Vertical-Channel Cathode Host Enables Rapid Deposition Kinetics toward High-Areal-Capacity Sodium-Chlorine Batteries.

Rechargeable sodium chloride (Na-Cl2) batteries have emerged as promising alternatives for next-generation energy storage due to their superior energy density and sodium abundance. However, their practical applications are hindered by the sluggish chlorine cathode kinetics related to the aggregation of NaCl and its difficult transformation into Cl2. Herein, the study, for the first time from the perspective of electrode level in Na-Cl2 batteries, proposes a free-standing carbon cathode host with customized vertical channels to facilitate the SOCl2 transport and regulate the NaCl deposition. Accordingly, electrode kinetics are significantly enhanced, and the deposited NaCl is distributed evenly across the whole electrode, avoiding the blockage of pores in the carbon host, and facilitating its oxidation to Cl2. With this low-polarization cathode, the Na-Cl2 batteries can deliver a practically high areal capacity approaching 4 mAh cm-2 and a long cycle life of over 170 cycles. This work demonstrates the significance of pore engineering in electrodes for mediating chlorine conversion kinetics in rechargeable alkali-metal-Cl2 batteries.

Root endophyte-mediated alteration in plant H2O2 homeostasis regulates symbiosis outcome and reshapes the rhizosphere microbiota.

Endophytic symbioses between plants and fungi are a dominant feature of many terrestrial ecosystems, yet little is known about the signaling that defines these symbiotic associations. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is recognized as a key signal mediating the plant adaptive response to both biotic and abiotic stresses. However, the role of H2O2 in plant-fungal symbiosis remains elusive. Using a combination of physiological analysis, plant and fungal deletion mutants, and comparative transcriptomics, we reported that various environmental conditions differentially affect the interaction between Arabidopsis and the root endophyte Phomopsis liquidambaris, and link this process to alterations in H2O2 levels and H2O2 fluxes across root tips. We found that enhanced H2O2 efflux leading to a moderate increase in H2O2 levels at the plant-fungal interface is required for maintaining plant-fungal symbiosis. Disturbance of plant H2O2 homeostasis compromises the symbiotic ability of plant roots. Moreover, the fungus-regulated H2O2 dynamics modulate the rhizosphere microbiome by selectively enriching for the phylum Cyanobacteria, with strong antioxidant defenses. Our results demonstrated that the regulation of H2O2 dynamics at the plant-fungal interface affects the symbiotic outcome in response to external conditions and highlight the importance of the root endophyte in reshaping the rhizosphere microbiota.

Seed-borne bacterial synthetic community resists seed pathogenic fungi and promotes plant growth.

AIMS: In this study, the control effects of synthetic microbial communities composed of peanut seed bacteria against seed aflatoxin contamination caused by Aspergillus flavus and root rot by Fusarium oxysporum were evaluated. METHODS AND RESULTS: Potentially conserved microbial synthetic communities (C), growth-promoting synthetic communities (S), and combined synthetic communities (CS) of peanut seeds were constructed after 16S rRNA Illumina sequencing, strain isolation, and measurement of plant growth promotion indicators. Three synthetic communities showed resistance to root rot and CS had the best effect after inoculating into peanut seedlings. This was achieved by increased defense enzyme activity and activated salicylic acid (SA)-related, systematically induced resistance in peanuts. In addition, CS also inhibited the reproduction of A. flavus on peanut seeds and the production of aflatoxin. These effects are related to bacterial degradation of toxins and destruction of mycelia. CONCLUSIONS: Inoculation with a synthetic community composed of seed bacteria can help host peanuts resist the invasion of seeds by A. flavus and seedlings by F. oxysporum and promote the growth of peanut seedlings.

Raman spectroscopy-based prediction of ofloxacin concentration in solution using a novel loss function and an improved GA-CNN model.

