Deep-sea Bacteroidetes from the Mariana Trench specialize in hemicellulose and pectin degradation typically associated with terrestrial systems.

BACKGROUND: Hadal trenches (>6000 m) are the deepest oceanic regions on Earth and depocenters for organic materials. However, how these enigmatic microbial ecosystems are fueled is largely unknown, particularly the proportional importance of complex polysaccharides introduced through deposition from the photic surface waters above. In surface waters, Bacteroidetes are keystone taxa for the cycling of various algal-derived polysaccharides and the flux of carbon through the photic zone. However, their role in the hadal microbial loop is almost unknown. RESULTS: Here, culture-dependent and culture-independent methods were used to study the potential of Bacteroidetes to catabolize diverse polysaccharides in Mariana Trench waters. Compared to surface waters, the bathypelagic (1000-4000 m) and hadal (6000-10,500 m) waters harbored distinct Bacteroidetes communities, with Mesoflavibacter being enriched at ≥ 4000 m and Bacteroides and Provotella being enriched at 10,400-10,500 m. Moreover, these deep-sea communities possessed distinct gene pools encoding for carbohydrate active enzymes (CAZymes), suggesting different polysaccharide sources are utilised in these two zones. Compared to surface counterparts, deep-sea Bacteroidetes showed significant enrichment of CAZyme genes frequently organized into polysaccharide utilization loci (PULs) targeting algal/plant cell wall polysaccharides (i.e., hemicellulose and pectin), that were previously considered an ecological trait associated with terrestrial Bacteroidetes only. Using a hadal Mesoflavibacter isolate (MTRN7), functional validation of this unique genetic potential was demonstrated. MTRN7 could utilize pectic arabinans, typically associated with land plants and phototrophic algae, as the carbon source under simulated deep-sea conditions. Interestingly, a PUL we demonstrate is likely horizontally acquired from coastal/land Bacteroidetes was activated during growth on arabinan and experimentally shown to encode enzymes that hydrolyze arabinan at depth. CONCLUSIONS: Our study implies that hadal Bacteroidetes exploit polysaccharides poorly utilized by surface populations via an expanded CAZyme gene pool. We propose that sinking cell wall debris produced in the photic zone can serve as an important carbon source for hadal heterotrophs and play a role in shaping their communities and metabolism. Video Abstract.

G protein-coupled estrogen receptor activation by bisphenol-A disrupts lipid metabolism and induces ferroptosis in the liver.

As a metabolic disruptor, bisphenol A (BPA) has been widely reported to disrupt lipid balance. Moreover, BPA has gained significant attention due to its estrogenic activity. While both ferroptosis and the G-protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) have been implicated in lipid metabolism, their link to BPA-induced lipid accumulation remains unclear. In this study, chickens were randomly assigned to three groups and housed them for 4 weeks: a control group (0 µg/L BPA), a low dose group (50 µg/L BPA) and a high dose group (5000 µg/L BPA) to investigate the underlying mechanism of BPA-induced hepatotoxicity. Our results showed that BPA exposure significantly increased the contents of TG, TC, and LDL-C while decreasing HDL-C levels. We also found that BPA treatment altered the levels of genes involved in fatty acid ß-oxidation (ampkα, cpt-1, and ppaα), synthesis (acc, fas, scd-1, and srebp-1) and absorption (lpl and cd36). Moreover, the results showed that the BPA group had higher levels of IL-1ß, IL-18 and TNF-α. These results indicated that BPA exposure disrupted lipid metabolism and induced inflammation in the liver. We also demonstrated that BPA caused hepatic ferroptosis by raising iron content and the expression of genes related to lipid peroxidation (lpcat3, acsl4 and alox15), while reducing the expression of antioxidant system-associated genes (gpx4, slc7a11 and slc3a2). Importantly, BPA remarkably activated GPER expression in the liver. Interestingly, inhibition of GPER remarkably ameliorated BPA-induced lipid metabolism disorder, inflammatory response, and ferroptosis, indicating the crucial role of GPER in BPA-induced liver abnormalities. These findings highlight the link between GPER and ferroptosis in BPA-induced hepatotoxicity, providing new insights into the potential hazard of BPA.

