sTREM-1 as promising prognostic biomarker for acute-on-chronic liver failure and mortality in patients with acute decompensation of cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND: Acute decompensation (AD) of cirrhosis is associated with high short-term mortality, mainly due to the development of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). Thus, there is a need for biomarkers for early and accurate identification of AD patients with high risk of development of ACLF and mortality. Soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (sTREM-1) is released from activated innate immune cells and correlated with various inflammatory processes. AIM: To explore the prognostic value of sTREM-1 in patients with AD of cirrhosis. METHODS: A multicenter prospective cohort of 442 patients with cirrhosis hospitalized for AD was divided into a study cohort (n = 309) and validation cohort (n = 133). Demographic and clinical data were collected, and serum sTREM-1 was measured at admission. All enrolled patients were followed-up for at least 1 year. RESULTS: In patients with AD and cirrhosis, serum sTREM-1 was an independent prognosis predictor for 1-year survival and correlated with liver, coagulation, cerebral and kidney failure. A new prognostic model of AD (P-AD) incorporating sTREM-1, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), total bilirubin (TBil), international normalized ratio (INR) and hepatic encephalopathy grades was established and performed better than the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD), MELD-sodium (MELD-Na), chronic liver failure-consortium (CLIF-C) ACLF and CLIF-C AD scores. Additionally, sTREM-1 was increased in ACLF and predicted the development of ACLF during first 28-d follow-up. The ACLF risk score incorporating serum sTREM-1, BUN, INR, TBil and aspartate aminotransferase levels was established and significantly superior to MELD, MELD-Na, CLIF-C ACLF, CLIF-C AD and P-AD in predicting risk of ACLF development. CONCLUSION: Serum sTREM-1 is a promising prognostic biomarker for ACLF development and mortality in patients with AD of cirrhosis.

Pseudomyopia treated with auricular point sticking combined with periocular needle-embedding therapy and prevention of true myopia: a multicenter randomized controlled trial. / è€³ç©´è´´åŽ‹è”åˆçœ¼å‘¨æ¿é’ˆæŠ€æœ¯é¢„é˜²å‡æ€§è¿‘è§†å‘çœŸæ€§è¿‘è§†è¿›å±•ï¼šå¤šä¸­å¿ƒéšæœºå¯¹ç §è¯•éªŒ.

OBJECTIVES: To observe the clinical effect and safety of auricular point sticking combined with periocular needle-embedding therapy for pseudomyopia and prevention of true myopia. METHODS: A total of 269 children with pseudomyopia were randomized into an observation group (134 cases, 2 cases dropped out) and a control group (135 cases, 5 cases dropped out). In the control group, the healthy education was provided. In the observation group, besides the intervention as the control group, the auricular point sticking was delivered at gan (CO12), pi (CO13), xin (CO15) and yan (LO5) on one ear in each treatment, combined with periocular needle-embedding technique at bilateral Cuanzhu (BL 2), Yuyao (EX-HN 4) and Sibai (ST 2). There were 2 weeks of interval after 4 weeks of treatment. One course of treatment was composed of 6 weeks and 2 courses were required. Separately, before treatment, after 6 and 12 weeks of treatment, and after 12 weeks (the 1st follow-up visit) and 24 weeks (the 2nd follow-up visit) of treatment completion, the spherical equivalent (SE), SE progression, axial length (AL) progression, accommodative amplitude (AMP), the score of the TCM symptom and the general symptom were observed in the two groups. The safety and compliance were evaluated in the two groups. RESULTS: After 6 and 12 weeks of treatment, and in the 1st and 2nd follow-up visits, SE increased when compared with that before treatment in the two groups (P<0.05), and AMP was larger than that before treatment in the observation group (P<0.05). After 12 weeks of treatment, and in the 1st and 2nd follow-up visits, the progression of SE was slower in the observation group compared with that in the control group (P<0.01, P<0.001). After 6 and 12 weeks of treatment, and in the 1st and 2nd follow-up visits, the progression of AL in the observation group was lower than that of the control group (P<0.05, P<0.01, P<0.001); and in the 1st and 2nd follow-up visits, AMP of the observation group was larger when compared with that in the control group (P<0.05, P<0.001). After 6 and 12 weeks of treatment, and in the 1st and 2nd follow-up visits, the total scores of TCM symptom and general symptom were reduced in comparison with those before treatment in the observation group (P<0.05); after 6 and 12 weeks of treatment, the total scores of TCM symptom and general symptom were lower than those before treatment in the control group (P<0.05). In the 1st and 2nd follow-up visits, the difference of the total score of TCM symptom and general symptom in the observation group was larger than that of the control group (P<0.05). In the observation group, compared with the control group, the scores for pale/dark complexion in the 1st and 2nd follow-up visits and that for lassitude in the 2nd follow-up visit were lower (P<0.05), the score for poor concentration after 12 weeks of treatment and that for poor sleep and memory in the 2nd follow-up visit were lower (P<0.05). There were no adverse reactions in the two groups. The compliance was 98.5% in the observation group and was 96.3% in the control group, without statistical difference (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of health education, auricular point sticking combined with periocular needle-embedding therapy can effectively prevent from true myopia, control the increase of SE, delay the growth of AL and improve AMP in children with pseudomyopia. This compound therapeutic regimen can relieve the general symptom and comprehensively prevent from myopia through multiple approaches, with high safety and satisfactory compliance.