BACKGROUND: A Raman spectroscopy method can quickly and accurately measure the concentration of ofloxacin in solution. This method has the advantages of accuracy and rapidity over traditional detection methods. However, the manual analysis methods for the collected Raman spectral data often ignore the nonlinear characteristics of the data and cannot accurately predict the concentration of the target sample. METHODS: To address this drawback, this paper proposes a novel kernel-Huber loss function that combines the Huber loss function with the Gaussian kernel function. This function is used with an improved genetic algorithm-convolutional neural network (GA-CNN) to model and predict the Raman spectral data of different concentrations of ofloxacin in solution. In addition, the paper introduces recurrent neural networks (RNN), long short-term memory (LSTM), bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) and gated recurrent units (GRU) models to conduct multiple experiments and use root mean square error (RMSE) and residual predictive deviation (RPD) as evaluation metrics. RESULTS: The proposed method achieved an [Formula: see text] of 0.9989 on the test set data and improved by 3% over the traditional CNN. Multiple experiments were also conducted using RNN, LSTM, BiLSTM, and GRU models and evaluated their performance using RMSE, RPD, and other metrics. The results showed that the proposed method consistently outperformed these models. CONCLUSIONS: This paper demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed method for predicting the concentration of ofloxacin in solution based on Raman spectral data, in addition to discussing the advantages and limitations of the proposed method, and the study proposes a solution to the problem of deep learning methods for Raman spectral concentration prediction.

Effect of chemotherapy and different chemotherapy regimens on bone health among Chinese breast cancer women in different menstrual status: a self-control study.

PURPOSE: Although the therapy-related bone loss attracts increasing attention nowadays, the differences in chemotherapy-induced bone loss and bone metabolism indexes change among breast cancer (BC) women with different menstrual statuses or chemotherapy regimens are unknown. The aim of the study is to explore the effects of different regimens of chemotherapy on bone health. METHOD: The self-control study enrolled 118 initially diagnosed BC women without distant metastasis who underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) bone mineral density (BMD) screening and (or) bone metabolism index monitoring during chemotherapy at Chongqing Breast Cancer Center. Mann-Whitney U test, Cochran's Q test, and Wilcoxon sign rank test were performed. RESULTS: After chemotherapy, the BMD in the lumbar 1-4 and whole lumbar statistically decreased (- 1.8%/per 6 months), leading to a significantly increased proportion of osteoporosis (27.1% vs. 20.5%, P < 0.05), which were mainly seen in the premenopausal group (- 7.0%/per 6 months). Of the chemotherapeutic regimens of EC (epirubicin + cyclophosphamide), TC (docetaxel + cyclophosphamide), TEC (docetaxel + epirubicin + cyclophosphamide), and EC-T(H) [epirubicin + cyclophosphamide-docetaxel and/or trastuzumab], EC regimen had the least adverse impact on BMD, while the EC-TH regimen reduced BMD most (P < 0.05) inspite of the non-statistical difference between EC-T regimen, which was mainly seen in the postmenopausal group. Chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea (estradiol 94 pg/ml vs, 22 pg/ml; FSH 9.33 mIU/ml vs. 61.27 mIU/ml) was proved in premenopausal subgroup (P < 0.001). Except the postmenopausal population with calcium/VitD supplement, the albumin-adjusted calcium increased significantly (2.21 mmol/l vs. 2.33 mmol/l, P < 0.05) after chemotherapy. In postmenopausal group with calcium/VitD supplement, ß-CTX decreased significantly (0.56 ng/ml vs. 0.39 ng/ml, P < 0.05) and BMD were not affected by chemotherapy (P > 0. 05). In premenopausal group with calcium/VitD supplement, PTH decreased significantly (52.90 pg/ml vs. 28.80 pg/ml, P = 0. 008) and hip BMD increased after chemotherapy (0.845 g/m2 vs. 0.952 g/m2, P = 0. 006). As for both postmenopausal and premenopausal group without calcium/VitD supplement, there was a significant decrease in bone mass in hip and lumbar vertebrae after chemotherapy (0.831 g/m2 vs. 0.776 g/m2; 0.895 g/m2 vs. 0.870 g/m2, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Chemotherapy might induce lumbar vertebrae BMD loss and spine osteoporosis with regimen differences among Chinese BC patients. Calcium/VitD supplementation could improve bone turnover markers, bone metabolism indicators, and bone mineral density. Early interventions on bone health are needed for BC patients during chemotherapy.