Efficacy of intermittent iron supplementation in children with mild iron-deficiency anemia. / å„¿ç«¥è½»åº¦ç¼ºé“æ€§è´«è¡€é—´æ­‡è¡¥é“ç–—æ³•çš„æœ‰æ•ˆæ€§ç ”ç©¶.

OBJECTIVES: To study the efficacy of intermittent iron supplementation in children with mild iron-deficiency anemia. METHODS: A total of 147 children with mild iron-deficiency anemia were enrolled in this prospective study. They were divided into an intermittent iron supplementation group (n=83) and a conventional iron supplementation group (n=64). The levels of hemoglobin were measured before treatment and after 1 and 3 months of treatment. The treat response rate and the incidence rate of adverse drug reactions were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Both groups had a significant increase in the level of hemoglobin after iron supplementation (P<0.05). After 1 month of treatment, the conventional iron supplementation group had a significantly higher treatment response rate than the intermittent iron supplementation group (61% vs 42%, P<0.05). After 3 months of treatment, there was no significant difference in the treatment response between the two groups (86% vs 78%, P>0.05). The incidence rate of adverse drug reactions in the conventional iron supplementation group was significantly higher than that in the intermittent iron supplementation group (25% vs 8%, P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: For children with mild iron-deficiency anemia, although intermittent iron supplementation is inferior to conventional iron supplementation in the short-term efficacy, there is no significant difference in the long-term efficacy between the two methods, and compared with conventional iron supplementation, intermittent iron supplementation can reduce the incidence of adverse drug reactions, alleviate family financial burdens, and improve treatment compliance of children, thus holding promise for clinical application.

Genomic, Morphological and Biological Traits of the Viruses Infecting Major Fruit Trees.

Banana trees, citrus fruit trees, pome fruit trees, grapevines, mango trees, and stone fruit trees are major fruit trees cultured worldwide and correspond to nearly 90% of the global production of woody fruit trees. In light of the above, the present manuscript summarizes the viruses that infect the major fruit trees, including their taxonomy and morphology, and highlights selected viruses that significantly affect fruit production, including their genomic and biological features. The results showed that a total of 163 viruses, belonging to 45 genera classified into 23 families have been reported to infect the major woody fruit trees. It is clear that there is higher accumulation of viruses in grapevine (80/163) compared to the other fruit trees (each corresponding to less than 35/163), while only one virus species has been reported infecting mango. Most of the viruses (over 70%) infecting woody fruit trees are positive-sense single-stranded RNA (+ssRNA), and the remainder belong to the -ssRNA, ssRNA-RT, dsRNA, ssDNA and dsDNA-RT groups (each corresponding to less than 8%). Most of the viruses are icosahedral or isometric (79/163), and their diameter ranges from 16 to 80 nm with the majority being 25-30 nm. Cross-infection has occurred in a high frequency among pome and stone fruit trees, whereas no or little cross-infection has occurred among banana, citrus and grapevine. The viruses infecting woody fruit trees are mostly transmitted by vegetative propagation, grafting, and root grafting in orchards and are usually vectored by mealybug, soft scale, aphids, mites or thrips. These viruses cause adverse effects in their fruit tree hosts, inducing a wide range of symptoms and significant damage, such as reduced yield, quality, vigor and longevity.

Associations between occupational stress and demographic characteristics in petroleum workers in the Xinjiang arid desert.

