Supramolecular coordination platinum metallacycle-based multilevel wound dressing for bacteria sensing and wound healing.

The exploitation of novel wound healing methods with real-time infection sensing and high spatiotemporal precision is highly important for human health. Pt-based metal-organic cycles/cages (MOCs) have been employed as multifunctional antibacterial agents due to their superior Pt-related therapeutic efficiency, various functional subunits and specific geometries. However, how to rationally apply these nanoscale MOCs on the macroscale with controllable therapeutic output is still challenging. Here, a centimeter-scale Pt MOC film was constructed via multistage assembly and subsequently coated on a N,N'-dimethylated dipyridinium thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole (MPT)-stained silk fabric to form a smart wound dressing for bacterial sensing and wound healing. The MPT on silk fabric could be used to monitor wound infection in real-time through the bacteria-mediated reduction of MPT to its radical form via a color change. The MPT radical also exhibited an excellent photothermal effect under 660 nm light irradiation, which could not only be applied for photothermal therapy but also induce the disassembly of the Pt MOC film suprastructure. The highly ordered Pt MOC film suprastructure exhibited high biosafety, while it also showed improved antibacterial efficiency after thermally induced disassembly. In vitro and in vivo studies revealed that the combination of the Pt MOC film and MPT-stained silk can provide real-time information on wound infection for timely treatment through noninvasive techniques. This study paves the way for bacterial sensing and wound healing with centimeter-scale metal-organic materials.

Epigenetic marks or not? The discovery of novel DNA modifications in eukaryotes.

DNA modifications add another layer of complexity to the eukaryotic genome to regulate gene expression, playing critical roles as epigenetic marks. In eukaryotes, the study of DNA epigenetic modifications has been confined to 5mC and its derivatives for decades. However, rapid developing approaches have witnessed the expansion of DNA modification reservoirs during the past several years, including the identification of 6mA, 5gmC, 4mC, and 4acC in diverse organisms. However, whether these DNA modifications function as epigenetic marks requires careful consideration. In this review, we try to present a panorama of all the DNA epigenetic modifications in eukaryotes, emphasizing recent breakthroughs in the identification of novel DNA modifications. The characterization of their roles in transcriptional regulation as potential epigenetic marks is summarized. More importantly, the pathways for generating or eliminating these DNA modifications, as well as the proteins involved are comprehensively dissected. Furthermore, we briefly discuss the potential challenges and perspectives, which should be taken into account while investigating novel DNA modifications.

The subgenomic flaviviral RNA suppresses RNA interference through competing with siRNAs for binding RISC components.

During the life cycle of mosquito-borne flaviviruses, substantial subgenomic flaviviral RNA (sfRNA) is produced via incomplete degradation of viral genomic RNA by host XRN1. Zika virus (ZIKV) sfRNA has been detected in mosquito and mammalian somatic cells. Human neural progenitor cells (hNPCs) in the developing brain are the major target cells of ZIKV, and antiviral RNA interference (RNAi) plays a critical role in hNPCs. However, whether ZIKV sfRNA was produced in ZIKV-infected hNPCs as well as its function remains not known. In this study, we demonstrate that abundant sfRNA was produced in ZIKV-infected hNPCs. RNA pulldown and mass spectrum assays showed ZIKV sfRNA interacted with host proteins RHA and PACT, both of which are RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) components. Functionally, ZIKV sfRNA can antagonize RNAi by outcompeting small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) in binding to RHA and PACT. Furthermore, the 3' stem loop (3'SL) of sfRNA was responsible for RISC components binding and RNAi inhibition, and 3'SL can enhance the replication of a viral suppressor of RNAi (VSR)-deficient virus in a RHA- and PACT-dependent manner. More importantly, the ability of binding to RISC components is conversed among multiple flaviviral 3'SLs. Together, our results identified flavivirus 3'SL as a potent VSR in RNA format, highlighting the complexity in virus-host interaction during flavivirus infection.IMPORTANCEZika virus (ZIKV) infection mainly targets human neural progenitor cells (hNPCs) and induces cell death and dysregulated cell-cycle progression, leading to microcephaly and other central nervous system abnormalities. RNA interference (RNAi) plays critical roles during ZIKV infections in hNPCs, and ZIKV has evolved to encode specific viral proteins to antagonize RNAi. Herein, we first show that abundant sfRNA was produced in ZIKV-infected hNPCs in a similar pattern to that in other cells. Importantly, ZIKV sfRNA acts as a potent viral suppressor of RNAi (VSR) by competing with siRNAs for binding RISC components, RHA and PACT. The 3'SL of sfRNA is responsible for binding RISC components, which is a conserved feature among mosquito-borne flaviviruses. As most known VSRs are viral proteins, our findings highlight the importance of viral non-coding RNAs during the antagonism of host RNAi-based antiviral innate immunity.

