Prognostic prediction and diagnostic role of Rspondin 1 expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

CONTEXT: Rspondin 1 (Rspo1), a protein family member featuring secreted furin-like domains, plays a pivotal role in cancer development and exhibits a positive correlation with tumor progression. However, its expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is still unknown. AIMS: Here, we assessed the correlation between Rspo1 and clinicopathological features of ESCC patients, and further investigated the potential role of Rspo1 in ESCC development and clinical outcomes. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This was a pilot study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 112 paraffin-embedded tumor samples from patients with ESCC, including 68 matched adjacent normal tissues, were collected post-surgery. Subsequently, tissue microarray (TMA) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) techniques were employed to assess the protein levels of Rspo1. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: All statistical analyses were performed with SPSS 20.0 (SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL). RESULTS: We found that Rspo1 expression was significantly higher in ESCC than in adjacent normal tissues (P < 0.0001). Moreover, Rspo1 was highly expressed in ESCC tumor specimens and showed a significant correlation with the T classification of ESCC (P < 0.05). Additionally, our findings indicate a positive relationship between Rspo1 and survival time in ESCC. Patients exhibiting moderate to high levels of Rspo1 expression demonstrated superior survival outcomes compared to those with low expression (P = 0.0002). CONCLUSIONS: Our investigation has demonstrated that Rspo1 is upregulated in ESCC and exhibits a positive correlation with disease progression. Furthermore, we have observed a significant association between Rspo1 overexpression and improved patient survival rates, indicating its potential as a prognostic marker and therapeutic target for ESCC treatment.

Two-Dimensional Transition Metal Phosphides As Cathode Additive in Robust Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

The development of advanced cathode materials able to promote the sluggish redox kinetics of polysulfides is crucial to bringing lithium-sulfur batteries to the market. Herein, two electrode materials: namely, Zr2PS2 and Zr2PTe2, are identified through screening several hundred thousand compositions in the Inorganic Crystal Structure Database. First-principles calculations are performed on these two materials. These structures are similar to that of the classical MXenes. Concurrently, calculations show that Zr2PS2 and Zr2PTe2 possess high electrical conductivity, promote Li ion diffusion, and have excellent electrocatalytic activity for the Li-S reaction and particularly for the Li2S decomposition. Besides, the mechanisms behind the excellent predicted performance of Zr2PS2 and Zr2PTe2 are elucidated through electron localization function, charge density difference, and localized orbital locator. This work not only identifies two candidate sulfur cathode additives but may also serve as a reference for the identification of additional electrode materials in new generations of batteries, particularly in sulfur cathodes.

Advances in application of CRISPR-Cas13a system.

Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPRs) and CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins serve as an adaptive immune system that safeguards prokaryotes and some of the viruses that infect prokaryotes from foreign nucleic acids (such as viruses and plasmids). The genomes of the majority of archaea and about half of all bacteria contain various CRISPR-Cas systems. CRISPR-Cas systems depend on CRISPR RNAs (crRNAs). They act as a navigation system to specifically cut and destroy foreign nucleic acids by recognizing invading foreign nucleic acids and binding Cas proteins. In this review, we provide a brief overview of the evolution and classification of the CRISPR-Cas system, focusing on the functions and applications of the CRISPR-Cas13a system. We describe the CRISPR-Cas13a system and discuss its RNA-directed ribonuclease function. Meanwhile, we briefly introduce the mechanism of action of the CRISPR-Cas13a system and summarize the applications of the CRISPR-Cas13a system in pathogen detection, eukaryotes, agriculture, biosensors, and human gene therapy. We are right understanding of CRISPR-Cas13a has been broadened, and the CRISPR-Cas13a system will be useful for developing new RNA targeting tools. Therefore, understanding the basic details of the structure, function, and biological characterization of CRISPR-Cas13a effector proteins is critical for optimizing RNA targeting tools.

Developing antibiotics-based strategies to efficiently enrich ammonia-oxidizing archaea from wastewater treatment plants.

