Reticular Heterojunction for Organic Photoelectrochemical Transistor Detection of Neuron-Specific Enolase.

Reticular heterojunctions on the basis of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have sparked considerable interest in recent research endeavors, which nevertheless have seldom been studied in optoelectronic biosensing. In this work, its utilization for organic photoelectrochemical transistor (OPECT) detection of the important cancer biomarker of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) is reported. A MOF@COF@CdS quantum dots (QDs) heterojunction is rationally designed to serve as the photogating module against the polymeric channel. Linking with a sandwich complexing event, target-dependent alternation of the photogate is achieved, leading to the changed photoelectric conversion efficiency as indicated by the amplified OPECT signals. The proposed assay demonstrates good analytical performance in detecting NSE, featuring a linear detection range from 0.1 pg mL-1 to 100 ng mL-1, with a detection limit of 0.033 pg mL-1.

Double trouble: an unusual case of Klebsiella pneumoniae invasive syndrome with liver abscess, gallbladder empyema and infective endocarditis.

BACKGROUND: Klebsiella pneumoniae invasive syndrome (KPIS) is characterized by primary pyogenic liver abscess associated with metastatic infections. Although rare, Klebsiella endocarditis carries a high mortality risk. CASE PRESENTATION: A 60-year-old lady with type II diabetes mellitus presented with fever, malaise, right hypochondriac pain and vomiting for two weeks. Ultrasound abdomen revealed a collection within liver, and distended gallbladder with echogenic debris within. 3 days after ultrasound guided pigtail drainage of gallbladder empyema, newly presence murmur detected. Pus, urine, and blood cultures obtained were positive for Klebsiella pneumonia. Echocardiogram exhibited oscillating mass attached to anterior mitral valve leaflet. After 6 weeks of intravenous ceftriaxone, follow-up echocardiogram and ultrasound showed complete resolution of mitral valve vegetation, hepatic and gallbladder collection. CONCLUSION: Concomitant extrahepatic infective endocarditis (IE) should raise concerns in daily practice for patients with Klebsiella pneumoniae liver abscesses, despite the rarity of Klebsiella endocarditis. In the absence of diagnostic suspicion, antibiotic treatment regimens may be shortened, and adverse effects from IE infection may ensue.

Triterpenoids from Juglans mandshurica with anti-hyaluronidase activities.

Phytochemical study on 90% ethanol extract from the green walnut husks of Juglans mandshurica Maxim. resulted into the isolation of three undescribed triterpenoids, juglansmanoids A-C (1-3). Structural elucidation of all the compounds were performed by spectral methods such as 1D and 2D (1H-1H COSY, HMQC, and HMBC) NMR spectroscopy, in addition to high resolution mass spectrometry. The isolated components were evaluated in vitro for anti-hyaluronidase activities. As a result, triterpenoid 1 exhibited potent anti-hyaluronidase activity (IC50 = 9.78 µg/ml) three times more than the positive control drug oleanolic acid (IC50 = 40.12 µg/ml).

Size-Dependent Uptake and Depuration of Nanoplastics in Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and Distinct Intestinal Impacts.

Nanoplastics (NPs, <1 µm) are of great concern worldwide because of their high potential risk toward organisms in aquatic systems, while very little work has been focused on their tissue-specific toxicokinetics due to the limitations of NP quantification for such a purpose. In this study, NPs with two different sizes (86 and 185 nm) were doped with palladium (Pd) to accurately determine the uptake and depuration kinetics in various tissues (intestine, stomach, liver, gill, and muscle) of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in water, and subsequently, the corresponding toxic effects in the intestine were explored. Our results revealed uptake and depuration constants of 2.70-378 L kg-1 day-1 and 0.138-0.407 day-1 for NPs in tilapia for the first time, and the NPs in tissues were found to be highly dependent on the particle size. The intestine exhibited the greatest relative accumulation of both sizes of NPs; the smaller NPs caused more severe damage than the larger NPs to the intestinal mucosal layer, while the larger NPs induced a greater impact on microbiota composition. The findings of this work explicitly indicate the size-dependent toxicokinetics and intestinal toxicity pathways of NPs, providing new insights into the ecological effects of NPs on aquatic organisms.