Chaotropic Effect-Induced Sol-Gel Transition and Radical Stabilization for Bacterially Sensitive Near-Infrared Photothermal Therapy.

Deep-seated bacterial infections (DBIs) are stubborn and deeply penetrate tissues. Eliminating deep-seated bacteria and promoting tissue regeneration remain great challenges. Here, a novel radical-containing hydrogel (SFT-B Gel) cross-linked by a chaotropic effect was designed for the sensing of DBIs and near-infrared photothermal therapy (NIR-II PTT). A silk fibroin solution stained with 4,4',4″-(1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triyl)tris(1-methylpyridin-1-ium) (TPT3+) was employed as the backbone, which could be cross-linked by a closo-dodecaborate cluster (B12H122-) through a chaotropic effect to form the SFT-B Gel. More interestingly, the SFT-B Gel exhibited the ability to sense DBIs, which could generate a TPT2+• radical with obvious color changes in the presence of bacteria. The radical-containing SFT-B Gel (SFT-B★ Gel) possessed strong NIR-II absorption and a remarkable photothermal effect, thus demonstrating excellent NIR-II PTT antibacterial activity for the treatment of DBIs. This work provides a new approach for the construction of intelligent hydrogels with unique properties using a chaotropic effect.

Design and Construction of the Uranyl Coordination Polymer with Multifunction Stimulus Response: Fluorescent Sensors for Halide Ions and Photochromism.

It can provide ideas for the use of uranium elements in the treatment of spent fuel from nuclear wastewater to explore the application potential of uranium element. Thus, it is necessary to research the structure and properties of a novel uranyl coordination polymer (CP) for uranium recovery and reuse. Herein, we designed and prepared a new uranyl CP U-CMNDI based on UO22+ and H2CMNDI (H2CMNDI = N, N'-bis(carboxymethyl)-1,4,5,8-naphthalenediimide). Structural analysis shows that two uranyl ions are connected by two parallel deprotonated CMNDI ligands to form a discrete uranyl dimer structure. U-CMNDI can act as a potential stimulus-responsive halide ion sensor by a fluorescence "turn on" response in water. The limit of detection for fluoride (F-), bromide (Br-), iodide (I-), and chloride (Cl-) is 5.00, 5.32, 5.49, and 5.73 µM, respectively. The fluorescence "turn on" behavior is based on the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) mechanism between halide ions and electron-deficient NDI cores. In addition, U-CMNDI demonstrates a color response to ultraviolet light, exhibiting reversible photochromic behavior with a notable color change. The color change mechanism can contribute to the PET process and the radical process.

Mechanism of the Visible-Light-Promoted C(sp3)-H Oxidation via Uranyl Photocatalysis.

Uranyl cation, as an emerging photocatalyst, has been successfully applied to synthetic chemistry in recent years and displayed remarkable catalytic ability under visible light. However, the molecular-level reaction mechanisms of uranyl photocatalysis are unclear. Here, we explore the mechanism of the stepwise benzylic C-H oxygenation of typical alkyl-substituted aromatics (i.e., toluene, ethylbenzene, and cumene) via uranyl photocatalysis using theoretical and experimental methods. Theoretical calculation results show that the most favorable reaction path for uranyl photocatalytic oxidation is as follows: first, hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) from the benzyl position to form a carbon radical ([R•]), then oxygen addition ([R•] + O2 → [ROO•]), then radical-radical combination ([ROO•] + [R•] → [ROOR] → 2[RO•]), and eventually [RO•] reduction to produce alcohols, of which 2° alcohol would further be oxidized to ketones and 1° would be stepwise-oxygenated to acids. The results of the designed verification experiments and the capture of reactive intermediates were consistent with those of theoretical calculations and the previously reported research that the active benzylic C-H would be stepwise-oxygenated in the presence of uranyl. This work deepens our understanding of the HAT mechanism of uranyl photocatalysis and provides important theoretical support for the relevant application of uranyl photocatalysts in organic transformation.