The effects of five antibiotics (i.e., ampicillin, streptomycin, carbenicillin, kanamycin and tetracycline) on ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) enrichment from anoxic activated sludge were investigated. The combined use of five antibiotics during 90-day cultivation could selectively inhibit nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) with AOA unaffected, as evidenced by the nitrite accumulation ratio of 100 % and the proportion of AOA in ammonia-oxidizing microbes over 91 %. The alternative use of five antibiotics was the optimal approach to screening for AOA during 348-day cultivation, which inhibited AOB growth at a level equivalent to the combined use of five antibiotics (the AOB-amoA gene decreased by over 99.90 %), further promoted AOA abundance (the much higher AOA-amoA to AOB-amoA gene copy number ratio (1453.30) than that in the groups with the combined use of five antibiotics (192.94)), eliminated bacterial adaptation to antibiotics and reduced antibiotic-resistant bacteria to form Nitrocosmicus-dominant community (42.35 % in abundance).

JANUS, a spliceosome-associated protein, promotes miRNA biogenesis in Arabidopsis.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of genes expression. Their levels are precisely controlled through modulating the activity of the microprocesser complex (MC). Here, we report that JANUS, a homology of the conserved U2 snRNP assembly factor in yeast and human, is required for miRNA accumulation. JANUS associates with MC components Dicer-like 1 (DCL1) and SERRATE (SE) and directly binds the stem-loop of pri-miRNAs. In a hypomorphic janus mutant, the activity of DCL1, the numbers of MC, and the interaction of primary miRNA transcript (pri-miRNAs) with MC are reduced. These data suggest that JANUS promotes the assembly and activity of MC through its interaction with MC and/or pri-miRNAs. In addition, JANUS modulates the transcription of some pri-miRNAs as it binds the promoter of pri-miRNAs and facilitates Pol II occupancy of at their promoters. Moreover, global splicing defects are detected in janus. Taken together, our study reveals a novel role of a conserved splicing factor in miRNA biogenesis.

Arthrospira promotes plant growth and soil properties under high salinity environments.

Salt stress detrimentally impacts plant growth, imperiling crop yield and food quality. Ameliorating plant resilience and productivity in saline environments is critical for global food security. Here, we report the positive effect of Arthrospira (Spirulina) on plant growth and salt tolerance in Arabidopsis and sweet sorghum. Arthrospira application greatly promotes seed germination and seedling growth in both species under salt stress conditions in a dosage-dependent manner. Application of 6 mg Arthrospira per plate significantly enhances K+/Na+ equilibrium and reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging in Arabidopsis, reducing salt-induced toxicity. The primary root length, survival rate, chlorophyll content, photosynthesis, plant height, biomass and yield were all improved in both species. Concurrently, Arthrospira demonstrated the synthesis of compatible solutes, such as trehalose (Tre) and glucosylglycerol (GG), contributing to heightened stress tolerance when co-cultivated with Arabidopsis on plates. Transcriptome analysis revealed dramatic up-/down- regulation of genes involved in phytohormone signal transduction, chlorophyll and photosynthesis metabolism, and phenylpropanoid metabolism in Arabidopsis. Furthermore, the application of Arthrospira exerted a positive influence on the rhizosphere bacteriome structure in sweet sorghum, crucial for nutrient cycling and soil health enhancement. Our findings uncovered the underlying mechanisms of algae-plants interaction in saline soil, proposing strategies to enhance crop productivity and soil quality, thereby addressing the urgent need for sustainable agriculture practices to mitigate salinity's repercussions amidst climate change challenges.

[Impacts of Land Use Intensification Level on Fluvo-aquic Cropland Soil Microbial Community Abundance and Necromass Accumulation in North China].

