TIMM17A overexpression in lung adenocarcinoma and its association with prognosis.

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, demands a deeper understanding of its molecular mechanisms and the identification of reliable biomarkers for better diagnosis and targeted therapy. Leveraging data from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), the Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC), and the Human Protein Atlas (HPA), we investigated the mRNA and protein expression profiles of TIMM17A and assessed its prognostic significance through Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox regression analysis. Through Gene Set Enrichment Analysis, we explored the regulatory mechanisms of TIMM17A in LUAD progression and demonstrated its role in modulating the proliferative capacity of A549 cells, a type of LUAD cell, via in vitro experiments. Our results indicate that TIMM17A is significantly upregulated in LUAD tissues, correlating with clinical staging, lymph node metastasis, overall survival, and progression-free survival, thereby establishing it as a critical independent prognostic factor. The construction of a nomogram model further enhances our ability to predict patient outcomes. Knockdown of TIMM17A inhibited the growth of LUAD cells. The potential of TIMM17A as a biomarker and therapeutic target for LUAD presents a promising pathway for improving patient diagnosis and treatment strategies.

Hypomethylation of glycine dehydrogenase promoter in peripheral blood mononuclear cells is a new diagnostic marker of hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Glycine dehydrogenase (GLDC) plays an important role in the initiation and proliferation of several human cancers. In this study, we aimed to detect the methylation status of GLDC promoter and its diagnostic value for hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HBV-HCC). METHODS: We enrolled 197 patients, 111 with HBV-HCC, 51 with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), and 35 healthy controls (HCs). The methylation status of GLDC promoter in peripheral mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was identified by methylation specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP). The mRNA expression was examined using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). RESULTS: The methylation frequency of the GLDC promoter was significantly lower in HBV-HCC patients (27.0%) compared to that in CHB patients (68.6%) and HCs (74.3%) (P < 0.001). The methylated group had lower alanine aminotransferase level (P = 0.035) and lower rates of tumor node metastasis (TNM) III/IV (P = 0.043) and T3/T4 (P = 0.026). TNM stage was identified to be an independent factor for GLDC promoter methylation. GLDC mRNA levels in CHB patients and HCs were significantly lower than those in HBV-HCC patients (P = 0.022 and P < 0.001, respectively). GLDC mRNA levels were significantly higher in HBV-HCC patients with unmethylated GLDC promoters than those with methylated GLDC promoters (P = 0.003). The diagnostic accuracy of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) combined with GLDC promoter methylation for HBV-HCC was improved compared with that of AFP alone (AUC: 0.782 vs. 0.630, P < 0.001). In addition, GLDC promoter methylation was an independent predictor for overall survival of HBV-HCC patients (P = 0.038). CONCLUSIONS: The methylation frequency of GLDC promoter was lower in PBMCs from HBV-HCC patients than that from patients with CHB and HCs. The combination of AFP and GLDC promoter hypomethylation significantly improved the diagnostic accuracy of HBV-HCC.

Severe graft-versus-host disease post allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation due to loss of HLA heterozygosity in recipient lymphocytes after full graft rejection.

Germ cell tumors complicated by hematological malignancy (HM) are a rare clinical phenomenon. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is a potentially effective therapy, but graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a life-threatening complication. We report a case of a 13-year-old female patient diagnosed with germ cell tumors followed by acute lymphoblastic leukemia. After chemotherapy, she received allo-HSCT and her chimerism rate decreased rapidly to near zero by 6 months without evidence of HM recurrence. However, she developed severe, multiorgan GVHD-like manifestations. DNA analysis revealed the pathogenesis of GVHD to be loss of HLA heterozygosity in recipient hematopoietic cells.

Dispersion of the third-order optical nonlinearities in 2D (PEA)2PbI4 perovskite film.

We report the wavelength-dependent third-order optical nonlinearity of two-dimensional halide organic-inorganic perovskite (PEA)2PbI4 film experimentally. The high-quality two-dimensional (PEA)2PbI4 film prepared via confinement-assisted drop-casting process exhibits ultrafast optical response and large third-order optical nonlinearities, and the measured nonlinear refractive index is closer to the quantum perturbation model accounting for the excitonic effect. In addition, the wavelength-dependent optical response transition from self-focusing to self-defocusing, saturable absorption to reverse saturable absorption has been observed and investigated. The experimental results confirm the large third-order optical nonlinearities in (PEA)2PbI4 film and may make inroads toward developing cost-effective high-performance optoelectronic devices.