Optimizing LI-RADS: ancillary features screened from LR-3/4 categories can improve the diagnosis of HCC on MRI.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the high-efficiency ancillary features (AFs) screened from LR-3/4 lesions and the HCC/non-HCC group and the diagnostic performance of LR3/4 observations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed a total of 460 patients (with 473 nodules) classified into LR-3-LR-5 categories, including 311 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), 6 cases of non-HCC malignant tumors, and 156 cases of benign lesions. Two faculty abdominal radiologists with experience in hepatic imaging reviewed and recorded the major features (MFs) and AFs of the Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS). The frequency of the features and diagnostic performance were calculated with a logistic regression model. After applying the above AFs to LR-3/LR-4 observations, the sensitivity and specificity for HCC were compared. RESULTS: The average age of all patients was 54.24 ± 11.32 years, and the biochemical indicators ALT (P = 0.044), TBIL (P = 0.000), PLT (P = 0.004), AFP (P = 0.000) and Child‒Pugh class were significantly higher in the HCC group. MFs, mild-moderate T2 hyperintensity, restricted diffusion and AFs favoring HCC in addition to nodule-in-nodule appearance were common in the HCC group and LR-5 category. AFs screened from the HCC/non-HCC group (AF-HCC) were mild-moderate T2 hyperintensity, restricted diffusion, TP hypointensity, marked T2 hyperintensity and HBP isointensity (P = 0.005, < 0.001, = 0. 032, p < 0.001, = 0.013), and the AFs screened from LR-3/4 lesions (AF-LR) were restricted diffusion, mosaic architecture, fat in mass, marked T2 hyperintensity and HBP isointensity (P < 0.001, = 0.020, = 0.036, < 0.001, = 0.016), which were not exactly the same. After applying AF-HCC and AF-LR to LR-3 and LR-4 observations in HCC group and Non-HCC group, After the above grades changed, the diagnostic sensitivity for HCC were 84.96% using AF-HCC and 85.71% using AF-LR, the specificity were 89.26% using AF-HCC and 90.60% using AF-LR, which made a significant difference (P = 0.000). And the kappa value for the two methods of AF-HCC and AF-LR were 0.695, reaching a substantial agreement. CONCLUSION: When adjusting for LR-3/LR-4 lesions, the screened AFs with high diagnostic ability can be used to optimize LI-RADS v2018; among them, AF-LR is recommended for better diagnostic capabilities.

[Ginsenoside Re regulates mitochondrial biogenesis through Nrf2/HO-1/PGC-1α pathway to reduce hypoxia/reoxygenation injury in H9c2 cells].

This article explored the mechanism by which ginsenoside Re reduces hypoxia/reoxygenation(H/R) injury in H9c2 cells by regulating mitochondrial biogenesis through nuclear factor E2-related factor 2(Nrf2)/heme oxygenase-1(HO-1)/peroxisome prolife-rator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1α(PGC-1α) pathway. In this study, H9c2 cells were cultured in hypoxia for 4 hours and then reoxygenated for 2 hours to construct a cardiomyocyte H/R injury model. After ginsenoside Re pre-administration intervention, cell activity, superoxide dismutase(SOD) activity, malondialdehyde(MDA) content, intracellular reactive oxygen species(Cyto-ROS), and intramitochondrial reactive oxygen species(Mito-ROS) levels were detected to evaluate the protective effect of ginsenoside Re on H/R injury of H9c2 cells by resisting oxidative stress. Secondly, fluorescent probes were used to detect changes in mitochondrial membrane potential(ΔΨ_m) and mitochondrial membrane permeability open pore(mPTP), and immunofluorescence was used to detect the expression level of TOM20 to study the protective effect of ginsenoside Re on mitochondria. Western blot was further used to detect the protein expression levels of caspase-3, cleaved caspase-3, Cyto C, Nrf2, HO-1, and PGC-1α to explore the specific mechanism by which ginsenoside Re protected mitochondria against oxidative stress and reduced H/R injury. Compared with the model group, ginse-noside Re effectively reduced the H/R injury oxidative stress response of H9c2 cells, increased SOD activity, reduced MDA content, and decreased Cyto-ROS and Mito-ROS levels in cells. Ginsenoside Re showed a good protective effect on mitochondria by increasing ΔΨ_m, reducing mPTP, and increasing TOM20 expression. Further studies showed that ginsenoside Re promoted the expression of Nrf2, HO-1, and PGC-1α proteins, and reduced the activation of the apoptosis-related regulatory factor caspase-3 to cleaved caspase-3 and the expression of Cyto C protein. In summary, ginsenoside Re can significantly reduce I/R injury in H9c2 cells. The specific mechanism is related to the promotion of mitochondrial biogenesis through the Nrf2/HO-1/PGC-1α pathway, thereby increasing the number of mitochondria, improving mitochondrial function, enhancing the ability of cells to resist oxidative stress, and alleviating cell apoptosis.