Comparative analysis of population growth and women employment patterns in agriculture and service sectors: Evidence from China and India.

This study uses a comparative approach to investigate population growth patterns and women employment in two strategic sectors of China and India from 2005 to 2021. Consequently, a descriptive statistic was used to estimate the performance of each of the variables of interest. The results showed that the average mean value of population growth rate in China is 0.52 % while that of India is 1.23%. The mean value of women employed in agriculture in India is higher comparing to the average percentage of women in agriculture in China. Moreover, Chinese service sector accounts for 45.27% of female workforce but its India counterpart engages 21.71% of women working population. This implies that the Chinese service sector engages a significant proportion of the female working population. In the light of this, policymakers in India should prioritise investment in human development of the female population in order to ensure gender balancing in the service sector of the country. Also, the policymakers in India need to embark on a proactive measure in controlling its increasing population in order to ensure that the country's population growth rate does not overshoot the means of sustenance in the country.

Cette étude utilise une approche comparative pour étudier les schémas de croissance démographique et l'emploi des femmes chez deux secteurs stratégiques de Chine et de l'Inde de 20 05 à 2021. Par conséquent, une statistique descriptive était Wase pour estimer la performance des variables d'intérêt. Les résultats ont montré que le La valeur moyenne moyenne du taux de croissance démographique en Chine est de 0,52% tandis que celle de l'Inde 1,23%. La valeur moyenne des femmes employées dans l'agriculture de l'Inde est plus élevée pour le pourcentage moyen de femmes en agriculture en Chine. Représente 45,27% de la main-d'œuvre féminine mais Son homologue de l'Inde engage 21,71% de la population professionnelle des femmes. Assurer l'équilibre entre les sexes dans le service hors du comptoir. Mesure proactive de l'ONA dans le contrôle de sa population croissante afin que le taux de taux de taux de population du pays ne dépasse pas les moyens de subsistance dans le pays.

Priming of rhizobial nodulation signaling in the mycosphere accelerates nodulation of legume hosts.

The simultaneous symbiosis of leguminous plants with two root mutualists, endophytic fungi and rhizobia is common in nature, yet how two mutualists interact and co-exist before infecting plants and the concomitant effects on nodulation are less understood. Using a combination of metabolic analysis, fungal deletion mutants and comparative transcriptomics, we demonstrated that Bradyrhizobium and a facultatively biotrophic fungus, Phomopsis liquidambaris, interacted to stimulate fungal flavonoid production, and thereby primed Bradyrhizobial nodulation signaling, enhancing Bradyrhizobial responses to root exudates and leading to early nodulation of peanut (Arachis hypogaea), and such effects were compromised when disturbing fungal flavonoid biosynthesis. Stress sensitivity assays and reactive oxygen species (ROS) determination revealed that flavonoid production acted as a strategy to alleviate hyphal oxidative stress during P. liquidambaris-Bradyrhizobial interactions. By investigating the interactions between P. liquidambaris and a collection of 38 rhizobacteria, from distinct bacterial genera, we additionally showed that the flavonoid-ROS module contributed to the maintenance of fungal and bacterial co-existence, and fungal niche colonization under soil conditions. Our results demonstrate for the first time that rhizobial nodulation signaling can be primed by fungi before symbiosis with host plants and highlight the importance of flavonoid in tripartite interactions between legumes, beneficial fungi and rhizobia.

MXene Nanosheets Induce Efficient Iron Selenide Active Sites to Boost the Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.