Despite the essential role of soil microorganisms in nutrient turnover in soil ecological systems and the recognized paramount significance of microbial necromass to soil organic carbon accumulation, how microbial community abundance and necromass respond to land use intensification level regulation remains poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, based on the land use intensification level, three treatments were set up[annual wheat-maize rotation (CC), alternating temporary grassland with wheat planting (TG), and perennial grassland (PG)], and a long-term fixed filed experiment was established to investigate the influences of the regulation of land use intensification level on bacterial and fungal community abundances; the accumulation of bacterial, fungal, and total microbial necromass; and their contributions to SOC sequestration using droplet digital PCR and amino sugar detection technologies. We further sought to determine the key factors driving the bacterial, fungal, and total microbial necromass C accumulation. Our results demonstrated that fungal community abundance was strongly affected by land use intensification level regulation compared to that of the bacterial community, which increased with decreasing land use intensification level. The total microbial necromass C predominated the SOC accumulation across all three land use intensification levels, which contributed 52.78%, 58.36%, and 68.87% to SOC, respectively, exhibiting an increasing trend with the decline in land use intensification level. Fungal necromass C accounted for more than 80% of the total microbial necromass C, indicating its predominance in the accumulation of the total microbial necromass C and active variation via the reduction in land use intensification level. There was no significant difference in bacterial necromass C (MurA) content, with the trend of CC

Passivating SnO2/perovskite interface via guanide hydrochloride toward efficient and stable n-i-p perovskite solar cells.

Nonradiation recombination of interfacial carriers is a key factor hindering the improvement of efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Here, we report an effective electron transport layer/perovskite interface regulation strategy. By introducing the multifunctional molecule guanidine hydrochloride (GCl) on the surface of SnO2, we can enhance the electron extraction between SnO2 and perovskite and promote the growth of high-quality perovskite films. GCl is anchored on the surface of SnO2 and interacts with undercoordinated ions in perovskite. The experimental results show that GCl has interaction with both SnO2 and perovskite layer, and a "bridge" connection is formed between the two layers. This strategy not only passivates the SnO2/perovskite interface defects, improves the perovskite crystallization quality, but also helps to reduce the interface charge accumulation. More importantly, the PCE of GCl passivated device reached 21.63 %, which was much better than that of control device (19.56 %). In the air environment, after 30 days at room temperature, the GCl modified unpackaged device maintained 83 % of its initial efficiency. Therefore, interface modification with GCl is an effective strategy to improve the interface state, improve the crystallization quality and obtain high-performance PSCs.

Combined application of acidic biochar and fertilizer synergistically enhances Miscanthus productivity in coastal saline-alkaline soil.

Biochar amendment has been proven as an effective measure in the remediation of degraded soils, but few reports were focused on the interactive effects and mechanisms of biochar and fertilizer co-application in the amelioration of saline-alkaline soils. In this study, different biochar and fertilizer combinations were applied to investigate the interactive effect on fertilizer use efficiency, soil properties, and Miscanthus growth in a coastal saline-alkaline soil. Compared to the fertilizer or acidic biochar application alone, the combined application of acidic biochar and fertilizer significantly improved soil nutrient availability, ameliorated soil properties in rhizosphere soil. Meanwhile, the bacterial community structure and soil enzyme activities were considerably ameliorated. Additionally, the activities of anti-oxidant enzymes were substantially enhanced and the expression of abiotic stress-associated genes was significantly up-regulated in Miscanthus plants. Ultimately, the combined application of acidic biochar and fertilizer significantly enhanced Miscanthus growth and biomass accumulation in the saline-alkaline soil. Overall, our findings suggest that the combined application of acidic biochar and fertilizer represents a feasible and effective approach for improving plant productivity in saline-alkaline soils.

Construction, expression and assemble of EMCV VLPs and their potency evaluation.

Encephalomycarditis virus (EMCV) is an essential pathogen with a broad host range and causes enormous economic losses to the pig industry worldwide. Here, we constructed and assembled the EMCV virus-like particles (VLPs) in vitro and verified high efficiency of virus protection. Results showed that the proteins auto-assembled into VLPs successfully in vitro. The animal experiments revealed that high-titer antibody production is triggered by VLPs. Meanwhile, the mice challenged with EMCV were obviously protected. The protection rate of group VLPs with the adjuvant was 75%, while that of the VLPs group was 62.5% compared to the control. These findings indicate that recombinant EMCV VLPs have a remarkable anti-EMCV effect and could be a new vaccine candidate for the control of EMCV infection.

