dinghushan Biosphere Reserve, Guangdong Province, China. It grew at 12-37 °C, at pH 4.0-7.5 and in the presence of 0-1.0 % (w/v) NaCl on R2A agar medium, with optimum growth at 28 °C, pH 5.5 and 0 % NaCl. Strain 7QSK02T was closely related to members of the genus Paraburkholderia: P. acidipaludis NBRC 101816T (98.1 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity), P. piptadeniae STM 7183T (97.6 %), P. kururiensis JCM 10599T (97.3 %), P. caballeronis TNe-841T (97.3 %) and P. diazotrophica JPY461T (97.1 %). 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that strain 7QSK02T and two closely strains, P. kururiensis JCM 10599T and P. caballeronis TNe-841T, formed a clade within the genus Paraburkholderia, but was clearly separated from the established species. The genomic G+C content of strain 7QSK02T was 64.9 mol% based on total genome calculations. The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization value for the complete genomes were 79.2-81.5 and 23.2-24.9 % between strain 7QSK02T and its closely related species listed above. Strain 7QSK02T contained ubiquinone 8 as the major respiratory quinone. Major fatty acids were C16 : 0, C17 : 0 cyclo and C19 : 0 cyclo ω8c. The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylmethylethanolamine, one unidentified aminophospholipid, aminolipid and polar lipid. The phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic properties, and genome analysis suggest that strain 7QSK02T represents a novel species of the genus Paraburkholderia, for which the name Paraburkholderia phosphatilytica sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 7QSK02T (=GDMCC 1.1283T=CGMCC 1.15470T=KCTC 62473T).

Trinickia dinghuensis sp. nov. and Trinickia fusca sp. nov., isolated from forest soil.

Two Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-spore forming and rod-shaped bacterial strains, designated DHOM06T and 7MK8-2T, were isolated from forest soil sampled at Dinghushan Biosphere Reserve, Guangdong Province, PR China. Strain DHOM06T grew at 12-37 °C (optimum, 28-33 °C), pH 4.5-7.5 (pH 5.5) and in the presence of 0-0.5 % NaCl (w/v); while strain 7MK8-2T grew at 12-42 °C (28-33 °C), pH 4.0-8.5 (pH 4.5-5.5) and in the presence of 0-1.0 % NaCl (w/v). Strains DHOM06T and 7MK8-2T each has a 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 97.1-98.9 % as well as 97.4-97.9 % to Trinickia strains, respectively. In the 16S rRNA gene sequence phylogram, both strains and all five currently described Trinickia species formed a clade but they were all distinct from each other. The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values for strains DHOM06T and 7MK8-2T and all Trinickia species were in the range of 77.4-82.6 % and 21.7-26.2 %, respectively. The DNA G+C content of DHOM06T and 7MK8-2T was 63.2 and 63.5 mol%, respectively, based on total genome calculations. These two strains contained ubiquinone 8 as the major respiratory quinone and C16 : 0, C17 : 0cyclo, C19 : 0cyclo ω8c, summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c/C16 : 1ω6c) and summed feature 8 (C18 : 1ω7c/C18 : 1ω6c) as the major cellular fatty acids. The major polar lipids of DHOM06T and 7MK8-2T were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and diphosphatidylglycerol. On the basis of phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, phylogenetic and genomic analysis data, strains DHOM06T and 7MK8-2T represent two novel species of the genus Trinickia, for which the names Trinickia dinghuensis sp. nov. (type strain DHOM06T=GDMCC 1.1280T=LMG 30259T) and Trinickia fusca sp. nov. (type strain 7MK8-2T=GDMCC 1.1449T=KCTC 62469T) are proposed.

Paraburkholderia dinghuensis sp. nov., isolated from soil.