Along with the widespread utilization of hydrogen energy, the rise of highly active hydrogen evolution electrocatalysts with affordable costs presently becomes a substantial crux of this emerging domain. In this work, we demonstrate a feasible and convenient in situ seed-induced growth strategy for the construction of small-sized FeSe2 nanoparticles decorated on two-dimensional (2D) superthin Ti3C2Tx MXene sheets (FeSe2/Ti3C2Tx) through a manipulated bottom-up synthetic procedure. By virtue of the distinctive 0D/2D heterostructures, abundant exposed surface area, well-distributed FeSe2 catalytic centers, strong surface electronic coupling, and high electrical conductivity, the resultant FeSe2/Ti3C2Tx nanoarchitectures are endowed with a superior electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution capacity including a competitive onset potential of 89 mV, a favorable Tafel slope of 78 mV dec-1, and a long-period stability, significantly better than that of the pristine FeSe2 and Ti3C2Tx catalysts.

Population-specific cut-off points of fatty liver index: a study based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data.

BACKGROUND: Fatty liver index (FLI) is the most recognized blood biomarker for diagnosis of hepatic steatosis (HS), but lacks the reliable specific cut-off points (COPs). Therefore, we aim to investigate the population-specific COPs of FLI based on the results of liver ultrasound transient elastography (LUTE) and conventional ultrasonography in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). METHODS: 5948 participants who underwent LUTE from the NHANES 2017-2018 and 14,797 participants who underwent conventional ultrasonography from the Third NHANES (NHANES III) were recruited. FLI was calculated by using body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), triglyceride, and gamma-glutamyl transferase, and its optimal COPs in a specific population (stratified by sex, BMI, and WC) were obtained from receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curve with ultrasonic-diagnosed HS as the reference standard. RESULTS: Based on LUTE in NHANES 2017-2018, the prevalence of HS and metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) were 58.7% and 56.2%, respectively, and the optimal COP of FLI for HS diagnosis in the overall population was 45.60, with an area under ROC curve (AUROC) of 0.833 (0.822-0.844). Based on conventional ultrasonography in NHANES III, the prevalence of HS and MAFLD were 34.4% and 27. 9%, respectively, and the optimal COP of FLI for HS was 59.5, with an AUROC of 0.681 (0.671-0.691). With the increase of BMI and WC, the COPs increased gradually with significant differences between different groups. Compared with conventional ultrasonography, the COPs of FLI based on LUTE were much more precise, with higher diagnostic ability. The population-specific COPs of FLI stratified by gender, WC, and BMI were tabulated. CONCLUSION: In the United States, the incidences of HS and MAFLD were high, especially when assessed by LUTE. The FLI based on LUTE is well capable of predicting HS when stratified by gender, WC, and BMI.

Prevalence of and risk factors for metabolic associated fatty liver disease in an urban population in China: a cross-sectional comparative study.

BACKGROUND: Metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is a new definition for liver disease associated with known metabolic dysfunction. Based on new diagnostic criteria, we aimed to investigate its prevalence and risk factors in Chinese population. METHODS: We conducted this study in a health examination population who underwent abdominal ultrasonography in China. The diagnosis of MAFLD was based on the new diagnostic criteria. The characteristics of the MAFLD population, as well as the associations between MAFLD and metabolic abnormalities, were explored. Mann-Whitney U test and chi-square test were performed to compare different variables. Binary logistic regression was used to determine the risk factors for MAFLD. RESULTS: Among 139,170 subjects, the prevalence of MAFLD was 26.1% (males: 35.4%; females: 14.1%). The prevalence based on female menopausal status, that is, premenopausal, perimenopausal, and postmenopausal, was 6.1%, 16.8%, and 30.2%, respectively. In different BMI groups (underweight, normal, overweight and obese), the prevalence was 0.1%, 4.0%, 27.4% and 59.8%, respectively. The proportions of abnormal metabolic features in the MAFLD group were significantly higher than those in the non-MAFLD group, as was the proportion of elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (42.5% vs. 11%, P < 0.001). In nonobese individuals with MAFLD, the proportions of abnormal metabolic features were also all significantly higher than those in nonobese individuals without MAFLD. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS), dyslipidaemia, and hyperuricaemia, respectively, in the MAFLD group (53.2%, 80.0%, and 45.0%) was significantly higher than that in the non-MAFLD group (10.1%, 41.7%, and 16.8%). Logistic regression revealed that age, BMI, waist circumference, ALT, triglycerides, fasting glucose, uric acid and platelet count were associated with MAFLD. CONCLUSIONS: MAFLD is prevalent in China and varies considerably among different age, sex, BMI, and female menopausal status groups. MAFLD is related to metabolic disorders, especially obesity, while metabolic disorders also play important roles in the occurrence of MAFLD in nonobese individuals. MAFLD patients exhibit a high prevalence of MS, dyslipidaemia, hyperuricaemia, and elevated liver enzymes. MAFLD tends to coexist with systemic metabolic disorders, and a deep inner relationship may exist between MAFLD and MS. Metabolic disorders should be considered to improve the management of MAFLD.