Prognostic significance of SH2D5 expression in lung adenocarcinoma and its relation to immune cell infiltration.

Objective: Through analyzing the SH2D5 expression profiles, clinical features, and immune infiltration in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), the study was intended to discuss the correlations of SH2D5 with prognosis and immune infiltration in LUAD. Methods: We downloaded transcriptome and clinical data of LUAD patients from TCGA, GEO, and CCLE databases. Sangerbox, R language, GEPIA, UALCAN, and Kaplan-Meier Plotter were adopted to analyze the SH2D5 expression patterns, prognosis, and clinical features. Spearman correlation analysis was performed to determine the association between SH2D5 expression and immune cell infiltration and immune checkpoint genes. The miRNA-SH2D5 relations were predicted by miRDB and starbase. Lastly, quantitative PCR, IHC and Western blot were implemented for validation. Results: A prominent up-regulation of SH2D5 was noted in the LUAD group relative to the normal group, which was validated by quantitative PCR, IHC and Western blot. SH2D5 expression was inversely related to overall survival (OS) of LUAD patients as well as B cell immune infiltration. Additionally, SH2D5 expression was negatively correlated with dendritic cells resting (p < 0.001), plasma cells (p < 0.001), mast cells resting (p = 0.031) and T cells CD4 memory resting (p = 0.036) in LUAD patients with abundant SH2D5 expression correlated with poor prognosis. Furthermore, enrichment analysis suggested that SH2D5 was associated with lung cancer and immunity. Lastly, we investigated the relationship between the expression of SH2D5 and the use of antitumor drugs. Conclusion: High SH2D5 expression shares an association with unfavorable prognosis in LUAD, and SH2D5 may also provide new ideas for immunotherapy as a potential therapeutic target.

Development of Spleen Targeting H2S Donor Loaded Liposome for the Effective Systemic Immunomodulation and Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Nanoparticles are primarily taken up by immune cells after systemic administration. Thus, they are considered an ideal drug delivery vehicle for immunomodulation. Because the spleen is the largest lymphatic organ and regulates the systemic immune system, there have been studies to develop spleen targeting nanoparticles for immunomodulation of cancer and immunological disorders. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) includes disorders involving chronic inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract and is considered incurable despite a variety of treatment options. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is one of the gasotransmitters that carries out anti-inflammatory functions and has shown promising immunomodulatory effects in various inflammatory diseases including IBD. Herein, we developed a delicately tuned H2S donor delivering liposome for spleen targeting (ST-H2S lipo) and studied its therapeutic effects in a dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) induced colitis model. We identified the ideal PEG type and ratio of liposome for a high stability, loading efficiency, and spleen targeting effect. In the treatment of the DSS-induced colitis model, we found that ST-H2S lipo and conventional long-circulating liposomes loaded with H2S donors (LC-H2S lipo) reduced the severity of colitis, whereas unloaded H2S donors did not. Furthermore, the therapeutic effect of ST-H2S lipo was superior to that of LC-H2S lipo due to its better systemic immunomodulatory effect than that of LC-H2S lipo. Our findings demonstrate that spleen targeting H2S lipo may have therapeutic potential for IBD.

An all-solid-state photo-rechargeable battery based on Cs3Bi2I9.

Here, we present a new two-electrode photo-rechargeable FTO/TiO2/Cs3Bi2I9/Pt/FTO system. The key material is the photoactive lead-free perovskite Cs3Bi2I9, which performs photoelectric conversion and provides energy storage. This study is the first example of a battery system in which charging and discharging are based on bismuth redox chemistry. In the photo-charged state, the fabricated battery has an open-circuit voltage of ∼0.28 V in the dark. With a series-connected pack of these batteries, an LED was lit for tens of seconds in the dark.

Highly efficient and stable near-infrared photodetectors enabled from passivated tin-lead hybrid perovskites.