A novel Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-spore-forming, non-motile and rod-shaped bacterial strain, designated DHOA04T, was isolated from a forest soil sample collected at Dinghushan Biosphere Reserve, Guangdong Province, PR China (112° 31' E 23° 10' N). It grew optimally at 28-33 °C and pH 6.5-7.0. Strain DHOA04T contained Q-8 as the major respiratory quinone. Its main fatty acids were C16 : 0, C17 : 0cyclo, summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω6c and/or C16 : 1ω7c) and summed feature 8 (C18 : 1ω7c and/or C18 : 1ω6c). The DNA G+C content of DHOA04T was 63.0 mol%, which is in the range of the genus Paraburkholderia. The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values for the complete genomes were 81.6-83.0 and 25.5-27.0 % between strain DHOA04T and five closely related type strains. The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and two unidentified aminophospholipids. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, the strain was found to be closely related to members of the genus Paraburkholderia, but clearly separated from the established species. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences using the maximum-likelihood algorithm indicated that strain DHOA04T was most closely related to Paraburkholderia ferrariae NBRC 106233T. The phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic data, and genome analysis showed that strain DHOA04T represents a novel species of the genus Paraburkholderia, for which the name Paraburkholderia dinghuensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is DHOA04T (=KCTC 42627T=LMG 28839T).

Deminuibacter soli gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from forest soil, and reclassification of Filimonas aurantiibacter as Arvibacter aurantiibacter comb. nov.

A novel strain, designated K23C18032701T, was isolated from a sample of forest soil collected from Dinghushan Biosphere Reserve, Guangdong Province, PR China. The strain was Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, motile and showed a shape change from a filamentous cell to coccobacilli. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the novel strain belongs to the family Chitinophagaceae, and showed the highest similarities to Arvibacter flaviflagrans JCM 31293T (95.0 %) and Filimonas aurantiibacter LMG 29039T (94.4 %). The major cellular fatty acids included iso-C15 : 0, iso-C17 : 0 3-OH and iso-C15 : 1 G. The predominant polar lipid was phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). The predominant respiratory quinone was menaquinone-7. The major polyamine was sym-homospermidine. The draft genome size of strain K23C18032701T was 5.84 Mb with a DNA G+C content of 47.2 mol%. Based on phenotypic, genotypic and phylogenetic analysis, strain K23C18032701T represents a novel species of a new genus in the family Chitinophagaceae, for which the name Deminuibacter soli is proposed. The type strain is K23C18032701T (=GDMCC 1.1403T=KCTC 62913T). We also propose the reclassification of Filimonas aurantiibacter as Arvibacter aurantiibacter comb. nov. (type strain 1458T=NRRL B-65305T=LMG 29039T).

Paraburkholderia acidiphila sp. nov., Paraburkholderia acidisoli sp. nov. and Burkholderia guangdongensis sp. nov., isolated from forest soil, and reclassification of Burkholderia ultramafica as Paraburkholderia ultramafica comb. nov.