Owing to the transformation of the biomedical model of health, more and more professionals pay close attention to the occupational social psychological factors, such as occupational stress. Due to the socioeconomic impact of occupational stress and the petroleum workers stationed in the unique environment in Xinjiang, a cross-sectional study was carried out between May and December 2016 to investigate the relationship between occupational stress and demographic characteristics. A total of 1480 workers were selected. Occupational stress was evaluated with the Occupational Stress Inventory-Revised Edition. The findings of the present study revealed that the values of the Occupational Roles Questionnaire results (t = 9.266, P < .001) and Personal Strain Questionnaire results (t = 21.381, P < .001) were found to be higher than the national normal. Personal Resources Questionnaire values (t = -17.575, P < .001) were found to be lower than the national normal in petroleum workers stationed in the arid desert, and suggested a strong correlation between occupational stress and demographic characteristics. These data provide evidence that different demographic characteristics are associated with different occupational stress levels in petroleum workers stationed in the arid desert.

Activities of Venom Proteins and Peptides with Possible Therapeutic Applications from Bees and WASPS.

The variety of proteins and peptides isolated from honey bee venom and wasp venom includes melittin, adiapin, apamine, bradykinin, cardiopep, mast cell degranulating peptide, mastoparan, phospholipase A2 and secapin. Some of the activities they demonstrate may find therapeutic applications.

[Effect of occupational stress on neurotransmitters in petroleum workers].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of occupational stress on neurotransmitters in petroleum workers. METHODS: 178 petroleum workers with the length of service ≥ 1 year were recruited to the subjects by the questionnaire of OSI-R. The levels of 5-hydroxy tryptamine (5-HT), norepinephrine (NE), neuropeptide Y (NPY) and substance P (SP) in serum were measured. The subjects were classified into 3 groups according to the scores of occupational stress. RESULTS: The levels of 5-HT NE and SP for over 15 working years were higher than those of less than 15 years (P < 0. 05). There were differences (P < 0. 05) on 5-HT, NE, NPY and SP in different occupational stress degree groups, multiple comparison showed high. occupational stress group was higher than those of low occupational stress group. Multivariate correlation analysis showed that the occupational stress and sleep quality component scores correlated positively with the 5-HT, NE and SP (P < 0. 05) and correlated inversely with NPY in petroleum workers (P < 0. 05). CONCLUSION: Occupational stress in petroleum workers is correlated with serum monoamine and neuropeptides neurotransmitters, and it may affect serum levels of monoamine and neuropeptides neurotransmitters.

[Efficacy of compound Xuanju capsule in the treatment of chronic prostatitis with erectile dysfunction].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Compound Xuanju Capsule (CXC) in the treatment of chronic prostatitis with erectile dysfunction (ED). METHODS: We obtained NIH-CPSI and IIEF-5 scores from 132 chronic prostatitis patients with ED and divided the patients into a control (n = 70) and a treatment group (n = 62), the former treated with oral levofloxacin 0.2 g bid for 4-6 weeks and oral Terazosin at 2 mg qd for 2 months, and the latter with oral CXC once 2 capsules tid for 2 months in addition to the above. RESULTS: None of the patients had serious medication-related adverse reactions. After treatment, the control group showed significantly decreased NIH-CPSI scores and slightly increased IIEF-5 scores as compared with the baseline (16.5 +/- 5.9 vs 25.1 +/- 5.5, P < 0.05 and 13.1 +/- 5.2 vs 11.3 +/- 4.5, P > 0.05), while the treatment group exhibited significant improvement in both NIH-CPSI (13.4 +/- 5.7 vs 25.5 +/- 5.3, P < 0.05) and IIEF-5 scores (17.5 +/- 6.5 vs 10.8 +/- 3.8, P < 0.05). The total effectiveness rate for ED was significantly higher in the treatment than in the control group (74.2% vs 20%, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Compound Xuanju Capsule can significantly alleviate both the symptoms of chronic prostatitis and ED in the treatment of chronic prostatitis patients with ED.

Discovery of non-glucoside SGLT2 inhibitors.

A series of benzothiazinone and benzooxazinone derivatives were discovered as SGLT2 inhibitors. The optimization led to the discovery of compounds 31 and 32, which exhibited similar potency and better SGLT1 selectivity compared to dapagliflozin. These compounds may provide novel promising scaffolds, which are different from phlorizin-based SGLT2 inhibitors.

[Determination of anti-oxidative activity of different fractions of Xinjiang red raspberry fruits extract].