Differential Labeling of Glycoproteins with Alkynyl Fucose Analogs.

Fucosylated glycans critically regulate the physiological functions of proteins and cells. Alterations in levels of fucosylated glycans are associated with various diseases. For detection and functional modulation of fucosylated glycans, chemical biology approaches using fucose (Fuc) analogs are useful. However, little is known about how efficiently each unnatural Fuc analog is utilized by enzymes in the biosynthetic pathway of fucosylated glycans. We show here that three clickable Fuc analogs with similar but distinct structures labeled cellular glycans with different efficiency and protein specificity. For instance, 6-alkynyl (Alk)-Fuc modified O-Fuc glycans much more efficiently than 7-Alk-Fuc. The level of GDP-6-Alk-Fuc produced in cells was also higher than that of GDP-7-Alk-Fuc. Comprehensive in vitro fucosyltransferase assays revealed that 7-Alk-Fuc is commonly tolerated by most fucosyltransferases. Surprisingly, both protein O-fucosyltransferases (POFUTs) could transfer all Fuc analogs in vitro, likely because POFUT structures have a larger space around their Fuc binding sites. These findings demonstrate that labeling and detection of fucosylated glycans with Fuc analogs depend on multiple cellular steps, including conversion to GDP form, transport into the ER or Golgi, and utilization by each fucosyltransferase, providing insights into design of novel sugar analogs for specific detection of target glycans or inhibition of their functions.

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae DNA stimulates type I interferon expression via STING signaling pathway.

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHI) is one of the leading causes of acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD). Although the immunoregulation function of NTHI outer member protein and endotoxin were confirmed, the role of NTHI DNA in activating immune responses remains to be elucidated. In this study, we found expression of IFN-ß and IFN stimulated gene CXCL10 in host cells was forcefully elevated after treating with NTHI and NTHI DNA. Interestingly, we tested increased level of STING in NTHI infected mice lung. Meanwhile, STING expression in lung of mimic COPD murine model was higher than healthy mice after NTHI infection. Importantly, knockout of STING or overexpression of STING, TBK1 and IRF3 respectively impaired or enhanced IFN-ß and CXCL10 expression during treating with NTHI and NTHI DNA. NTHI and NTHI DNA-induced I-IFN response appeared to be mediated by cGAS. Collectively, we suggested that NTHI DNA as a PAMP triggered I-IFN response, which was STING/TBK1/IRF3 dependent. SUMMARY: NTHI is the leading cause of acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD). Since AECOPD is an immune event, it is meaningful to elucidate the mechanism under NTHI induced immune response. It has been revealed that lipooligosaccharides and protein of NTHI could induce host immune response, but the function of NTHI nuclide acid during infection is unclear. In this research, we demonstrate NTHI DNA is a trigger for I-IFN expression, and the STING/TBK1/IRF3 pathway plays an integral role in sensing NTHI DNA to induce I-IFN expression. Moreover, by long-term intrabronchial infection of LPS, we constructed a mimic COPD murine model, in which the STING expression in lung tissues were higher than healthy mice after NTHI infection, which led us to surmise that NTHI cause AECOPD by inducing I-IFN production via STING signal pathway.