Characterization of two novel hydrolases from Sphingopyxis sp. DBS4 for enantioselective degradation of chiral herbicide diclofop-methyl.

Diclofop-methyl, an aryloxyphenoxypropionate (AOPP) herbicide, is a chiral compound with two enantiomers. Microbial detoxification and degradation of various enantiomers is garnering immense research attention. However, enantioselective catabolism of diclofop-methyl has been rarely explored, especially at the molecular level. This study cloned two novel hydrolase genes (dcmA and dcmH) in Sphingopyxis sp. DBS4, and characterized them for diclofop-methyl degradation. DcmA, a member of the amidase superfamily, exhibits 26.1-45.9% identity with functional amidases. Conversely, DcmH corresponded to the DUF3089 domain-containing protein family (a family with unknown function), sharing no significant similarity with other biochemically characterized proteins. DcmA exhibited a broad spectrum of substrates, with preferential hydrolyzation of (R)-(+)-diclofop-methyl, (R)-(+)-quizalofop-ethyl, and (R)-(+)-haloxyfop-methyl. DcmH also preferred (R)-(+)-quizalofop-ethyl and (R)-(+)-haloxyfop-methyl degradation while displaying no apparent enantioselective activity towards diclofop-methyl. Using site-directed mutagenesis and molecular docking, it was determined that Ser175 was the fundamental residue influencing DcmA's activity against the two enantiomers of diclofop-methyl. For the degradation of AOPP herbicides, DcmA is an enantioselective amidase that has never been reported in research. This study provided novel hydrolyzing enzyme resources for the remediation of diclofop-methyl in the environment and deepened the understanding of enantioselective degradation of chiral AOPP herbicides mediated by microbes.

Association between cardiopulmonary bypass time and mortality among patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome after cardiac surgery.

BACKGROUND: Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) can lead to lung injury and even acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) through triggering systemic inflammatory response. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of CPB time on clinical outcomes in patients with ARDS after cardiac surgery. METHODS: Totally, patients with ARDS after cardiac surgery in Beijing Anzhen Hospital from January 2005 to December 2015 were retrospectively included and were further divided into three groups according to the median time of CPB. The primary endpoints were the ICU mortality and in-hospital mortality, and ICU and hospital stay. Restricted cubic spline (RCS), logistic regression, cox regression model, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were adopted to explore the relationship between CPB time and clinical endpoints. RESULTS: A total of 54,217 patients underwent cardiac surgery during the above period, of whom 210 patients developed ARDS after surgery and were finally included. The ICU mortality and in-hospital mortality were 21.0% and 41.9% in all ARDS patients after cardiac surgery respectively. Patients with long CPB time (CPB time ≥ 173 min) had longer length of ICU stay (P = 0.011), higher ICU (P < 0.001) mortality and in-hospital(P = 0.002) mortality compared with non-CPB patients (CPB = 0). For each ten minutes increment in CPB time, the hazards of a worse outcome increased by 13.3% for ICU mortality and 9.3% for in-hospital mortality after adjusting for potential factors. ROC curves showed CPB time presented more satisfactory power to predict mortality compared with APCHEII score. The optimal cut-off value of CPB time were 160.5 min for ICU mortality and in-hospital mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrated the significant prognostic value of CPB time in patients with ARDS after cardiac surgery. Longer time of CPB was associated with poorer clinical outcomes, and could be served as an indicator to predict short-term mortality in patients with ARDS after cardiac surgery.