[Tetrahydropalmatine inhibiting mitophagy through ULK1/FUNDC1 pathway to alleviate hypoxia/reoxygenation injury in H9c2 cells].

This study explored the specific mechanism by which tetrahydropalmatine(THP) inhibited mitophagy through the UNC-51-like kinase 1(ULK1)/FUN14 domain containing 1(FUNDC1) pathway to reduce hypoxia/reoxygenation(H/R) injury in H9c2 cells. This study used H9c2 cells as the research object to construct a cardiomyocyte H/R injury model. First, a cell viability detection kit was used to detect cell viability, and a micro-method was used to detect lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) leakage to evaluate the protective effect of THP on H/R injury of H9c2 cells. In order to evaluate the protective effect of THP on mitochondria, the chemical fluorescence method was used to detect intracellular reactive oxygen species, intramitochondrial reactive oxygen species, mitochondrial membrane potential, and autophagosomes, and the luciferin method was used to detect intracellular adenosine 5'-triphosphate(ATP) content. Western blot was further used to detect the ratio of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3(LC3) membrane type(LC3-Ⅱ) and slurry type(LC3-Ⅰ) and activated cleaved caspase-3 expression level. In addition, ULK1 expression level and its phosphorylation degree at Ser555 site, as well as the FUNDC1 expression level and its phosphorylation degree of Ser17 site were detected to explore its specific mechanism. The results showed that THP effectively reduced mitochondrial damage in H9c2 cells after H/R. THP protected mitochondria by reducing the level of reactive oxygen species in cells and mitochondria, increasing mitochondrial membrane potential, thereby increasing cellular ATP production, enhancing cellular activity, reducing cellular LDH leakage, and finally alleviating H/R damage in H9c2 cells. Further studies have found that THP could reduce the production of autophagosomes, reduce the LC3-Ⅱ/LC3-Ⅰ ratio, and lower the expression of the apoptosis-related protein, namely cleaved caspase-3, indicating that THP could reduce apoptosis by inhibiting autophagy. In-depth studies have found that THP could inhibit the activation of the ULK1/FUNDC1 pathway of mitophagy and the occurrence of mitophagy by reducing the phosphorylation degree of ULK1 at Ser555 and FUNDC1 at Ser17. The application of ULK1 agonist BL-918 reversely verified the effect of THP on reducing the phosphorylation of ULK1 and FUNDC1. In summary, THP inhibited mitophagy through the ULK1/FUNDC1 pathway to reduce H/R injury in H9c2 cells.

Coupling Nano and Atomic Electric Field Confinement for Robust Alkaline Oxygen Evolution.

The alkaline oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a promising avenue for producing clean fuels and storing intermittent energy. However, challenges such as excessive OH- consumption and strong adsorption of oxygen-containing intermediates hinder the development of alkaline OER. In this study, we propose a cooperative strategy by leveraging both nano-scale and atomically local electric fields for alkaline OER, demonstrated through the synthesis of Mn single atom doped CoP nanoneedles (Mn SA-CoP NNs). Finite element method simulations and density functional theory calculations predict that the nano-scale local electric field enriches OH- around the catalyst surface, while the atomically local electric field improves *O desorption. Experimental validation using in situ attenuated total reflection infrared and Raman spectroscopy confirms the effectiveness of the nano-scale and atomically electric fields. Mn SA-CoP NNs exhibit an ultra-low overpotential of 189 mV at 10 mA cm-2 and stable operation over 100 hours at ~100 mA cm-2 during alkaline OER. This innovative strategy provides new insights for enhancing catalyst performance in energy conversion reactions.