Fine mapping and candidate gene analysis of qhkw5-3, a major QTL for kernel weight in maize.

KEY MESSAGE: qhkw5-3, a major QTL for kernel weight in maize, was mapped to an interval of 125.3 kb between the InDel markers InYM20 and InYM36, and the candidate genes were analysed. Yield, of which kernel weight is a major component, is the primary trait of interest in maize breeding programmes. In our previous study, a major QTL (named qhkw5-3), which controls hundred-kernel weight, was identified and mapped to the interval between simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers SYM033 and SYM108 on chromosome 5, using an F2:3 population derived from a cross between the maize inbred line Zheng58 and the single-segment substitution line Z22. In order to fine map qhkw5-3, a larger BC1F1 segregating population of 14,759 seeds, derived from a (Z22 × Zheng58) × Z22 cross, was screened using the SSR markers SYM036 and SYM119. Forty genotypes with donor chromosomal fragments of different lengths were obtained. Progeny testing results indicated that qhkw5-3 was mapped to an interval of 442.6 kb between the SSR markers SYM077 and SYM084. Overlap mapping results, based on seven homozygous recombinant lines, showed that qhkw5-3 was narrowed down to an interval of 125.3 kb between the InDel markers InYM20 and InYM36. Within this interval, six candidate genes were analysed using qRT-PCR. The results of this study lay the foundations for cloning and functional analysis of qhkw5-3 and will contribute to advancing our knowledge of the genetic basis of yield traits in maize.

Making good use of the byproducts of cultivation: green synthesis and antibacterial effects of silver nanoparticles using the leaf extract of blueberry.

In this study, we made an effort to use blueberry leaves extract as a reducing and a capping agent to biosynthesize silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The successful formation of AgNPs was confirmed with UV-visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Furthermore, their antimicrobial activities against four kinds of multi drug resistant clinical pathogens and aquatic pathogens were investigated. The results showed that as-prepared AgNPs exhibited broad-spectrum antibacterial activities. The antibacterial effects of the AgNPs based on the structural damage and DNA degradation of the tested bacteria were also studied. The green synthesis of AgNPs using blueberry leaf extract, which provided a new idea on the use of the byproducts of blueberry harvesting.

Expression profile and gene age jointly shaped the genome-wide distribution of premature termination codons in a Drosophila melanogaster population.

Widespread premature termination codon mutations (PTCs) were recently observed in human and fly populations. We took advantage of the population resequencing data in the Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel to investigate how the expression profile and the evolutionary age of genes shaped the allele frequency distribution of PTCs. After generating a high-quality data set of PTCs, we clustered genes harboring PTCs into three categories: genes encoding low-frequency PTCs (≤ 1.5%), moderate-frequency PTCs (1.5-10%), and high-frequency PTCs (>10%). All three groups show narrow transcription compared with PTC-free genes, with the moderate- and high-PTC frequency groups showing a pronounced pattern. Moreover, nearly half (42%) of the PTC-encoding genes are not expressed in any tissue. Interestingly, the moderate-frequency PTC group is strongly enriched for genes expressed in midgut, whereas genes harboring high-frequency PTCs tend to have sex-specific expression. We further find that although young genes born in the last 60 My compose a mere 9% of the genome, they represent 16%, 30%, and 50% of the genes containing low-, moderate-, and high-frequency PTCs, respectively. Among DNA-based and RNA-based duplicated genes, the child copy is approximately twice as likely to contain PTCs as the parent copy, whereas young de novo genes are as likely to encode PTCs as DNA-based duplicated new genes. Based on these results, we conclude that expression profile and gene age jointly shaped the landscape of PTC-mediated gene loss. Therefore, we propose that new genes may need a long time to become stably maintained after the origination.