Recyclable Superhydrophobic Surface Prepared via Electrospinning and Electrospraying Using Waste Polyethylene Terephthalate for Self-Cleaning Applications.

Superhydrophobic surfaces, i.e., surfaces with a water contact angle (WCA) ≥ 150°, have gained much attention as they are multifunctional surfaces with features such as self-cleaning, which can be useful in various applications such as those requiring waterproof and/or protective films. In this study, we prepared a solution from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and fabricated a superhydrophobic surface using electrospinning and electrospraying processes. We observed that the fabricated geometry varies depending on the solution conditions, and based on this, we fabricated a hierarchical structure. From the results, the optimized structure exhibited a very high WCA (>156.6°). Additionally, our investigation into the self-cleaning functionality and solar panel efficiency of the fabricated surface revealed promising prospects for the production of superhydrophobic surfaces utilizing recycled PET, with potential applications as protective films for solar panels. Consequently, this research contributes significantly to the advancement of environmentally friendly processes and the progress of recycling technology.

Recent advances in transition-metal-catalyzed Büchner reaction of alkynes.

Medium-sized ring-containing organic molecules, especially seven-membered rings, are significant structural motifs. However, such frameworks are considered difficult structures to access owing to entropic effects and transannular interactions. Compared to the construction of five and six-membered rings, the synthesis of seven-membered rings can be more challenging through traditional cyclization pathways. Büchner reactions are particularly attractive and efficient synthetic strategies to construct functionalized seven-membered ring products from the benzenoid double bond with carbene. In recent years, the field of transition-metal-catalyzed Büchner ring expansion reactions of alkynes has experienced a speedy development and a diverse array of efficient synthetic procedures have been disclosed under mild experimental conditions, as the synthesis of synthetically challenging seven-membered rings is easily achieved. In this review, we will focus on the recent progress in the transition-metal-catalyzed Büchner reaction of alkynes and the mechanistic rationale is depicted where possible, with the reactions being sorted according to the type of catalyst.

A Nested Case-Control Study to Explore the Association between Immunoglobulin G N-glycans and Ischemic Stroke.

Objective: This study prospectively investigates the association between immunoglobulin G (IgG) N-glycan traits and ischemic stroke (IS) risk. Methods: A nested case-control study was conducted in the China suboptimal health cohort study, which recruited 4,313 individuals in 2013-2014. Cases were identified as patients diagnosed with IS, and controls were 1:1 matched by age and sex with cases. IgG N-glycans in baseline plasma samples were analyzed. Results: A total of 99 IS cases and 99 controls were included, and 24 directly measured glycan peaks (GPs) were separated from IgG N-glycans. In directly measured GPs, GP4, GP9, GP21, GP22, GP23, and GP24 were associated with the risk of IS in men after adjusting for age, waist and hip circumference, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. Derived glycan traits representing decreased galactosylation and sialylation were associated with IS in men (FBG2S2/(FBG2 + FBG2S1 + FBG2S2): odds ratio ( OR) = 0.92, 95% confidence interval ( CI): 0.87-0.97; G1 n: OR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.63-0.87; G0 n: OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.03-1.22). However, these associations were not found among women. Conclusion: This study validated that altered IgG N-glycan traits were associated with incident IS in men, suggesting that sex discrepancies might exist in these associations.

Experimental and computational approaches to characterize a novel amidase that initiates the biodegradation of the herbicide propanil in Bosea sp. P5.