High-damage-threshold mid-infrared saturable absorber enabled by tantalum carbide nanoparticles.

A stable mid-infrared saturable absorber with a high damage threshold is urgently required for high-performance optical modulation in the mid-infrared regime. Here, we demonstrate stable mid-infrared erbium-doped fiber laser generation modulated by tantalum carbide nanoparticles (TaC NPs) experimentally. The TaC NPs show high physicochemical stability, obvious nonlinear optical absorption, and a high damage threshold. By introducing the TaC-based saturable absorber into an erbium-doped fiber laser, stable nanosecond pulses can be successfully delivered with a minimum pulse duration of 575 ns and signal-to-noise ratio of over 40 dB. The experimental results show that TaC NPs can act as a stable mid-infrared pulse modulator, and may make inroads for developing highly stable broadband optoelectronic devices.

Human ß-defensins are correlated with the immune infiltration and regulated by vitamin D3 in periodontitis.

OBJECTIVE: Exploring the correlation between human ß-defensins (HBDs) and immune infiltration in periodontitis, and whether it is regulated by vitamin D3 . BACKGROUND: The human body produces essential antimicrobial peptides called HBDs, which are associated with periodontitis. There is a strong link between periodontal tissue destruction and the immune cell infiltration. Moreover, vitamin D3 has been reported to regulate the expression of immune cell chemokines. However, the relationship between vitamin D3 , HBDs, and immune infiltration in periodontitis remains to be investigated. METHODS: The Gene Expression Omnibus database was accessed to obtain transcriptomic information of gingival samples taken from periodontitis patients. The expression value of HBD-2 and HBD-3 was calculated. Additionally, using the online program ImmuCellAl, 10 immune cells were scored for immune infiltration in the high-HBDs-expression group and the low-HBDs-expression group, separately. After that, transcriptome sequencing was done based on human gingival fibroblasts that had received vitamin D3 treatment. Furthermore, hGFs were treated by vitamin D3 , tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide (Pg-LPS). The expressions of HBD-2, HBD-3, interleukin-8 (IL-8), and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) were detected. To seek the potential mechanism, CYP27A1 siRNA was employed to reduce the expression of CYP27A1, and nuclear factor-gene binding protein 65 (NF-κB p65) was examined. RESULTS: In GSE10334, the expressions of HBD-2 and HBD-3 were down-regulated in periodontitis group. Meanwhile, monocyte, macrophage, and CD4_T cell were less infiltrated in low-HBD-2-expression group, while less Gamma-delta T-cell infiltration was found in low-HBD-3-expression group. Transcriptome sequencing found that 21 genes were significantly expressed, of which the function was enriched in response to bacterial origin and TNF signal pathway. Vitamin D3 could significantly up-regulate the expression of HBD-2 and HBD-3, which could be controlled by knocking down CYP27A1 mRNA expression. With prolonged vitamin D3 stimulation, the expression of HBD-2 and HBD-3 increased. TNF-α/Pg-LPS could significantly increase the expression of HBD-2, HBD-3, IL-8, MCP-1, and p65, all of which were reduced by vitamin D3 . CONCLUSION: HBDs are correlated with immune infiltration in periodontitis. Vitamin D3 inhibits the expression of HBDs and chemokines induced by TNF-α/Pg-LPS, possibly through NF-κB pathway, in human gingival fibroblasts.

Glutamine metabolism genes prognostic signature for stomach adenocarcinoma and immune infiltration: potential biomarkers for predicting overall survival.

Background: Stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD), caused by mutations in stomach cells, is characterized by poor overall survival. Chemotherapy is commonly administered for stomach cancer patients following surgical resection. An imbalance in tumor metabolic pathways is connected to tumor genesis and growth. It has been discovered that glutamine (Gln) metabolism plays a crucial role in cancer. Metabolic reprogramming is associated with clinical prognosis in various cancers. However, the role of glutamine metabolism genes (GlnMgs) in the fight against STAD remains poorly understood. Methods: GlnMgs were determined in STAD samples from the TCGA and GEO datasets. The TCGA and GEO databases provide information on stemness indices (mRNAsi), gene mutations, copy number variations (CNV), tumor mutation burden (TMB), and clinical characteristics. Lasso regression was performed to build the prediction model. The relationship between gene expression and Gln metabolism was investigated using co-expression analysis. Results: GlnMgs, found to be overexpressed in the high-risk group even in the absence of any symptomatology, demonstrated strong predictive potential for STAD outcomes. GSEA highlighted immunological and tumor-related pathways in the high-risk group. Immune function and m6a gene expression differed significantly between the low- and high-risk groups. AFP, CST6, CGB5, and ELANE may be linked to the oncology process in STAD patients. The prognostic model, CNVs, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), and medication sensitivity all revealed a strong link to the gene. Conclusion: GlnMgs are connected to the genesis and development of STAD. These corresponding prognostic models aid in predicting the prognosis of STAD GlnMgs and immune cell infiltration in the tumor microenvironment (TME) may be possible therapeutic targets in STAD. Furthermore, the glutamine metabolism gene signature presents a credible alternative for predicting STAD outcomes, suggesting that these GlnMgs could open a new field of study for STAD-focused therapy Additional trials are needed to validate the results of the current study.