Three Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, motile and rod-shaped bacterial strains, 7Q-K02T, DHF22T and DHOM02T, were isolated from forest soil sampled at Dinghushan Biosphere Reserve, Guangdong Province, China. Strains 7Q-K02T, DHF22T and DHOM02T grew at 4-37, 4-42 and 12-37 °C, pH 3.0-8.5, 3.5-8.5 and 5.0-8.0, and in the presence of 0-3.0, 0-3.5 and 0-2.5 % (w/v) NaCl; with optima at 28-33, 28 and 28-33 °C, pH 3.5-6.5, 4.0-5.5 and 6.5-7.0, and 0-1.5, 0-1.5 and 0.5-1.5 % (w/v) NaCl, respectively. Strains 7Q-K02T and DHF22T have the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities of 99.0 and 98.0 % to Paraburkholderia sacchari LMG 19450T and 97.7 % between themselves, while strain DHOM02T shares the highest similarity of 98.4 % to 'Burkholderia rinojensis' A396T followed by 98.3 % to Burkholderia plantarii ATCC 43733T. In the 16S rRNA gene sequence phylogram, strain 7Q-K02T formed a sister branch with Paraburkholderia sacchari, Paraburkholderia oxyphila and Paraburkholderia paradisi, and strain DHF22T was separated from all other species within the genus Paraburkholderia, while strain DHOM02T formed a separated clade with members of the genus Burkholderia. The DNA G+C contents of strains 7Q-K02T, DHF22T and DHOM02T wwe 64.3, 65.4 and 66.6 %, respectively. Digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) and average nucleotide identity (ANI) values of strains 7Q-K02T, DHF22T and closely related Paraburkholderia strains were in the ranges of 25.5-43.7 % and 81.5-91.3 %, respectively. While dDDH and ANI values between strain DHOM02T and Burkholderia strains with genome sequence data were in the ranges of 22.4-31.0 % and 78.2-86.1 %, respectively. These three strains have the same major respiratory quinone: ubiquinone-8. Strains 7Q-K02T, DHF22T and DHOM02T have C16 : 0, C17 : 0 cyclo, C19 : 0 cyclo ω8c and summed feature 8 (C18 : 1 ω7c/C18 : 1 ω6c) as their major fatty acid compositions. The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and diphosphatidylglycerol. On the basis of phenotypic, phylogenetic, genomic analyses and chemotaxonomic data, strains 7Q-K02T and DHF22T represent two novel species of the genus Paraburkholderia, for which the names Paraburkholderia acidiphila sp. nov. (type strain 7Q-K02T=CGMCC 1.15433T=KCTC 62472T=LMG 29209T) and Paraburkholderia acidisoli sp. nov. (type strain DHF22T=GDMCC 1.1448T=LMG 30262T) are proposed, while strain DHOM02T represents a novel species in the genus Burkholderia, for which the name Burkholderia guangdongensis sp. nov. (type strain DHOM02T=KCTC 42625T=LMG 28843T) is proposed. We also propose to transfer Burkholderia ultramafica to the genus Paraburkholderia as Paraburkholderia ultramafica comb. nov. based mainly on the results of phylogenomic analysis.

Chitinophaga flava sp. nov., isolated from monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forest soil.

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-motile strain, K3CV102501T, was isolated from a soil sample collected from the monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forest of Dinghushan Biosphere Reserve located in Guangdong Province, PR China. The primal colony of strain K3CV102501T was very similar to the fruiting body of myxobacteria on the original isolation plates. Young cultures of strain K3CV102501T contained long (2-4×0.4-0.5 µm) filamentous cells and divided into rod shapes (0.7-1.0×0.6-0.8 µm) after 4 days of incubation at 28 °C. Strain K3CV102501T grew at pH 6.0-9.5 (optimum, pH 6.5-7.5) and 7-42 °C (optimum, 28-35 °C). Phylogenetic analysis based on its 16S rRNA gene sequence showed that strain K3CV102501T belonged to the genus Chitinophagaand showed the highest similarity to C.hitinophaga jiangningensis JCM 19354T (96.9 %). The DNA G+C content of the type strain was 46.6 mol%. The major fatty acids (>10 %) were iso-C15 : 0, C16 : 1ω5c and iso-C17 : 0 3-OH. The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine and an unidentified aminolipid. Menaquinone-7 was the predominant quinone. The phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic data clearly showed that strain K3CV102501T represents a novel species of the genus Chitinophaga, for which the name Chitinophaga flava sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is K3CV102501T (=KCTC 62435T=GDMCC 1.1325T).

Heparin-binding epidermal growth factor contributes to COPD disease severity by modulating airway fibrosis and pulmonary epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