Long-term grazing improved soil chemical properties and benefited community traits under climatic influence in an alpine typical steppe.

Grazing and climate change both contribute to diversity loss and productivity fluctuations. Sensitive climate conditions and long-term grazing activities have a profound influence on community change, particularly in high-altitude mountain grassland ecosystems. However, knowledge about the role of long-term continuous grazing management on diversity, productivity and the regulation mechanisms in fragile grassland ecosystems is still rudimentary. We conducted a long-term grazing experiment on an alpine typical steppe in the Qilian Mountains to assess effects of grazing intensity on soil, diversity, productivity and the regulation mechanisms. Plants and soil were sampled along grazing gradients at different distances from the pasture entrance (0, 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, 1.2 and 1.5 km) under the non-growing (WP) and the growing season grazing pasture (SAP). The results revealed that community diversity and biomass did not change significantly on a time scale, while the concentration of soil organic carbon and total phosphorus increased significantly. Heavy grazing (0-0.3 km) decreased community diversity and biomass. Grazing increased soil chemical properties in heavy grazed areas of WP, while the opposite was recorded in SAP. Soil chemical properties explained the largest variances in community diversity and community biomass. The prediction model indicates that grazing in WP mainly affects community diversity through soil chemical properties, and promotes a positive correlation between community diversity and community biomass; in SAP, the direct effect of grazing gradients on community diversity and biomass is the main pathway, but not eliminating the single positive relationship between diversity and biomass, which means that diversity can still be used as a potential resource to promote productivity improvement. Therefore, we should focus on the regulation of soil chemical properties in WP, such as the health and quality of soil, strengthening its ability to store water, sequester carbon and increase nutrients; focus on the management of livestock in SAP, including providing fertilizer and sowing to increase diversity and production in heavily grazed regions and reducing grazing pressure through regional rotational grazing. Ultimately, we call for strengthening the stability and sustainability of ecosystems through targeted and active human intervention in ecologically sensitive areas to cope with future grazing pressures and climate disturbances.

[Expression and significance analysis of GDF3 in testicular cancer based on TCGA and GTEx databases].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression and significance of GDF3 in testicular cancer through bioinformatics analysis. METHODS: Using the TCGA and GTEx databases, differential expression analysis and pan-cancer analysis were performed to identify the target gene GDF3, and the clinical relevance of GDF3 in testicular cancer was analyzed using the UALCAN database. Based on the R packages "org.Hs.eg.db" and "clusterProfiler," gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were conducted to explore the potential functions of GDF3 in testicular cancer. The correlation of GDF3 with immune chemokines and immune inhibitors in testicular cancer was investigated using the TISIDB database. RESULTS: The GDF3 was significantly upregulated in testicular cancer (P<0.001) and closely associated with clinical staging (P<0.05) and tumor subtypes (P<0.001). The immune-related analysis revealed that GDF3 was strongly correlated with immune chemokines CCL26 (rho=0.599, P<0.001), CCL7 (rho=0.525, P<0.001), immune inhibitor ADORA2A (rho=0.723, P<0.001), and PVRL2 (rho=0.585, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: The GDF3 is closely related to the occurrence, development, and immune microenvironment of testicular cancer.

Protein Corona-Mediated Extraction for Quantitative Analysis of Nanoplastics in Environmental Waters by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry.

There is a growing concern about the effects of nanoplastics on biological safety and human health because of their global ubiquity in the environment. Methodologies for quantitative analysis of nanoplastics are important for the critical evaluation of their possible risks. Herein, a sensitive yet simple and environmentally friendly extraction approach mediated by protein corona is developed and coupled to pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) for nanoplastic determination in environmental waters. The developed methodology involved the formation of protein corona by addition of bovine serum albumin (BSA) to samples and protein precipitation via salting out. Then, the resulting extract was directly introduced to Py-GC/MS for nanoplastic mass quantification. Taking 50 nm polystyrene (PS) particles as a model, the highest extraction efficiency for nanoplastics was achieved under the extraction conditions of BSA concentration of 20 mg/L, equilibration time of 5 min, pH 3.0, 10% (w/v) NaCl, incubation temperature of 80 °C, and incubation period of 15 min. The extraction was confirmed to be mediated by the protein corona by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis of the extracted nanoplastics. In total, 1.92 and 2.82 µg/L PS nanoplastics were detected in river water and the influent of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), respectively. Furthermore, the feasibility of the present methodology was demonstrated by applying to extract PS and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanoplastics from real waters with recoveries of 72.1-98.9% at 14.2-50.4 µg/L spiked levels. Consequently, our method has provided new insights and possibilities for the investigation of nanoplastic pollution and its risk assessment in the environment.