The herbicide propanil and its major metabolite 3,4-dichloroaniline (3,4-DCA) are difficult to biodegrade and pose great health and environmental risks. However, studies on the sole or synergistic mineralization of propanil by pure cultured strains are limited. A two-strain consortium (Comamonas sp. SWP-3 and Alicycliphilus sp. PH-34), obtained from a swep-mineralizing enrichment culture that can synergistically mineralize propanil, has been previously reported. Here, another propanil degradation strain, Bosea sp. P5, was successfully isolated from the same enrichment culture. A novel amidase, PsaA, responsible for initial propanil degradation, was identified from strain P5. PsaA shared low sequence identity (24.0-39.7 %) with other biochemically characterized amidases. PsaA exhibited optimal activity at 30 °C and pH 7.5 and had kcat and Km values of 5.7 s-1 and 125 µM, respectively. PsaA could convert the herbicide propanil to 3,4-DCA but exhibited no activity toward other herbicide structural analogs. This catalytic specificity was explained by using propanil and swep as substrates and then analyzed by molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation and thermodynamic calculations, which revealed that Tyr138 is the key residue that affects the substrate spectrum of PsaA. This is the first propanil amidase with a narrow substrate spectrum identified, providing new insights into the catalytic mechanism of amidase in propanil hydrolysis.

An ethyl acetate fraction of flavonoids from Polygonum hydropiper L. exhibits an anti-inflammatory activity in PCV2-infected porcine alveolar macrophages via PI3K/Akt and NF-κB pathways.

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) widely exists in swine production systems causing porcine circovirus diseases (PCVD) which is associated with significant economic losses. Polygonum hydropiper L. was used as a traditional Chinese medicine to treat a variety of diseases. This study was carried out to investigate anti-inflammatory activity of the ethyl acetate fraction of flavonoids from Polygonum hydropiper L. (FEA) in PCV2-induced porcine alveolar macrophages (3D4/2 cell line). The production of oxygen species (ROS) and the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) were detected to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activities of FEA. The translocation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and the phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt) signaling pathways were investigated to document the potential anti-inflammatory mechanisms. In PCV2 induced 3D4/2 cells, FEA treatment significantly reduced the production of ROS, and sharply down-regulated the levels of TNF-α, IL-1ß and IL-8 in both secretion and mRNA expression level. The FEA also decreased the mRNA expression of Akt and NF-κB p65, reduced the transfer of p65 to nuclear, and inhibited the activation of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. The findings suggest that FEA exhibited an anti-inflammatory activity in vitro and could be used as a candidate in treatment of inflammation induced by PCV2 infection.

Intrinsic Magnetic (EuIn)As Nanowire Shells with a Unique Crystal Structure.

In the pursuit of magneto-electronic systems nonstoichiometric magnetic elements commonly introduce disorder and enhance magnetic scattering. We demonstrate the growth of (EuIn)As shells, with a unique crystal structure comprised of a dense net of Eu inversion planes, over InAs and InAs1-xSbx core nanowires. This is imaged with atomic and elemental resolution which reveal a prismatic configuration of the Eu planes. The results are supported by molecular dynamics simulations. Local magnetic and susceptibility mappings show magnetic response in all nanowires, while a subset bearing a DC signal points to ferromagnetic order. These provide a mechanism for enhancing Zeeman responses, operational at zero applied magnetic field. Such properties suggest that the obtained structures can serve as a preferred platform for time-reversal symmetry broken one-dimensional states including intrinsic topological superconductivity.

An estimate assay for low-level exposure to ionizing radiation based on mass spectrometry quantification of γ-H2AX in human peripheral blood lymphocytes.