Although airway fibrosis and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) contribute to airway remodeling in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the mechanisms underlying their development have not been fully elucidated. In the present study, we aimed to assess heparin-binding epidermal growth factor (HB-EGF) expression in the airways of patients with COPD and to elucidate the possible role of HB-EGF in the pathology of COPD. Sputum and lung tissue HB-EGF expression was evaluated in control subjects and patients with COPD. The relationships between HB-EGF expression, disease severity, collagen deposition (fibrosis), and EMT were investigated. In vitro, human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells and lung fibroblast cells exposed to the recombinant HB-EGF, collagen deposition and EMT were assessed. We found that sputum HB-EGF expression was significantly increased in patients with COPD compared with non-smokers and smokers without COPD. There was a significant positive correlation between sputum HB-EGF and COPD assessment test (CAT) score. HB-EGF expression was significantly increased in the lung tissue samples of patients with COPD and associated with collagen deposition and N- and E-cadherin, and vimentin expression. In vitro, HB-EGF promoted collagen production in lung fibroblasts. Moreover, HB-EGF induced the EMT process through induction of N-and E-cadherin, and vimentin expression in HBE cells. Collectively, HB-EGF induces airway remodeling by modulating airway fibrosis and pulmonary EMT, and contributes to the COPD severity. The current data may provide insight into the underlying pathogenesis of COPD, in which HB-EGF has an important pathogenic role.

Arenibacter catalasegens sp. nov., isolated from marine surface sediment, and emended description of the genus Arenibacter.

A Gram-staining-negative, aerobic, non-motile, rod-shaped bacterium, designated as P308H10T, was isolated from surface sediment of the Southern Indian Ocean. Growth occurred at 4-36 °C (optimum 20-25 °C), pH 6.0-8.5 (optimum 7.5-8.0) and in the presence of 1-8 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum 2-3 %). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain P308H10T lies within the clade of members of the genus Arenibacter and is closely related to Arenibacterhampyeongensis HP12T (98.0 %), Arenibacterechinorum KMM 6032T (98.4 %), Arenibacterpalladensis LMG 21972T (97.9 %), Arenibactertroitsensis KMM 3674T (97.9 %) and 'Arenibacter algicola' TG409 (98.1 %). The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values between strain P308H10T and the five reference strains were 85.9-80.6 % and 30.2-23.6 %, respectively. The major fatty acids (>10 %) of strain P308H10T were summed feature 3, iso-C17 : 0 3-OH, iso-C15 : 1 G and iso-C15 : 0. The major polar lipids comprised phosphatidylethanolamine, five unidentified aminolipids and four unidentified lipids. The only respiratory quinone was menaquinone-6. The genomic DNA G+C content was 38.2 mol%. On the basis of the phenotypic, phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic data presented, strain P308H10T represents a novel species of the genus Arenibacter, for which the name Arenibacter catalasegens sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is P308H10T (=GDMCC 1.1230T=KCTC 52983T). An emended description of the genus Arenibacter is also proposed.

Chitinophaga varians sp. nov., isolated from forest soil.

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-motile bacterium, designated strain 10-7W-9003T, was isolated from the forest soil of Limushan National Forest Park, south-east China (19° 10' 42″ N, 109° 44' 45″ E). Strain 10-7W-9003T showed a shape change during the course of culture from long filamentous cells (5-10×0.4-0.5 µm) at 5-36 h, to rod shaped (1.0-1.5×0.5-0.7 µm) with inoculation after 2 days. It grew optimally at 28-30 °C and pH 6.5-7.5. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, it belongs to the genus Chitinophaga and is most closely related to Chitinophaga eiseniae KACC 13774T and Chitinophaga qingshengii JCM 30026T, with 16S rRNA gene sequences similarities of 98.8 and 98.3 %, respectively. However, the DNA-DNA hybridization study showed that strain 10-7W-9003T shared relatively low relatedness values with KACC 13774T (21.8 %) and JCM 30026T (20.4 %), respectively. The major fatty acids (>10 %) were iso-C15 : 0, C16 : 1ω5c and iso-C17 : 0 3-OH. The genomic DNA G+C content was 50.7 mol%. It contained MK-7 as the major quinone. The phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic data clearly showed that strain 10-7W-9003T represents a novel species of the genus Chitinophaga, for which the name Chitinophaga varians sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 10-7W-9003T (=GDMCC 1.1252T=KACC 19415T=KCTC 52926T).