Thermal Selection of Microbial Communities and Preservation of Microbial Function in Guaymas Basin Hydrothermal Sediments.

The Guaymas Basin in the Gulf of California is characterized by active seafloor spreading, hydrothermal activity, and organic matter accumulation on the seafloor due to high sedimentation rates. In the hydrothermal sediments of Guaymas Basin, microbial community compositions and coexistence patterns change across steep gradients of temperature, potential carbon sources, and electron acceptors. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling and guanine-cytosine percentage analyses reveal that the bacterial and archaeal communities adjust compositionally to their local temperature regime. Functional inference using PICRUSt shows that microbial communities consistently maintain their predicted biogeochemical functions in different sediments. Phylogenetic profiling shows that microbial communities retain distinct sulfate-reducing, methane-oxidizing, or heterotrophic lineages within specific temperature windows. The preservation of similar biogeochemical functions across microbial lineages with different temperature adaptations stabilizes the hydrothermal microbial community in a highly dynamic environment. IMPORTANCE Hydrothermal vent sites have been widely studied to investigate novel bacteria and archaea that are adapted to these extreme environments. However, community-level analyses of hydrothermal microbial ecosystems look beyond the presence and activity of particular types of microbes and examine to what extent the entire community of bacteria and archaea is adapted to hydrothermal conditions; these include elevated temperatures, hydrothermally generated carbon sources, and inorganic electron donors and acceptors that are characteristic for hydrothermal environments. In our case study of bacterial and archaeal communities in hydrothermal sediments of Guaymas Basin, we found that sequence-inferred microbial function was maintained in differently structured bacterial and archaeal communities across different samples and thermal regimes. The resulting preservation of biogeochemical functions across thermal gradients is an important factor in explaining the consistency of the microbial core community in the dynamic sedimentary environment of Guaymas Basin.

An Aryl-ether-linked Covalent Organic Framework Modified with Thioamide Groups for Selective Extraction of Palladium from Strong Acid Solutions.

Efficient adsorption of palladium ions from acid nuclear waste solution is crucial for ensuring the safety of vitrification process for radioactive waste. However, the limited stability and selectivity of most current adsorbents hinder their practical applications under strong acid and intense radiation conditions. Herein, to address these limitations, we designed and synthesized an aryl-ether-linked covalent organic framework (COF-316-DM) grafted dimethylthiocarbamoyl groups on the pore walls. This unique structure endows COF-316-DM with high stability and exceptional palladium capture capacity. The robust polyarylether linkage enables COF-316-DM to withstand irradiation doses of 200 or 400 kGy of ß/γ ray. Furthermore, COF-316-DM demonstrates fast adsorption kinetics, high adsorption capacity (147 mg g-1 ), and excellent reusability in 4 M nitric acid. Moreover, COF-316-DM exhibits remarkable selectivity for palladium ions in the presence of 17 interference ions, simulating high level liquid waste scenario. The superior adsorption performance can be attributed to the strong binding affinity between the thioamide groups and Pd2+ ions, as confirmed by the comprehensive analysis of FT-IR and XPS spectra. Our findings highlight the potential of COFs with robust linkers and tailored functional groups for efficient and selective capture of metal ions, even in harsh environmental conditions.

Evolutionary Identification of the Requirement of the Second Intracellular Loop for the Constitutive Activity of Melanocortin-4 Receptors.

Melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) functions as a crucial neuroendocrine G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) in the central nervous system of mammals, displaying agonist-independent constitutive activity that is mainly determined by its N-terminal domain. We previously reported that zebrafish MC4R exhibited a much higher basal cAMP level in comparison to mammalian MC4Rs. However, the functional evolution of constitutive activities in chordate MC4Rs remains to be elucidated. Here we cloned and compared the constitutive activities of MC4Rs from nine vertebrate species and showed that the additive action of the N-terminus with the extracellular region or transmembrane domain exhibited a combined pharmacological effect on the MC4R constitutive activity. In addition, we demonstrated that four residues of F149, Q156, V163, and K164 of the second intracellular loop played a vital role in determining MC4R constitutive activity. This study provided novel insights into functional evolution and identified a key motif essential for constitutive modulation of MC4R signaling.

Microbial Diversity in Groundwater and Its Response to Seawater Intrusion in Beihai City, Southern China.