Tin-lead perovskite-based photodetectors have a wide light-absorption wavelength range, which spans 1000 nm. However, the preparation of the mixed tin-lead perovskite films faces two great obstacles, namely easy oxidation of Sn2+to Sn4+and fast crystallization from tin-lead perovskite precursor solutions, thus further resulting in poor morphology and high density of defects in tin-lead perovskite films. In this study, we demonstrated a high-performance of near-infrared photodetectors prepared from a stable low-bandgap (MAPbI3)0.5(FASnI3)0.5film modified with 2-fluorophenethylammonium iodide (2-F-PEAI). The addition engineering can efficiently improve the crystallization of (MAPbI3)0.5(FASnI3)0.5films through the coordination binding between Pb2+and N atom in 2-F-PEAI, and resulting in a uniform and dense (MAPbI3)0.5(FASnI3)0.5film. Moreover, 2-F-PEAI suppressed Sn2+oxidation and effectively passivated defects in the (MAPbI3)0.5(FASnI3)0.5film, thereby significantly reducing the dark current in the PDs. Consequently, the near-infrared photodetectors showed a high responsivity with a specific detectivity of over 1012Jones at 800 to near-1000 nm. Additionally, the stability of PDs incorporated with 2-F-PEAI has been significantly improved under air conditions, and the device with the 2-F-PEAI ratio of 400:1 retained 80% of its initial efficiency after 450 h storage in air without encapsulation. Finally, 5 × 5 cm2photodetector arrays were fabricated to demonstrate the potential utility of the Sn-Pb perovskite photodetector in optical imaging and optoelectronic applications.

Regulation of seed coat mucilage production and modification in Arabidopsis.

The Arabidopsis seed coat mucilage is a polysaccharide-rich matrix synthesized by the seed coat epidermal cells. It is a specialized cell wall mainly composed of three types of polysaccharides (i. e. pectin, hemicellulose, and cellulose), and represents as an ideal model system for plant cell wall research. A large number of genes responsible for the synthesis and modification of cell wall polysaccharides have been identified using this model system. Moreover, a subset of regulators controlling mucilage production and modification have been characterized, and the underlying transcriptional regulatory mechanisms have been elucidated. This substantially contributes to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying mucilage synthesis and modification. In this review, we concisely summarize the various genes and regulators involved in seed coat cell differentiation, mucilage biosynthesis and modification, and secondary cell wall formation. In particular, we put emphasis on the latest knowledge gained regarding the transcriptional regulation of mucilage production, which is composed of a hierarchal cascade with three-layer transcriptional regulators. Collectively, we propose an updated schematic framework of the genetic regulatory network controlling mucilage production and modification in the Arabidopsis mucilage secretory cells.

The mitigation effect of free ammonia and free nitrous acid on nitrous oxide production from the full-nitrification and partial-nitritation systems.

The potentials of using endogenous free ammonia (FA) and free nitrous acid (FNA) as nitrous oxide (N2O) mitigators were investigated in treatment of both mainstream and sidestream wastewater. Although the N2O emission factor of a sidestream partial-nitritation (PN) reactor (averaged 1.70 % ± 0.39 %, n = 30) was about 2.4 times higher than a mainstream full-nitrification (FN) reactor (averaged 0.72 % ± 0.24 %, n = 30) (P < 0.01), one-hour exposure of PN sludge to 1.5 mg HNO2-N/L FNA could virtually abolish N2O emission. As for FN sludge, both 45 mg NH3-N/L FA and 0.015 mg HNO2-N/L FNA successfully mitigated N2O production at varying dissolved oxygen (DO) levels (50 % vs 61 %), while 1.5 mg HNO2-N/L FNA not only reduced more N2O (92 %) but also altered the N2O dependency on DO. Both FNA and FA sludge treatment were effective N2O mitigation strategies with FNA toward the end of carbon neutrality and FA being more economically appealing (2 % cost saving).

RNA-binding protein MAC5A interacts with the 26S proteasome to regulate DNA damage response in Arabidopsis.