Exposure to environmental ionizing radiation (IR) is ubiquitous, and large-dose exposure to IR is known to cause DNA damage and genotoxicity which is associated with an increased risk of cancer. Whether such detrimental effects are caused by exposure to low-dose IR is still debated. Therefore, rapid and early estimation of absorbed doses of IR in individuals, especially at low levels, using radiation response markers is a pivotal step for early triage during radiological incidents to provide adequate and timely clinical interventions. However, there is currently a crucial shortage of methods capable of determining the extent of low-dose IR exposure to human beings. The phosphorylation of histone H2AX on serine 139 (designated γ-H2AX), a classic biological dosimeter, can be used to evaluate the DNA damage response. We have developed an estimation assay for low-level exposure to IR based on the mass spectrometry quantification of γ-H2AX in blood. Human peripheral blood lymphocytes sensitive to low-dose IR, maintaining low temperature (4°C) and adding enzyme inhibitor are proven to be key steps, possibly insuring that a stable and marked γ-H2AX signal in blood cells exposed to low-dose IR could be detected. For the first time, DNA damage at low dose exposures to IR as low as 0.01 Gy were observed using the sensitive variation of γ-H2AX with high throughput mass spectrometry quantification in human peripheral blood, which is more accurate than the previously reported methods by virtue of isotope-dilution mass spectrometry, and can observe the time effect of DNA damage. These in vitro cellular dynamic monitoring experiments show that DNA damage occurred rapidly and then was repaired slowly over the passage of post-irradiation time even after exposure to very low IR doses. This assay was also used to assess different radiation exposures at the in vitro cellular level. These results demonstrate the potential utility of this assay in radiation biodosimetry and environmental risk assessment.

The effect of ion environment changes on retention protein behavior during whey ultrafiltration process.

The factors affecting membrane fouling are very complex. In this study, the membrane fouling process was revealed from the perspective of ion environment changes, which affected the whey protein structure during ultrafiltration. It was found that the concentrations of Ca2+ and Na+ were overall increased and the concentrations of K+, Mg2+ and Zn2+ were decreased at an ultrafiltration time of 11 min, which made more hydrophilic groups buried inside and increased the content of α-helix, leading to more protein aggregation. The relatively higher K+ ratio in retention could lead to an antiparallel ß-sheet configuration, aspartic acid, glutamic acid and tryptophan increased, which resulted in more protein aggregation and deposition on the membrane surface at 17 min. When the ion concentration and ratio restored the balance and were close to the initial state in retention, the protein surface tension decreased, and the hydrophilic ability increased at 21-24 min.

Oxygen Challenge Imaging Reveals Differences in Metabolic Activity Between Kurtosis Lesion and Diffusion/Kurtosis Lesion Mismatch in a Rodent Model of Acute Stroke.

OBJECTIVE: Accurate identification of potentially salvageable tissues is critical for improving acute stroke treatment. A previous study showed that the kurtosis lesion exhibited insignificant response after prompt reperfusion treatment, while the diffusion/kurtosis lesion mismatch could recover after reperfusion. We hypothesized that these 2 regions are in different metabolic states. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Transient oxygen challenge (OC) is a procedure that uses oxygen as a metabolic bio-tracer and has been performed to explore metabolic activity in tissues. We combined OC with multiparameter magnetic resonance imaging (including diffusion kurtosis imaging and T2* mapping sequences) to study metabolic activity in the ischemic brain of Sprague Dawley rats. RESULTS: Oxygen challenge image analysis revealed changes in T2* values, most significantly in the mean diffusivity (MD)/mean kurtosis (MK) lesion mismatch (22.3 ± 1.6%) and least significantly in the MK lesions (6.6 ± 0.6%). The MD images acquired within 138 ± 9 minutes after ischemia showed a larger ischemic lesion (45.5 ± 3.0% of the total area) than the MK images (33.2 ± 4.2% of the total area). The change rate of the MK value (53.0 ± 4.4%) was higher than that of the MD value (37.5 ± 3.2%). CONCLUSIONS: The present study shows that MK lesion and MD/MK lesion mismatch exhibited different metabolic activity states. The MK lesion presented metabolic-related values close to the ischemic core, while at least part of the MD/MK mismatch area was comparable with ischemic penumbra metabolic activity. These findings are important to support image-guided individualized stroke therapies.

Impact of the gate geometry on adiabatic charge pumping in InAs double quantum dots.