GMMAD: a comprehensive database of human gut microbial metabolite associations with diseases.

BACKGROUND: The natural products, metabolites, of gut microbes are crucial effect factors on diseases. Comprehensive identification and annotation of relationships among disease, metabolites, and microbes can provide efficient and targeted solutions towards understanding the mechanism of complex disease and development of new markers and drugs. RESULTS: We developed Gut Microbial Metabolite Association with Disease (GMMAD), a manually curated database of associations among human diseases, gut microbes, and metabolites of gut microbes. Here, this initial release (i) contains 3,836 disease-microbe associations and 879,263 microbe-metabolite associations, which were extracted from literatures and available resources and then experienced our manual curation; (ii) defines an association strength score and a confidence score. With these two scores, GMMAD predicted 220,690 disease-metabolite associations, where the metabolites all belong to the gut microbes. We think that the positive effective (with both scores higher than suggested thresholds) associations will help identify disease marker and understand the pathogenic mechanism from the sense of gut microbes. The negative effective associations would be taken as biomarkers and have the potential as drug candidates. Literature proofs supported our proposal with experimental consistence; (iii) provides a user-friendly web interface that allows users to browse, search, and download information on associations among diseases, metabolites, and microbes. The resource is freely available at http://guolab.whu.edu.cn/GMMAD . CONCLUSIONS: As the online-available unique resource for gut microbial metabolite-disease associations, GMMAD is helpful for researchers to explore mechanisms of disease- metabolite-microbe and screen the drug and marker candidates for different diseases.

Constructing Highly Reliable and Adaptive Primary Explosive Composites for Micro-Initiator Assisting by a Hybrid Template of Metal-Organic Frameworks and Cross-Linked Polymers.

Primary explosive, as a reliable initiator for secondary explosives, is the central component of micro-initiators for modern aerospace systems and military operations. However, they are typically prepared as powders, posing potential safety risks because of the inevitable particles scattering issues in the actual working environments. Here, the fabrication of a highly adaptive bulk material of copper azide (CA)-based safe primary explosive for micro-initiators is demonstrated. This bulk material, as derived by a complete azidation reaction of the carbonized metal-organic framework/cross-linked polymer hybrid template, enables the firm embedding of active CA species in a cross-linked carbon network (denoted as CA-C). Interestingly, this CA-C bulk material demonstrates multifarious mechanical stabilities (e.g., good shock and vibration resistance, and anti-overload capacity) in the simulated working conditions. Meanwhile, the CA contents in the CA-C bulk material reached as high as 70.3%, ensuring its detonation power. As a proof of concept, CA-C bulk material assembling in a micro-detonator can efficiently detonate the secondary explosive of CL-20 under laser irradiation. This work hereby advances the fabrication of safe and powerful primary explosives for the fulfillment of safe micro-initiator in a broad range of applications in aerospace systems.

Exploiting transposons in the study of Staphylococcus aureus pathogenesis and virulence.

The opportunistic pathogen Staphylococcus aureus has an extremely complex relationship with humans. While the bacteria can exist as a commensal in many, it can cause a wide range of diseases and infections when turned pathogenic. Its presence is a determinant of chronicity and poor prognosis in numerous diseases, and its genomic plasticity causes S. aureus antimicrobial resistance to be one of the most dire contemporary medical problems to solve. Genetic manipulation of S. aureus has led to numerous findings that are vital in the fight against its pathogenesis. The utilisation of transposon mutant libraries for the systematic inspection of the S. aureus genome led to many landmark discoveries pertaining to the bacteria's pathogenicity, antimicrobial resistance acquisition, and virulence regulation. In this review, we describe mutant libraries, and their significant contributions, from various S. aureus strains created with commonly used transposons. The general workflow for the construction of libraries will be presented, along with a discussion of the challenges of undertaking the task of large-scale library construction. As the accessibility of transposon mutant library construction, screening, and analysis increases, this genetic tool could be further exploited in the study of the S. aureus genome.

Metamaterial absorber optimization method based on an artificial neural network surrogate.