A Porous Metal-Organic Framework as an Electrochemical Sensing Platform for Highly Selective Adsorption and Detection of Bisphenols.

The design of artificial receptors with a specific recognition function and enhanced selectivity is highly desirable in the electrochemical sensing field, which can be used for detection of environmental pollutants. In this facet, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) featured adjustable porosities and specific host-guest recognition properties. Especially, the large hydrophobic cavity formed in the porous MOFs may become a potential artificial receptor. We herein designed a new porous MOF [Zn2(L)(IPA)(H2O)]·2DMF·2MeOH·3H2O (Zn-L-IPA) by using a functionalized sulfonylcalix[4]arene (L1) and isophthalic acid (H2IPA) (DMF = N,N'-dimethylformamide). The specific pore size and pore shape of Zn-L-IPA made it efficiently selective for absorption of bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol F (BPF), and bisphenol S (BPS). Therefore, a rapid, highly selective, and ultrasensitive electrochemical sensing platform Zn-L-IPA@GP/GCE was fabricated by using Zn-L-IPA as a host to recognize and absorb bisphenol guests (GP = graphite powder, GCE = glassy carbon electrode). Most strikingly, the extremely low detection limits were up to 3.46 and 0.17 nM for BPA and BPF, respectively, using the Zn-L-IPA@GP/GCE electrode. Furthermore, the "recognition and adsorption" mechanism was uncovered by density functional theory with the B3LYP function. This work offered a prospective strategy for selective absorption and detection of harmful bisphenols with the MOF-based porous material.

Quantitative Analysis of Polystyrene and Poly(methyl methacrylate) Nanoplastics in Tissues of Aquatic Animals.

Micro- and nanoplastics unavoidably enter into organisms and humans as a result of widespread exposures through drinking waters, foods, and even inhalation. However, owing to the limited availability of quantitative analytical methods, the effect of nanoplastics inside animal bodies is poorly understood. Herein, we report a sensitive and robust method to determine the chemical composition, mass concentration, and size distribution of nanoplastics in biological matrices. This breakthrough is based on a novel procedure including alkaline digestion and protein precipitation to extract nanoplastics from tissues of aquatic animals, followed by quantitative analysis with pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The optimized procedure exhibited good reproducibility and high sensitivity with the respective detection limits of 0.03 µg/g for polystyrene (PS) nanoplastics and 0.09 µg/g poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanoplastics. This method also preserved the original morphology and size of nanoplastics. Furthermore, to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method, 14 species of aquatic animals were collected, and PS nanoplastics in a concentration range of 0.093-0.785 µg/g were detected in three of these animals. Recovery rates of 73.0-89.1% were further obtained for PS and PMMA nanospheres when they were spiked into the tissues of Zebra snail and Corbicula fluminea at levels of 1.84-2.12 µg/g. Consequently, this method provides a powerful tool for tracking nanoplastics in animals.

[Correlation of the prostatic exosomal protein content with conventional indicators of EPS and NIH-CPSI].

OBJECTIVE: To study the relationship of the content of prostatic exosomal protein (PSEP) in the urine with the counts of WBCs and small particles of lecithin (SPL) in the EPS and NIH-CPSI in patients with chronic prostatitis. METHODS: We collected mid-stream urine samples from 367 chronic prostatitis patients in the Department of Andrology of the General Hospital of Eastern Theater Command from November 2017 to August 2018. We measured the content of PSEP in the urine, counted WBCs and SPLs in the EPS of the patients, obtained their NIH-CPSI scores, and analyzed the correlation of the PSEP level with the WBC and SPL counts and NIH-CPSI scores of the patients. RESULTS: The PSEP level in the urine was elevated with the increase of the WBC count in the EPS of the patients (r = 0.19, P = 0.047) but not significantly correlated with the SPL count in the EPS (r = 0.02, P = 0.48). A significant correlation was observed between the PSEP level and the NIH-CPSI scores of the patients (r = 0.31, P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: The PSEP content in the urine can be used as an indicator in the clinical diagnosis and assessment of the inflammation degree of chronic prostatitis.