DNA damage response (DDR) in eukaryotes is essential for the maintenance of genome integrity in challenging environments. The regulatory mechanisms of DDR have been well-established in yeast and humans. However, increasing evidence supports the idea that plants seem to employ different signaling pathways that remain largely unknown. Here, we report the role of MODIFIER OF SNC1, 4-ASSOCIATED COMPLEX SUBUNIT 5A (MAC5A) in DDR in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Lack of MAC5A in mac5a mutants causes hypersensitive phenotypes to methyl methanesulfonate (MMS), a DNA damage inducer. Consistent with this observation, MAC5A can regulate alternative splicing of DDR genes to maintain the proper response to genotoxic stress. Interestingly, MAC5A interacts with the 26S proteasome (26SP) and is required for its proteasome activity. MAC core subunits are also involved in MMS-induced DDR. Moreover, we find that MAC5A, the MAC core subunits, and 26SP may act collaboratively to mediate high-boron-induced growth repression through DDR. Collectively, our findings uncover the crucial role of MAC in MMS-induced DDR in orchestrating growth and stress adaptation in plants.

Genome-Wide Characterization and Expression Profiling of the GRAS Gene Family in Salt and Alkali Stresses in Miscanthus sinensis.

The GRAS family genes encode plant-specific transcription factors that play important roles in a diverse range of developmental processes and abiotic stress responses. However, the information of GRAS gene family in the bioenergy crop Miscanthus has not been available. Here, we report the genome-wide identification of GRAS gene family in Micanthus sinensis. A total of 123 MsGRAS genes were identified, which were divided into ten subfamilies based on the phylogenetic analysis. The co-linearity analysis revealed that 59 MsGRAS genes experienced segmental duplication, forming 35 paralogous pairs. The expression of six MsGRAS genes in responding to salt, alkali, and mixed salt-alkali stresses was analyzed by transcriptome and real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) assays. Furthermore, the role of MsGRAS60 in salt and alkali stress response was characterized in transgenic Arabidopsis. The MsGRAS60 overexpression lines exhibited hyposensitivity to abscisic acid (ABA) treatment and resulted in compromised tolerance to salt and alkali stresses, suggesting that MsGRAS60 is a negative regulator of salt and alkali tolerance via an ABA-dependent signaling pathway. The salt and alkali stress-inducible MsGRAS genes identified serve as candidates for the improvement of abiotic stress tolerance in Miscanthus.

Integrated analysis identifies the IL6/JAK/STAT signaling pathway and the estrogen response pathway associated with the pathogenesis of intracranial aneurysms.

Objective: We intended to identify the potential key biomarker and pathways that correlated with infiltrating immune cells during the pathogenesis of intracranial aneurysms (IA), to develop a diagnostic model, and to predict therapeutic drugs. Methods: Three datasets containing intracranial aneurysm tissue samples and normal artery control samples from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) were included. Gene-set variation analysis(GSVA) and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) were conducted to find the significant differentially expressed pathways in IA formation. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression and the multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to identify the characteristic genes in the IL6/JAK/STAT signaling pathway (ISP) and the estrogen response pathway (ERP). A diagnostic model was constructed. xCell was used to identify immune cell types in IA pathogenesis. We used the weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) algorithm to explore the correlations between the key modules and the four traits. Potential therapeutic drugs were investigated in Enrichr and Drugbank database. Results: The ISP is significant positively correlated with IA onset. The biological function of the ISP is positively correlated with that of the ERP, and is significantly associated with immune cells activities. CSF2RB, FAS, IL6, PTPN1, STAT2, TGFB1 of the ISP gene set and ALDH3A2, COX6C, IGSF1, KRT18, MICB, NPY1R of the ERP gene set were proved to be the characteristic genes. The STAT2 gene can be the potential biomarker of IA onset. The immune score of IA samples was significantly higher than the controls. The STAT2 gene expression is associated with infiltration of immune cells. The WGCNA results were consistent with our finds. Acetaminophen can be a potential therapeutic drug for IA targeting STAT2. Conclusions: We identified that the ISP was one of the most significant positively correlated pathways in IA onset, and it was activated in this process concordant with the ERP and immune responses. Except for beneficial effects, complex and multiple roles of estrogen may be involved in IA formation. STAT2 could be a potential biomarker and a promising therapeutic target of IA pathogenesis.