Finding the optimal design parameters for the target EM response of a metamaterial absorber is still a challenging task even if the layout of the absorber has been determined. To effectively address this issue, we introduce the idea of surrogate-based optimization into the area of metamaterial absorber design. This paper proposes a surrogate based optimization method combining artificial neural network (ANN) and trust region algorithm for metamaterial absorbers. Each optimization iteration utilizes the optimal solution from the previous iteration and the sample points surrounding it as the training dataset to build an effective ANN surrogate model. To improve the convergence of the optimization method for metamaterial absorbers based on ANN surrogate model, we incorporate a trust region algorithm. The proposed method employs a simple forward neural network architecture and requires less training data, leading to a quick convergence towards the target solution after only a few iterations. Compared to the three commonly used alternative methods, the proposed method can optimize geometric and material parameters more efficiently in the same time. The validity of the proposed method is demonstrated by two examples of electromagnetic optimizations of metamaterial absorbers.

Common pathogenic bacteria-induced reprogramming of the host proteinogenic amino acids metabolism.

Apart from cancer, metabolic reprogramming is also prevalent in other diseases, such as bacterial infections. Bacterial infections can affect a variety of cells, tissues, organs, and bodies, leading to a series of clinical diseases. Common Pathogenic bacteria include Helicobacter pylori, Salmonella enterica, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Staphylococcus aureus, and so on. Amino acids are important and essential nutrients in bacterial physiology and support not only their proliferation but also their evasion of host immune defenses. Many pathogenic bacteria or opportunistic pathogens infect the host and lead to significant changes in metabolites, especially the proteinogenic amino acids, to inhibit the host's immune mechanism to achieve its immune evasion and pathogenicity. Here, we review the regulation of host metabolism, while host cells are infected by some common pathogenic bacteria, and discuss how amino acids of metabolic reprogramming affect bacterial infections, revealing the potential adjunctive application of amino acids alongside antibiotics.

A Novel Multi-view Bi-clustering method for identifying abnormal Co-occurrence medical visit behaviors.

Abnormal co-occurrence medical visit behavior is a form of medical insurance fraud. Specifically, an organized gang of fraudsters hold multiple medical insurance cards and purchase similar drugs frequently at the same time and the same location in order to siphon off medical insurance funds. Conventional identification methods to identify such behaviors rely mainly on manual auditing, making it difficult to satisfy the needs of identifying the small number of fraudulent behaviors in the large-scale medical data. On the other hand, the existing single-view bi-clustering algorithms only consider the features of the time-location dimension while neglecting the similarities in prescriptions and neglecting the fact that fraudsters may belong to multiple gangs. Therefore, in this paper, we present a multi-view bi-clustering method for identifying abnormal co-occurrence medical visit behavioral patterns, which performs cluster analysis simultaneously on the large-scale, complex and diverse visiting record dimension and prescription dimension to identify bi-clusters with similar time-location features. The proposed method constructs a matrix view of patients and visit records as well as a matrix view of patients and prescriptions, while decomposing multiple data matrices into sparse row and column vectors to obtain a consistent patient population across views. Subsequently the proposed method identifies the corresponding abnormal co-occurrence medical visit behavior and may greatly facilitate the safe operations and the sustainability of medical insurance funds. The experimental results show that our proposed method leads to more efficient and more accurate identifications of abnormal co-occurrence medical visit behavior, demonstrating its high efficiency and effectiveness.

Sulfur metabolism in Rhodococcus species and their application in desulfurization of fossil fuels.

Organosulfur compounds in fossil fuels have been a major concern in the process of achieving zero-sulfur fuel production. Biodesulfurization (BDS) is an environmentally friendly strategy for the removal of refractory organosulfur compounds from fossil fuels. Even though researchers are committed to engineering the desulfurization-specific pathway for improving BDS efficiency, the industrial application of BDS is still difficult. Recently, the sulfur metabolism of Rhodococcus has begun to attract attention due to its influences on the BDS process. In this review, we introduce the sulfur metabolism in Rhodococcus, including sulfur absorption, reduction, and assimilation; and summarize desulfurization in Rhodococcus, including the desulfurization mechanism, the regulation mechanism of the 4S pathway, and the strategies of optimizing the 4S pathway to improve BDS efficiency. In particular, the influence of sulfur metabolism on BDS efficiency is discussed. In addition, we consider the latest genetic engineering strategies in Rhodococcus. An improved understanding of the relationship between sulfur metabolism and desulfurization will enable the industrial application of BDS.

A Bibliometric Analysis of the Role of 3D Technology in Liver Cancer Resection.