Sprayable chitosan nanogel with nitric oxide to accelerate diabetic wound healing through bacteria inhibition, biofilm eradication and macrophage polarization.

Bacterial infection and chronic inflammation are two major risks in diabetic wound healing, which increase patient mortality. In this study, a multifunctional sprayable nanogel (Ag-G@CS) based on chitosan has been developed to synergistically inhibit bacterial infection, eradicate biofilm, and relieve inflammation of diabetic wounds. The nanogel is successfully crafted by encapsulating with a nitric oxide (NO) donor and performing in-situ reduction of silver nanoparticles (Ag). The released NO enhances the antibacterial efficacy of Ag, nearly achieving complete eradication of biofilms in vitro. Upon application on both normal or diabetic chronic wounds, the combination effects of released NO and Ag offer a notable antibacterial effect. Furthermore, after bacteria inhibition and biofilm eradication, the NO released by the nanogel orchestrates a transformation of M1 macrophages into M2 macrophages, significantly reducing tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) release and relieving inflammation. Remarkably, the released NO also promotes M2a to M2c macrophages, thereby facilitating tissue remodeling in chronic wounds. More importantly, it upregulates the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), further accelerating the wound healing process. Collectively, the formed sprayable nanogel exhibits excellent inhibition of bacterial infections and biofilms, and promotes chronic wound healing via inflammation resolution, which has excellent potential for clinical use in the future.

Cross-sectional study of hepatitis B virus infection in female breast cancer patients in China for the first time diagnosed.

BACKGROUND: The correlation between breast cancer and hepatitis B virus (HBV) remains inconclusive. This study aims to explore the serological status of HBV infection and past infection in different age groups of female breast cancer patients, patients with benign breast diseases, and individuals undergoing routine physical examinations. METHODS: Serum data on HBV serological markers were collected and analyzed from 6072 female breast cancer patients first diagnosed from September 2012 to July 2020 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, along with 4019 women with benign breast diseases and 54,740 healthy females undergoing routine physical examinations in the same period. The data were stratified by age for comparison between groups. RESULTS: The prevalence of HBV infection and past infection in the breast cancer group (7.9%, 55.1%) was higher than that in the benign breast disease group (6.5%, 39.1%) and the healthy females group(5.0%, 17.6%);the rate of only HBV surface antibody positivity (HBsAb ( +)) in the breast cancer group (10.3%) was lower than that in the benign breast disease group (26.9%) and the healthy females group (49.2%), with significant differences between the three groups (p < 0.05). Stratified by age, the prevalence of HBV infection in the breast cancer group (8%, 8.9%) and benign breast disease group (7.75%, 8.1%)was higher than that in the healthy females group (4.5%, 6.3%) in the 30-39 and 40-49 age group, respectively. The past infection rate of HBV in the breast cancer group (24.8%, 45.0%) was higher than that in the benign breast disease group (16.1%, 35.4%) in the ≤ 29 and 30-39 age group, respectively.. The past infection rate of HBV in the breast cancer group was higher than that in the healthy females group in all age groups, while the rate of only HBsAb ( +) in the breast cancer group was lower than that in the benign breast disease group and the routine physical examination group in all age groups. CONCLUSIONS: Breast cancer women and women with benign breast diseases have higher rates of hepatitis B virus infection and previous infections, with more significant differences among middle-aged women. Breast cancer women and women with benign breast diseases have lower rates of only HBsAb ( +) for HBV.

Depletion of protective microbiota promotes the incidence of fruit disease.