Compact nanosecond Yb:YAG/V:YAG solid-state laser generating switchable radially and azimuthally beams.

We demonstrated a compact self-starting nanosecond Yb:YAG/V:YAG solid-state laser with cylindrical vector beams output modulated by the intracavity mode converter S-waveplate experimentally. We can deliver the stable Q-switched pulse with the highest repetition rate 3.61 kHz and minimum pulse width 26 ns at the wavelength of 1030.07 nm with the help of the V:YAG crystal. In addition, the switchable radially and azimuthally polarized beams can be realized with polarization extinction ratios of 92.3% and 89.6%, respectively. The compact laser configuration can provide solutions for generating stable nanosecond structured light, and may benefit the applications like micro/nano material processing.

Yiyi Fuzi Baijiang Powder Alleviates Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Ulcerative Colitis in Rats via Inhibiting the TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 Inflammasome Signaling Pathway to Repair the Intestinal Epithelial Barrier, and Modulating Intestinal Microbiota.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic non-specific inflammatory disease of the intestine, which is prone to recurrence and difficult to cure. Yiyi Fuzi Baijiang powder (YFBP), as a classic Chinese herbal formula, is commonly used in the clinical treatment of UC. However, its potential mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the mechanism by which YFBP exerts a therapeutic effect against UC. Firstly, we used network pharmacology to screen the active ingredients and potential targets of YFBP and constructed a "drug-ingredient-target" network. Based on bioinformatics, we searched for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with UC and obtained common targets. The core targets of YFBP in the treatment of UC were identified using a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, and molecular docking techniques were used to evaluate the binding energies of the core targets and corresponding ingredients. Enrichment analysis by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) revealed that YFBP exerted therapeutic effects by regulating multiple inflammatory pathways including TLR4, NF-κB, and TNF. Secondly, an experimental study was carried out in vivo for verification. Our results demonstrated that YFBP could effectively improve the symptoms and intestinal pathological of UC rats. Further study showed that YFBP could significantly downregulate the expressions of TLR4 and p-NF-κB p65 in UC rats, inhibit the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome, reduce the levels of IL-1ß and TNF-α, and then upregulate the expressions of tight junction proteins in intestinal epithelial cells. In addition, YFBP could improve the intestinal microbial community. In conclusion, our study revealed that YFBP had a good therapeutic effect on UC, and its mechanism might be related to the inhibition of the TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 inflammasome signaling pathway to repair intestinal epithelial barrier and the modulation of intestinal microbiota.

Broadband saturable absorption of indium tin oxide nanocrystals toward mid-infrared regime.

We experimentally demonstrate the ultrabroadband optical nonlinearity of indium tin oxide nanocrystals (ITO NCs) in the mid-infrared regime. Especially, the ITO NCs show considerable saturation absorption behavior with large modulation depth covering the spectral range from 2-µm to 10-µm wavelength. We also demonstrate the application of the optical nonlinearity to successfully modulate the erbium-doped fluoride fiber laser to deliver a nanosecond pulse with a signal-to-noise ratio over 43 dB at 2.8-µm wavelength. The results provide a promising platform for the development of ITO-based broadband and robust optoelectronic devices toward the deep mid-infrared spectral range.

Clinical, Histological, and Radiological Outcomes of Sinus Floor Elevation Using a New Approach before Extraction of Periodontally Hopeless Maxillary Molars: A Case Report with 3-year Follow-Up.