[Impact of Mycoplasma genitalium infection on the semen quality of infertile males].

OBJECTIVE: To explore Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) infection in the urogenital tract of infertile men and its influence on semen quality. METHODS: Semen samples were collected from 352 infertile males in the Center of Reproductive Medicine of Nanjing General Hospital from March to July 2015. MG infection was detected by real-time fluorescence simultaneous amplification and testing and semen analyses were conducted according to the WHO Laboratory Manual for the Examination and Processing of Human Semen (5th Ed) on the semen pH value, semen volume, total sperm count, sperm concentration, total sperm motility, percentages of progressively motile sperm (PMS) and immotile sperm (IMS), and sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI). The data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis by t-test and non-parametric test (Wilcoxon test). RESULTS: MG infection was found in 3.4% (12/352) of the infertile patients. Compared with the MG-positive cases, the MG-negative ones showed a significantly higher semen volume (ï¼»2.85 ± 0.14ï¼½ vs ï¼»3.84 ± 0.12ï¼½ ml, P = 0.008) and percentage of PMS (ï¼»15.86±1.72ï¼½ vs ï¼»60.95 ± 5.63ï¼½ %, P = 0.032) but a lower DFI (ï¼»30.73 ±2.24ï¼½ vs ï¼»20.71 ± 1.55ï¼½%, P = 0.014). However, no statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups in the semen pH value (7.38 ±0.02 vs 7.39 ± 0.01, P = 0.774), sperm concentration (ï¼»52.96 ± 15.78ï¼½ vs ï¼»60.05 ± 4.29ï¼½×106/ml, P = 0.683), sperm count (ï¼»154.15 ± 46.37ï¼½ vs ï¼»221.56 ± 15.43ï¼½×106, P = 0.236), total sperm motility (ï¼»29.04 ± 3.11ï¼½ vs ï¼»33.52 ± 1.51ï¼½ %, P = 0.626), or percentage of IMS (ï¼»23.57 ± 0.99ï¼½ vs ï¼»62.34 ± 1.69ï¼½ %, P = 0.691). CONCLUSIONS: Urogenital MG infection is common in infertile males and potentially affects the semen quality, especially sperm vitality of the patient.

Right Femoral Fragility Fracture in an Adolescent with Vitamin D Deficiency from COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Confinement.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major impacts in various aspects of our life. In Malaysia, a Movement Control Order was imposed in March 2020. For almost two years, school going children and adolescents were not able to attend school physically, and their physical activity was confined within their room or house on most days. Case Description. We describe a case of a 14-year-old boy who was previously active in sports and sustained a low trauma fracture at the right neck of the femur following a prolonged period of extreme sedentary life along with poor dietary intake during the COVID-19 pandemic period. He underwent open reduction and screw fixation for the right neck femur fracture. He was thin with a low BMI (15.62 kg/m2) and a significant loss of muscle bulk in all limbs. Laboratory tests showed vitamin D deficiency (15.3 nmol/L) and the dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) showed a low Z-score for the total spine (-2.2) and total hip (-3.9). He was treated with activated vitamin D and vitamin D3 replacement. Sports physician was involved for individualized postoperative rehabilitation. Successive clinic visits showed remarkable improvements in physical fitness, sports participation, and normalization of vitamin D levels. Conclusion: A high degree of suspicion is needed to rule out secondary causes in adolescents who present with unusual fragility fractures.

Celastrol induced the autophagy of spermatogonia cells contributed to tripterygium glycosides-related testicular injury.