Seawater intrusion is a major concern commonly found in coastal aquifers worldwide. Because of the intense aquifer exploitation and land-based marine aquaculture in the coastal area of Beihai City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, numerous underground aquifers in this area have been affected by seawater intrusion. However, the microbial communities in freshwater aquifers and their response to seawater intrusion are still unclear. In this study, groundwater from three aquifers was collected from three monitoring sites at different distances from the coastline in the coastal area of Beihai City, and the hydrochemical characteristics of these groundwater samples and the structure of the associated microbial communities were analyzed. The Cl- concentration of the samples indicated that seawater intrusion had occurred in the research area up to 1.5 km away from the coastline, but the monitoring site 2 km away from the coastline had yet to be affected. Statistical analysis showed that the bacterial communities in different groundwater aquifers were significantly correlated with the Cl- concentration, thereby suggesting that the extent of seawater intrusion might be one of the primary factors shaping bacterial composition in groundwater of this area, but the composition and distribution of archaea did not show a significant response to seawater intrusion and presented no apparent correlation with the Cl- concentration. α-, γ-Proteobacteria and Bacteroidota were the dominant bacterial lineages, accounting for about 58-95% of the bacterial communities. Meanwhile, the predominant archaeal taxa were mainly composed of Crenarchaeota, Nanoarchaeota, and Thermoplasmatota, as accounting for 83-100%. Moreover, there was significant spatial heterogeneity of microbial communities in the aquifers affected by varying degrees of seawater intrusion. The microbial communities inhabiting the unconfined aquifer were influenced by the geochemical fluctuation caused by seawater infiltration from land-based marine aquaculture ponds and the diffusion of eutrophic surface water. In contrast, changes in microbial community structure in the confined aquifers were closely related to the environmental gradient caused by different degrees of seawater intrusion. In addition, we also found that the tidal cycle did not significantly affect the structure of microbial communities inhabiting confined aquifers that had been long affected by seawater intrusion.

Personal predictive model based on systemic inflammation markers for estimation of postoperative pancreatic fistula following pancreaticoduodenectomy.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative pancreatic fistula (PF) is a serious life-threatening complication after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD). Our research aimed to develop a machine learning (ML)-aided model for PF risk stratification. AIM: To develop an ML-aided model for PF risk stratification. METHODS: We retrospectively collected 618 patients who underwent PD from two tertiary medical centers between January 2012 and August 2021. We used an ML algorithm to build predictive models, and subject prediction index, that is, decision curve analysis, area under operating characteristic curve (AUC) and clinical impact curve to assess the predictive efficiency of each model. RESULTS: A total of 29 variables were used to build the ML predictive model. Among them, the best predictive model was random forest classifier (RFC), the AUC was [0.897, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.370-1.424], while the AUC of the artificial neural network, eXtreme gradient boosting, support vector machine, and decision tree were between 0.726 (95%CI: 0.191-1.261) and 0.882 (95%CI: 0.321-1.443). CONCLUSION: Fluctuating serological inflammatory markers and prognostic nutritional index can be used to predict postoperative PF.

A Strategy for the Synthesis of Sulfonamides on DNA.

An efficient method is reported to synthesize sulfonamides on DNA from sulfinic acids or sodium sulfinates and amines in the presence of iodine under mild conditions. This method demonstrates a major expansion of scope of sulfonamide formation on DNA through the utilization of a novel sodium carbonate-sodium sulfinate bifunctional reagent class.

The problems and countermeasures of bringing college sports resources into the public service system of national fitness in the new era / Problemas e contramedidas dos recursos desportivos universitários para o sistema nacional de serviços públicos de educação física na nova era / Problemas y respuestas de la nueva era de la integración de los recursos deportivos en el servicio público de gimnasia universal

ABSTRACT With the deepening of the national health program, the number of people participating in sports activities is increasing, and the problem of insufficient community sports resources is becoming more and more obvious. It is an effective way of solving the problem of injecting sports resources into the public service system of national fitness, but the process of integration of sports resources and public national fitness service is not smooth. Through expert consultation and a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method, this study analyzed the current situation of university sports resources into the public service system of national fitness, and collected the evaluation of social fitness personnel on the opening of university resources by means of a questionnaire combined with experts' opinions, using a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method to transform subjective and fuzzy evaluation into objective and specific evaluation points. The research shows that the current level of university sports resources into the public service system of national fitness is low, which shows that the sports resources sharing policy under the national fitness has not been well implemented. The study proposes that the level of sharing of sports resources can be strengthened by the awareness of sharing of sports resources by university leaders and improving the management system. This study is expected to represent a reference for the university sports resources into the public service system of national fitness in the new era.