OBJECTIVE: To determination total phenolics content of raspberry different polar solvent extracts was measured by Folin-Ciocalteu method. METHODS: Red raspberry fruits were extracted with 95% ethanol, defatted with petroleum ether, and then partitioned with petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and butanol successively. Total phenolic content of each part was measured by Folin-Ciocalteu method and calculated as gallic acid equivalents (GAE). Stability of the method were assayed with RSD (relative standard deviation). Antioxidant activities of the different extractions were evaluated with DPPH* and OH* scavenging assay. RESULTS: (1) The method had high quality of precision, stability, repetition rate. (2) Total phenolic contents were varied from GAE 10.56 mg/g to GAE 96.76 mg/g as gallic acid equivalent, and ethyl acetate extracts had the highest total phenolic content (GAE 96.76 mg/g). (3) The crude extracts and different soluble fractions showed good antioxidative activities. CONCLUSION: Raspberry could be good resource of natural antioxidant.

Thermal ablation therapeutics based on CN(x) multi-walled nanotubes.

We demonstrate that nitrogen doped, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CN(x)-MWNT) result in photo-ablative destruction of kidney cancer cells when excited by near infrared (NIR) irradiation. Further, we show that effective heat transduction and cellular cytotoxicity depends on nanotube length: effective NIR coupling occurs at nanotube lengths that exceed half the wavelength of the stimulating radiation, as predicted in classical antenna theory. We also demonstrate that this radiation heats the nanotubes through induction processes, resulting in significant heat transfer to surrounding media and cell killing at extraordinarily small radiation doses. This cell death was attributed directly to photothermal effect generated within the culture, since neither the infrared irradiation itself nor the CN(x)-MWNT were toxic to the cells.

[Effects of occupational stress on immunological function, glucose and blood lipid of female workers in oil-field].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of occupational stress on immunological function, glucose, and blood lipid of female workers in oil-field. METHODS: 900 female workers working in oil-field as observation group and 220 female not working in oil-field in 11 work types of oil industry in oil-field were selected as control group randomly, occupational role, personal strain, and personal abilities of two groups were measured with occupational stress inventory-revised (OSI-R). Then, 100 workers were selected randomly from two groups Blood lipid, blood sugar, and immunological function were measured. RESULTS: Occupational role and strain in observed group are significantly higher than control group (P < 0.05), However, there is no difference on personal abilities in two groups. Blood sugar, IgG, IgA, IgM, IL-6 content in observation group was significantly higher than control group, but CHO, HDL, LDL, IL-2 content was significantly less than control group (P < 0.05). TG content had no significant difference between both groups. There was positive correlation between occupational role, strain and, blood sugar, immunological function but negative correlation between personal abilities (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The results show that blood sugar content was increased, CHO, HDL, LDL were decreased and immumological function was changed because of occupational stress. There was positive correlation between occupational role, strain and blood sugar, immunological function but negative correlation between personal resources.

[Study on the relationship between occupational stress and psychological health state among oil workers].

OBJECTIVE: To study the relationship between occupational stress and psychological health state among oil workers. METHODS: 1,230 oil workers in 122 work types of oil industry were selected and written occupational stress questionary(OSQ) and symptom check list (SCL-90). RESULTS: Petroleum workers' psychological health states were poor with increasing occupational stress degree. The scores in physical symptoms(1.87 +/- 0.80, 1.72 +/- 0.70), depression(1.74 +/- 0.76, 1.62 +/- 0.67), horror(1.48 +/- 0.65, 1.39 +/- 0.55) in the high and medium stress group were obviously higher than those in low stress group(1.55 +/- 0.61, 1.43 +/- 0.54, 1.28 +/- 0.46, respectively, P < 0.05). The score of mood state in the high and medium stress group was obviously higher than that in low stress group(P < 0.05). Psychological health states and mood state in the petroleum workers with short service length are significantly poorer than that with long service length(P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Occupational stress should affect psychological health state of petroleum workers.