We compare the adiabatic quantized charge pumping performed in two types of InAs nanowire double quantum dots (DQDs), either with tunnel barriers defined by closely spaced narrow bottom gates, or by well-separated side gates. In the device with an array of bottom gates of 100 nm pitch and 10 µm lengths, the pump current is quantized only up to frequencies of a few MHz due to the strong capacitive coupling between the bottom gates. In contrast, in devices with well-separated side gates with reduced mutual gate capacitances, we find well-defined pump currents up to 30 MHz. Our experiments demonstrate that high frequency quantized charge pumping requires careful optimization of the device geometry, including the typically neglected gate feed lines.

Differences in the Establishment of Gut Microbiota and Metabolome Characteristics Between Balb/c and C57BL/6J Mice After Proton Irradiation.

Although proton irradiation is ubiquitous in outer space as well as in the treatment of human diseases, its effects remain largely unclear. This work aimed to investigate and compare the composition of gut microbiota composition of mice in different species exposed to high-dose radiation. Male Balb/c mice and C57BL/6J mice were irradiated at a high dose (5Gy). Fecal specimens before and after irradiation were subjected to high-throughput sequencing (HTS) for the amplification of 16S rRNA gene sequences. We observed substantial changes in gut microbial composition among mice irradiated at high doses compared to non-irradiated controls. The changes included both the alpha and beta diversities. Furthermore, there were 11 distinct alterations in the irradiation group compared to the non-radiation control, including the families Muribaculaceae, Ruminococcaceae, Lactobacillus, Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136, Bacteroides, Alistipes, Clostridiales, Muribaculum, and Alloprevotella. Such alterations in the gut microbiome were accompanied by alterations in metabolite abundances, while at the metabolic level, 32 metabolites were likely to be potential biomarkers. Some alterations may have a positive effect on the repair of intestinal damage. Simultaneously, metabolites were predicted to involve multiple signal pathways, such as Urea Cycle, Ammonia Recycling, Alpha Linolenic Acid and Linoleic Acid Metabolism, Ketone Body Metabolism, Aspartate Metabolism, Phenylacetate Metabolism, Malate-Aspartate Shuttle, Arginine and Proline Metabolism and Carnitine Synthesis. Metabolites produced by proton irradiation in the microbial region play a positive role in repairing damage, making this area worthy of further experimental exploration. The present work offers an analytical and theoretical foundation to investigate how proton radiation affects the treatment of human diseases and identifies potential biomarkers to address the adverse effects of radiation. Importance: The space radiation environment is extremely complex, protons radiation is still the main component of space radiation and play an important role in space radiation. We proposed for the first time to compare the feces of Balb/c and C57BL/6J mice to study the changes of intestinal flora before and after proton irradiation. However, the effect of proton irradiation on the gut microbiome of both types of mice has not been previously demonstrated. After proton irradiation in two kinds of mice, we found that the characteristics of intestinal microbiome were related to the repair of intestinal injury, and some metabolites played a positive role in the repair of intestinal injury.

Agriterribacter soli sp. nov., isolated from herbicide-contaminated soil.

A Gram-stain-negative, non-spore-forming and rod-shaped bacterium, designated strain NS-102T, was isolated from herbicide-contaminated soil sampled in Nanjing, PR China, and its taxonomic status was investigated by a polyphasic approach. Cell growth of strain NS-102T occurred at 16-42 °C (optimum, 30 °C), at pH 5.0-8.0 (optimum, pH 6.0) and in the presence of 0-3.5 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, without addition of NaCl). The 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain NS-102T shows high similarity to that of Agriterribacter humi YJ03T (96.9 % similarity), followed by Terrimonas terrae T16R-129T (93.8 %) and Terrimonas pekingensis QHT (93.6 %). Average nucleotide identity, average amino acid identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values between the draft genomes of strain NS-102T and A. humi YJ03T were 72.5, 69.4 and 18.6%, respectively. The only respiratory quinone was MK-7, and phosphatidylethanolamine and unidentified lipids were the major polar lipids. The major cellular fatty acids of strain NS-102T contained high amounts of iso-C15 : 0 (24.6 %), iso-C17 : 03-OH (24.1 %), iso-C15 : 0 G (16.6 %) and summed feature 3 (C16 : 1 ω6c and/or C16 : 1 ω7c) (15.6 %). The G+C content of the total DNA was determined to be 40.0 mol%. The morphological, physiological, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic analyses clearly distinguished this strain from its closest phylogenetic neighbours. Thus, strain NS-102T represents a novel species of the genus Agriterribacter, for which the name Agriterribacter soli sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is NS-102T (=CCTCC AB 2017249T=KCTC 62322T).