BACKGROUND: Liver cancer resection is an effective but complex way to treat liver cancer, and complex anatomy is one of the reasons for the difficulty of surgery. The use of 3D technology can help surgeons cope with this dilemma. This article intends to conduct a bibliometric analysis of the role of 3D technology in liver cancer resection. METHODS: (TS = (3D) OR TS = (three-dimensional)) AND (TS = (((hepatic) OR (liver)) AND ((cancer) OR (tumor) OR (neoplasm)))) AND (TS = (excision) OR TS = (resection)) was used as a search strategy for data collection in the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection. CiteSpace, Carrot2 and Microsoft Office Excel were used for data analysis. RESULTS: Three hundred and eighty-eight relevant articles were obtained. Their annual and journal distribution maps were produced. Countries/regions and institutions collaboration, author collaboration, references co-citations and their clusters and keywords co-occurrences and their clusters were constructed. Carrot2 cluster analysis was performed. CONCLUSIONS: There was an overall upward trend in the number of publications. China's contribution was greater, and the USA had greater influence. Southern Med Univ was the most influential institution. However, the cooperation between institutions still needs to be further strengthened. Surgical Endoscopy and Other Interventional Techniques was the most published journal. Couinaud C and Soyer P were the authors with the highest citations and centrality, respectively. "Liver planning software accurately predicts postoperative liver volume and measures early regeneration" was the most influential article. 3D printing, 3D CT and 3D reconstruction may be the mainstream of current research, and augmented reality (AR) may be a future hot spot.

TIM-3/Galectin-9 and CD160 expression in salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: Investigating T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin-domain containing-3 (TIM-3), Galectin 9 (Gal-9), CD160 expression and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and correlation with clinicopathological characteristics of salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (SACC). METHODS: Sixty cases of SACC were detected by immunohistochemical staining to evaluate TIM-3, Gal-9, and CD160 expression and analyze the correlation between TIM-3, Gal-9, CD160 expression and clinicopathologic features by rank-sum test. The association of TILs with TIM-3, Gal-9, and CD160 expression in SACC stromal was done by Chi-square test. RESULTS: TIM-3 and CD160 overexpression were correlated with recurrence of SACC (p = 0.029, p = 0.007, respectively). High Gal-9 expression was correlated with pathological classification (p = 0.018). The average percentage of TILs was 18.2% in SACC and most of TILs were more likely to occur in minor salivary glands (p = 0.038). Pairwise positive correlations were observed between the expression of TIM-3, Gal-9, and CD160 in tumor cells as well as in TILs, respectively. CONCLUSION: Low density of TILs was characteristic of the SACC microenvironment, with upregulation of TIM-3, Gal-9, and CD160 all occurring. However, TIM-3, Gal-9, and CD160 expression in the stromal dependent on the number of TILs represent potential therapeutic targets in SACC.

Plantamajoside attenuates cardiac fibrosis via inhibiting AGEs activated-RAGE/autophagy/EndMT pathway.

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) have been identified to transduce fibrogenic signals via inducing the activation of their receptor (RAGE)-mediated pathway. Recently, disrupting AGE-RAGE interaction has become a promising therapeutic strategy for chronic heart failure (CHF). Endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT) is close to the cardiac fibrosis pathological process. Our previous studies have demonstrated that knockout RAGE suppressed the autophagy-mediated EndMT, and thus alleviated cardiac fibrosis. Plantamajoside (PMS) is the major bioactive compound of Plantago Asiatica, and its activity of anti-fibrosis has been documented in many reports. However, its effect on CHF and the underlying mechanism remains elusive. Thus, we tried to elucidate the protective role of PMS in CHF from the viewpoint of the AGEs/RAGE/autophagy/EndMT axis. Herein, PMS was found to attenuate cardiac fibrosis and dysfunction, suppress EndMT, reduce autophagy levels and serum levels of AGEs, yet did not affect the expression of RAGE in CHF mice. Mechanically, PMS possibly binds to the V-domain of RAGE, which is similar to the interaction between AGEs and RAGE. Importantly, this competitive binding disturbed AGEs-induced the RAGE-autophagy-EndMT pathway in vitro. Collectively, our results indicated that PMS might exert an anti-cardiac fibrosis effect by specifically binding RAGE to suppress the AGEs-activated RAGE/autophagy/EndMT pathway.