RESUMO Com o aprofundamento do programa nacional de saúde, o número de pessoas que participam de atividades esportivas está aumentando, e o problema de recursos esportivos comunitários insuficientes está se tornando cada vez mais óbvio. É uma forma eficaz de resolver o problema da introdução dos recursos desportivos sistema público nacional de serviços de educação física, mas o processo de integração dos recursos desportivos e do sistema público nacional de serviços de educação física não é simples. Através de consulta com especialistas e de um método de avaliação abrangente, este estudo analisou a situação atual dos recursos desportivos universitários no sistema nacional de serviços públicos de educação física e procedeu à avaliação dos profissionais de saúde social sobre a abertura dos recursos universitários através de questionário e pareceres de especialistas, utilizando um método de avaliação abrangente e difuso para transformar a avaliação subjetiva e difusa em pontos de avaliação objetivos e específicos. A pesquisa mostra que o nível atual de recursos esportivos universitários no sistema nacional de serviços públicos de educação física é baixo, o que mostra que a política de compartilhamento de recursos esportivos no âmbito nacional de educação física não foi bem implementada. O estudo propõe que o nível de compartilhamento de recursos esportivos pode ser fortalecido através do reforço da consciência dos líderes universitários e da melhoria do sistema de gestão. Espera-se que, através deste estudo, seja possível estabelecer uma referência aos recursos desportivos universitários para o sistema nacional de serviços públicos na área de educação física na nova era.

RESUMEN Con la profundización del programa nacional de salud, aumenta el número de personas que participan en actividades deportivas y el problema de la insuficiencia de recursos deportivos comunitarios se hace cada vez más evidente. Este programa es una forma eficaz de resolver el problema de la inyección de recursos deportivos en el sistema público nacional de educación física, pero el proceso de integrar ambos, los recursos para el deporte y el servicio público nacional de educación física no es sencillo. Por medio de la consulta a expertos y un método amplio de evaluación integral, este estudio analizó la situación actual de los recursos deportivos universitarios en el sistema público nacional de educación física. Recopiló la evaluación del personal de esa área sobre el uso de recursos universitarios mediante un cuestionario combinado con opiniones de expertos, utilizando un método de evaluación integral amplia para transformar dicha evaluación subjetiva, en puntos de evaluación objetivos y específicos. La investigación muestra que el nivel actual de recursos deportivos universitarios en el sistema de servicio público nacional de educación física es bajo, lo que demuestra que la política de distribución de recursos para el deporte en el marco nacional no se ha aplicado correctamente. El estudio propone que el nivel de distribución de recursos deportivos puede fortalecerse aumentando la conciencia de los líderes universitarios sobre esos recursos y mejorando el sistema de gestión. Se espera que este estudio represente una referencia para el uso de los recursos deportivos universitarios en el sistema público nacional de educación física en la nueva era.

Combretastatin A-4 and Derivatives: Potential Fungicides Targeting Fungal Tubulin.

Combretastatin A-4, first isolated from the African willow tree Combretum caffrum, is a tubulin polymerization inhibitor in medicine. It was first postulated as a potential fungicide targeting fungal tubulin for plant disease control in this study. Combretastatin A-4 and its derivatives were synthesized and tested against Rhizoctonia solani and Pyricularia oryzae. Several compounds have EC50 values similar to or better than that of isoprothiolane, which is widely used for rice disease control. Structure-activity relationship study indicated the the cis configuration and hydroxyl group in combretastatin A-4 are crucial to the antifungal effect. Molecular modeling indicated the binding sites of combretastatin A-4 and carbendazim on fungal tubulin are totally different. The bioactivity of combretastatin A-4 and its derivatives against carbendazim-resistant strains was demonstrated in this study. The results provide a new approach for fungicide discovery and fungicide resistance management.