Low dose radiation therapy attenuates ACE2 depression and inflammatory cytokines induction by COVID-19 viral spike protein in human bronchial epithelial cells.

Purpose: Low-dose radiation therapy (LDRT) is an evidence-based anti-inflammatory treatment. In anti-COVID-19, our study suggests that low to moderate dose radiation of < 1.5 Gy can inhibit the induction of inflammatory cytokine and attenuate the ACE2 depression induced by spike protein in human bronchial epithelial cells in COVID-19 infection. Our study provided further mechanistic evidence to support LDRT as a cost-effective treatment for COVID-19 to relieve the severe inflammatory reaction and lung injury. Methods and materials: A cellular model was created by treating human bronchial epithelial cells (BEP2D) with SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. We used the qRT-PCR and ELISA analysis to identify the production of inflammatory cytokines. The BEP2D control cells and the spike-treated cells were irradiated using a single low to moderate dose radiation of 0.5 Gy, 1 Gy, and 1.5 Gy. The inflammatory cytokines and ACE2 expression were detected at different time points. Results: The soluble SARS-CoV-2 spike protein stimulated the formation of inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNF-α while reducing the ACE2 protein expression in human bronchial epithelial cells. A single low to moderate dose exposure of 0.5 Gy, 1 Gy, and 1.5 Gy could attenuate the IL-6 and TNF-α induction and rescue the depression of ACE2 by spike protein. Moreover, the spike protein increased the proteolytic degradation of ACE2 protein by promoting NEDD4-mediated ubiquitination of ACE2. Conclusions: The low-dose radiation can attenuate ACE2 depression and inflammatory response produced in the targeted human bronchial epithelial cells by spike protein. This coordinating effect of LDRT may relieve the severe inflammatory reaction and lung injury in COVID-19 patients.

Sub-Band Spectrum Engineering via Structural Order in Tapered Nanowires.

The cross-sectional dimensions of nanowires set the quantization conditions for the electronic subbands they host. These can be used as a platform to realize one-dimesional topological superconductivity. Here we develop a protocol that forces such nanowires to kink and change their growth direction. Consequently, a thin rectangular nanoplate is formed, which gradually converges into a very thin square tip. We characterize the resulting tapered nanowires structurally and spectroscopically by scanning and transmission electron microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy and model their growth. A unique structure composed of ordered rows of atoms on the (110) facet of the nanoflag is further revealed by atomically resolved topography and modeled by simulations. We discuss possible advantages tapered InAs nanowires offer for Majorana zero-mode realization and manipulation.

ZGRF1 promotes end resection of DNA homologous recombination via forming complex with BRCA1/EXO1.

To maintain genomic stability, the mammalian cells has evolved a coordinated response to DNA damage, including activation of DNA repair and cell cycle checkpoint processes. Exonuclease 1 (EXO1)-dependent excision of DNA ends is important for the initiation of homologous recombination (HR) repair of DNA breaks, which is thought to play a key role in activating the ATR-CHK1 pathway to induce G2/M cell cycle arrest. But the mechanism is still not fully understood. Here, we report that ZGRF1 forms complexes with EXO1 as well as other repair proteins and promotes DNA repair through HR. ZGRF1 is recruited to DNA damage sites in a MDC1-RNF8-BRCA1 dependent manner. Furthermore, ZGRF1 is important for the recruitment of RPA2 to DNA damage sites and the following ATR-CHK1 mediated G2/M checkpoint in response to irradiation. ZGRF1 null cells show increased sensitivity to many DNA-damaging agents, especially PARPi and irradiation. Collectively,our findings identify ZGRF1 as a novel regulator of DNA end resection and G2/M checkpoint. ZGRF1 is a potential target of radiation and PARPi cancer therapy.