Tripterygium glycosides (TG) is extracted from the roots of Chinese herbal medicine named Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F (TwHF). TG tablets are the representative TwHF-based agents with anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activities for treating rheumatoid arthritis. Although the curative effect of TG is remarkable, the clinical application is limited by a variety of organ toxicity. One of the most serious side-effects induced by TG is damage of the male reproductive system and the toxic mechanism is still not fully elucidated. TG-induced testicular injury was observed in male mice by treated with different concentrations of TG. The results showed that TG induced a significant decrease in testicular index. Pathological observation showed that spermatogenic cells were obviously shed, arranged loosely, and the spermatogenic epithelium was thin compared with control mice. In addition, the toxic effect of TG on mouse spermatogonia GC-1 cells was investigated. The results displayed that TG induced significant cytotoxicity in mouse GC-1 cells. To explore the potential toxic components that triggered testicular injury, the effects of 8 main components of TG on the viability of GC-1 cells were detected. The results showed that celastrol was the most toxic component of TG to GC-1 cells. Western blot analysis showed that LC3-II and the ratio of LC3-II/LC3-I were significantly increased and the expression level of p62 were decreased in both TG and celastrol treated cells, which indicated the significant activation of autophagy in spermatogonia cells. Therefore, autophagy plays an important role in the testicular injury induced by TG, and inhibition of autophagy is expected to reduce the testicular toxicity of TG.

PI3K/AKT mediated De novo fatty acid synthesis regulates RIG-1/MDA-5-dependent type I IFN responses in BVDV-infected CD8+T cells.

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) has caused massive economic losses in the cattle business worldwide. Fatty acid synthase (FASN), a key enzyme of the fatty acid synthesis (FAS) pathway, has been shown to support virus replication. To investigate the role of fatty acids (FAs) in BVDV infection, we infected CD8+T lymphocytes obtained from healthy cattle with BVDV in vitro. During early cytopathic (CP) and noncytopathic (NCP) BVDV infection in CD8+ T cells, there is an increase in de novo lipid biosynthesis, resulting in elevated levels of free fatty acids (FFAs) and triglycerides (TG). BVDV infection promotes de novo lipid biosynthesis in a dose-dependent manner. Treatment with the FASN inhibitor C75 significantly reduces the phosphorylation of PI3K and AKT in BVDV-infected CD8+ T cells, while inhibition of PI3K with LY294002 decreases FASN expression. Both CP and NCP BVDV strains promote de novo fatty acid synthesis by activating the PI3K/AKT pathway. Further investigation shows that pharmacological inhibitors targeting FASN and PI3K concurrently reduce FFAs, TG levels, and ATP production, effectively inhibiting BVDV replication. Conversely, the in vitro supplementation of oleic acid (OA) to replace fatty acids successfully restored BVDV replication, underscoring the impact of abnormal de novo fatty acid metabolism on BVDV replication. Intriguingly, during BVDV infection of CD8+T cells, the use of FASN inhibitors prompted the production of IFN-α and IFN-ß, as well as the expression of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs). Moreover, FASN inhibitors induce TBK-1 phosphorylation through the activation of RIG-1 and MDA-5, subsequently activating IRF-3 and ultimately enhancing the IFN-1 response. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that BVDV infection activates the PI3K/AKT pathway to boost de novo fatty acid synthesis, and inhibition of FASN suppresses BVDV replication by activating the RIG-1/MDA-5-dependent IFN response.

Polymorphism of A133S and promoter hypermethylation in Ras association domain family 1A gene (RASSF1A) is associated with risk of esophageal and gastric cardia cancers in Chinese population from high incidence area in northern China.