Plant-associated microbiomes play important roles in plant health and productivity. However, despite fruits being directly linked to plant productivity, little is known about the microbiomes of fruits and their potential association with fruit health. Here, by integrating 16S rRNA gene, ITS high-throughput sequencing data, and microbiological culturable approaches, we reported that roots and fruits (pods) of peanut, a typical plant that bears fruits underground, recruit different bacterial and fungal communities independently of cropping conditions and that the incidence of pod disease under monocropping conditions is attributed to the depletion of Bacillus genus and enrichment of Aspergillus genus in geocarposphere. On this basis, we constructed a synthetic community (SynCom) consisting of three Bacillus strains from geocarposphere soil under rotation conditions with high culturable abundance. Comparative transcriptome, microbiome profiling, and plant phytohormone signaling analysis reveal that the SynCom exhibited more effective Aspergillus growth inhibition and pod disease control than individual strain, which was underpinned by a combination of molecular mechanisms related to fungal cell proliferation interference, mycotoxins biosynthesis impairment, and jasmonic acid-mediated plant immunity activation. Overall, our results reveal the filter effect of plant organs on the microbiome and that depletion of key protective microbial community promotes the fruit disease incidence.

Optimal Glycated Hemoglobin Cutoff for Diagnosis of Diabetes and Prediabetes in Chinese Breast Cancer Women.

Purpose: Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is widely used in diabetes management and now recommended for diagnosis and risk assessment. Our research focused on investigating the optimal cutoff points of HbA1c for diagnosis of diabetes and prediabetes in Chinese breast cancer women, aiming to enhance early detection and tailor treatment strategies. Patients and Methods: This study involved 309 breast cancer women without diabetes history in China. Patients were categorized into groups of newly diagnosed diabetes, prediabetes, and normal glucose tolerance using oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) according to the 2010 ADA criteria. HbA1c data were collected from all patients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to assess the effectiveness of the HbA1c screening. Results: Among the 309 breast cancer women without diabetes history, 96 (31.0%) were identified with diabetes and 130 (42.1%) had prediabetes according to OGTT, and the incidence of normal glucose tolerance was only 26.9% (83). ROC curve analysis, using OGTT as a reference, revealed that the area under the curve of 0.903 (P<0.001, 95% CI, 0.867-0.938) for HbA1c alone, indicating high accuracy. The optimal HbA1c cutoff for identifying diabetes was determined to be 6.0%, with a sensitivity of 78.1% and specificity of 86.4%. For prediabetes, the ROC curve for HbA1c alone showed that the area under the ROC curve of 0.703 (P<0.001, 95% CI, 0.632-0.774), with an optimal cutoff of 5.5% (sensitivity of 76.9% and specificity of 51.8%). Conclusion: The prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes is very high in breast cancer women without diabetes history in China. The optimal cutoff points of HbA1c for identifying diabetes and prediabetes are 6.0% and 5.5% in Chinese breast cancer women, respectively.

Structural and functional basis of bacteriophage K64-ORF41 depolymerase for capsular polysaccharide degradation of Klebsiella pneumoniae K64.

Capsule polysaccharide is an important virulence factor of Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae), which protects bacteria against the host immune response. A promising therapeutic approach is using phage-derived depolymerases to degrade the capsular polysaccharide and expose and sensitize the bacteria to the host immune system. Here we determined the cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of a bacteriophage tail-spike protein against K. pneumoniae K64, ORF41 (K64-ORF41) and ORF41 in EDTA condition (K64-ORF41EDTA), at 2.37 Å and 2.50 Å resolution, respectively, for the first time. K64-ORF41 exists as a trimer and each protomer contains a ß-helix domain including a right-handed parallel ß-sheet helix fold capped at both ends, an insertion domain, and one ß-sheet jellyroll domain. Moreover, our structural comparison with other depolymerases of K. pneumoniae suggests that the catalytic residues (Tyr528, His574 and Arg628) are highly conserved although the substrate of capsule polysaccharide is variable. Besides that, we figured out the important residues involved in the substrate binding pocket including Arg405, Tyr526, Trp550 and Phe669. This study establishes the structural and functional basis for the promising phage-derived broad-spectrum activity depolymerase therapeutics and effective CPS-degrading agents for the treatment of carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae K64 infections.