BACKGROUND: The role of tumor suppressor gene RASSF1A in the esophageal and gastric cardia carcinogenesis is still inconclusive. In this study, the polymorphism, promoter methylation and gene expression of RASSF1A were characterized in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (GCA). METHODS: We firstly analyzed the prevalence of RASSF1A A133S in a total of 228 cancer patients with ESCC (n=112) and GCA (n=116) and 235 normal controls by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction enzyme-digestion assay. Then, the promoter methylation status of the RASSF1A in ESCC (n=143), GCA (n=92) and corresponding adjacent normal tissues were further investigated using methylation-specific PCR (MSP) approach. Finally, the RASSF1A protein expression were determined in ESCC (n=27), GCA (n=24) and the matched adjacent normal tissues by immunohistochemical method. RESULTS: The frequency of 133Ala/Se and Ser/Ser genotype was significantly higher in GCA patients than in normal controls (19.0% vs. 10.2%, P=0.02). Compared with Ala/Ala genotype, Ala/Se and Ser/Ser genotype significantly increased susceptibility to GCA (OR=2.06, 95% CI=1.09-3.97). However, this polymorphism had no association with ESCC (P=0.69). The promoter methylation of RASSF1A gene was significantly increased the risk to both ESCC (OR=5.90, 95% CI=2.78-12.52) and GCA (OR=7.50, 95% CI= 2.78-20.23). Promoter methylation of RASSF1A gene in ESCC was also associated with age and cancer cell differentiation (for age: OR=3.11, 95% CI=1.10-8.73; for differentiation: OR=0.29, 95% CI=0.12-0.69). RASSF1A positive expression was significantly decreased the risk of GCA (OR=0.16, 95% CI=0.03-0.83). In contrast, there was no statistical significance between RASSF1A positive expression and ESCC. The expression of RASSF1A protein trend to be positively related with older GCA patients (OR=16.20, 95% CI=1.57-167.74). CONCLUSIONS: The present findings suggest that alterations of RASSF1A may play an important role in gastric cardia carcinogenesis in terms of polymorphism, promoter hypermethylation and protein expression. Whereas, RASSF1A hypermethylation may probably also be involved in esophageal squamous cell carcinogenesis.

Durable lithium-ion insertion/extraction and migration behavior of LiF-encapsulated cobalt-free lithium-rich manganese-based layered oxide cathode.

Lithium-rich manganese-based cathode has made a subject of intense scrutiny for scientists and application researchers due to their exceptional thermal stability, high specific capacity, high operating voltage, and cost-effectiveness. However, the inclusion of cobalt, as a crucial component in lithium-rich manganese-based cathode materials, has become a cause for concern due to its limited availability and non-renewable nature, which eventually limits the growth of the battery industry and increase costs. Considering the poor stability of cobalt-free cathode, this work proposes a coating strategy of LiF through a simple high-temperature melting method. Directly coating LiF on Li1.2Ni0.2Mn0.6O2 surface is found to be an effective way to protect the cathode material, decrease metal solubility, and inhibit irreversible phase transition processes, thus leading to an improved electrochemical performance. As a result, the battery employing LiF coated Li1.2Ni0.2Mn0.6O2 cathode can be stabilized over 280 cycles and maintain a capacity of 110 mAh g-1 at 1C. What's more, the mechanisms of ion insertion/extraction behavior and ion migration process are also studied systematically. This study will open the avenue to develop a high-energy battery system with cobalt-free cathode.

Phylogenies from mitochondrial genomes of 120 species of ticks: Insights into the evolution of the families of ticks and of the genus Amblyomma.

The evolution and phylogenetic relationships of the ticks at both the family and genus levels are contested. The genus Amblyomma and its subgenera are in a state of flux; moreover, the relationships among the three tick families are controversial due to conflicting phylogenetic support for different arrangements of the three families of living ticks. With 18 newly sequenced mitochondrial (mt) genomes of ticks included, we executed the largest mt genome phylogenetic study of ticks so far. Phylogenetic trees were inferred from one sea spider mt genome, one horseshoe crab, five mite mt genomes and 146 tick mt genomes from 120 species: 153 mt genomes in total. Sixteen phylogenetic trees were inferred from 10 datasets using both maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference methods. We describe the first novel mt gene-arrangement for the metastriate Ixodidae in Amblyomma (Africaniella) transversale. Also, three unusual partial 16S rRNA gene inserts were found in the mt genome of Haemaphysalis (Alloceraea) kitaokai: we consider the possible role of past genome translocation events in the formation of these inserts. Our phylogenies revealed evidence that: (i) the genus Amblyomma is polyphyletic with respect to Amblyomma (Africaniella) transversale; (ii) the subgenus Aponomma is apparently embedded in the genus Amblyomma; (iii) Haemaphysalis (Segalia) parva and Haemaphysalis (Alloceraea) kitaokai form a clade to the exclusion of other Haemaphysalis species; and (iv) the phylogenetic position of the family Nuttalliellidae is unstable among phylogenies from different datasets.

Differences in clinical and genetic characteristics between early- and late-onset narcolepsy in a Han Chinese cohort.

Early- and late-onset narcolepsy constitutes two distinct diagnostic subgroups. However, it is not clear whether symptomology and genetic risk factors differ between early- and late-onset narcoleptics. This study compared clinical data and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) between early- and late-onset patients in a large cohort of 899 Han Chinese narcolepsy patients. Blood, cerebrospinal fluid, and clinical data were prospectively collected from patients, and patients were genotyped for 40 previously reported narcolepsy risk-conferring SNPs. Genetic risk scores (GRSs), associations of five different sets of SNPs (GRS1-GRS5) with early- and late-onset narcolepsy, were evaluated using logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic curves. Mean sleep latency was significantly shorter in early-onset cases than in late-onset cases. Symptom severity was greater among late-onset patients, with higher rates of sleep paralysis, hypnagogic hallucinations, health-related quality of life impairment, and concurrent presentation with four or more symptoms. Hypocretin levels did not differ significantly between early- and late-onset cases. Only rs3181077 (CCR1/CCR3) and rs9274477 (HLA-DQB1) were more prevalent among early-onset cases. Only GRS1 (26 SNPs; OR = 1.513, 95% CI: 0.893-2.585; P < 0.05) and GRS5 (6 SNPs; OR = 1.893, 95% CI: 1.204-2.993; P < 0.05) were associated with early-onset narcolepsy, with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves of 0.731 and 0.732, respectively. Neither GRS1 nor GRS5 included SNPs in HLA regions. Our results indicate that symptomology and genetic risk factors differ between early- and late-onset narcolepsy. This protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) Panels on Medical Human Subjects at Peking University People's Hospital, China (approval No. Yuanlunshenlinyi 86) in October 2011.

Ultrastable radical-doped coordination compounds with antimicrobial activity against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

In the present work, we have introduced a series of stable radical-doped coordination compounds composed of donor-acceptor structures and shown to produce organic radicals in situ as a result of unconventional lone pair-π interactions in ambient conditions. Inconspicuous lone pair-π and C-Hπ interactions were shown to play a key role in self-assembly as well as the charge transfer process, resulting in a long-lived charge-separated state able to generate organic radicals. The resultant species displayed broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, including against multi-drug-resistant bacteria. This study unveiled the promise of reactive organic radical-doped materials as a new platform for developing antimicrobial agents that can overcome antibiotic resistance.

A comparison of dissolved organic matter transformation in low pressure ultraviolet (LPUV) and ultraviolet light-emitting diode (UV-LED)/chlorine processes.

This study compared the degradation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) by UV/chlorine advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) with emerging ultraviolet light-emitting diode (UV-LED, 275 nm) and traditional low pressure UV (LPUV, 254 nm) as UV sources. Excitation emission matrix-parallel factor (EEM-PARAFAC) analysis and two-dimensional (2D) correlation gel permeation chromatograph were applied to explore the evolutions of DOM during oxidation processes. The degradation behaviors of DOM indicated by UV absorbance at 254 nm (UV254), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and fluorophores fitted the pseudo-first-order kinetics well. The removal efficiency of DOM was similar under UV-LED and LPUV irradiation alone. However, UV-LED exhibited much higher degradation rates (increased by 29-160%) than LPUV regardless of the tracking variables during UV/chlorine processes. For three PARAFAC components, humic-like fluorescences were preferentially degraded by UV/chlorine oxidation compared with protein-like fluorescence potentially due to the differences of electronic moieties and molecular weight (MW). The decline in UV254, DOC, and fluorophores increased with increasing chlorine dosage; linear correlations between those indicators were observed during the two AOPs. Moreover, UV-LED/chlorine could achieve greater extents of MW change. Our study demonstrated that UV-LED could be a superior alternative for the future selection of UV source in the UV/chlorine process.