Introduction. This report is the first to present a case with 3-year follow-up, in which sinus floor elevation was performed before extraction of periodontally hopeless teeth, in order to shorten the edentulous interval between extraction and loading of implants and improve the patient's quality of life. Case Presentation. After a series of initial and supportive periodontal therapies, the lateral window was created at the apices of the hopeless teeth, followed by grafting of bone substitute and membrane material at the sinus floor. The tooth was preserved for 13 months prior to extraction followed by immediate implant placement. The patient is satisfied with the oral function partially retained during the treatment period. Predominance of new bone was detected by histologic analysis. The available bone height was augmented from 1-2 to 12-14 mm with little resorption (less than 2 mm of height) after 3 years of follow-up. The dental implant is in good condition without obvious signs of peri-implantitis or mobility after 3 years of loading. Discussion. The feasibility of modified sinus floor elevation (MSFE) could be seen in the current case. The potential benefit of MSFE may include shortening the edentulous interval, facilitating bone regeneration, and providing a chance for immediate implant placement. However, further clinical case evaluations and controlled studies are required to determine indications, effectiveness, and safety of such augmentation procedures.

Periodontal soft tissue increase induced by periodontally accelerated osteogenic orthodontics surgery.

OBJECTIVES: To quantitatively assess periodontal soft tissue changes, including gingival thickness and keratinized gingiva width after periodontally accelerated osteogenic orthodontics (PAOO) surgery by digital measurements.  METHODS: This study enrolled 15 maxillaries with 89 anterior teeth and 16 mandibles with 94 anterior teeth from Chinese adult patients with skeletal Angle Class III malocclusion for whom PAOO surgery was proposed during orthodontic treatment. Intraoral scanning and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) examinations were performed before PAOO surgery and 6 months after the surgery. Keratinized gingiva width was measured on the digital model acquired by intraoral scanning. The gingival thickness was measured using a digital three-dimensional (3D) model based on the combination of digital intraoral scanning and CBCT data. RESULTS: The mean gingival thickness before surgery was 0.91 ± 0.32 mm and 1.21 ± 0.38 mm at 6-month after PAOO. Patients showed periodontal soft tissue increase with a mean gingival tissue gain of 0.30 ± 0.33 mm. At 1 mm, 2 and 3 mm apical to cemento-enamel junction (CEJ) levels, the gingival thickness increase of the mandible was higher than that of the maxilla (0.38 ± 0.30 mm vs. 0.24 ± 0.31 mm, 0.43 ± 0.35 mm vs. 0.26 ± 0.41 mm, 0.36 ± 0.27 vs. 0.25 ± 0.32 mm, respectively, all P < 0.05). Moreover, the sites of gingival thickness ≤ 1 mm before surgery showed more tissue gain than the sites > 1 mm (0.36 ± 0.32 mm vs. 0.18 ± 0.31 mm, P < 0.001). The mean keratinized gingiva width at T0 was 3.88 ± 1.22 mm, and increased 1.05 ± 1.24 mm 6 months after PAOO surgery. Moreover, a digital 3D model for gingival thickness measurement based on the combination of digital intraoral scanning and CBCT displayed high reliability and accuracy with an intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.897. CONCLUSION: PAOO could improve an insufficient quantity of periodontal soft and hard tissues in patients with skeletal Angle Class III malocclusion, including the gingival thickness and keratinized gingiva width. A digital 3D model based on the combination of digital intraoral scanning and CBCT data could provide a new digital measurement of gingival thickness with high accuracy and reliability.

Visible optical nonlinearity of vanadium dioxide dispersions.

Vanadium dioxide (VO2), a correlated oxide compound, is one of the functional materials extensively studied in solid state physics due to its attractive physical properties. However, the nonlinear optical response of VO2 and related all-optical applications have been paid less attention. Here, the nonlinear refractive index (n 2) and third-order nonlinear susceptibility (χ (3)) of VO2 dispersions have been acquired to be 3.06 × 10-6 cm2 W-1 and 1.68 × 10-4 esu at a wavelength of 671 nm, and 5.17 × 10-6 cm2 W-1 and 2.83 × 10-4 esu at a wavelength of 532 nm via the spatial self-phase modulation (SSPM) and spatial cross-phase modulation (SXPM) effects in the visible regime, respectively. Based on the excellent nonlinear optical properties of VO2 dispersions, the proof-of-principle functions such as optical logic or-gates, all-optical switches, and inter-channel information transfer are implemented in the visible wavelength. The experimental results on the response time of VO2 to light indicate that the formation of diffraction rings is mainly an electronically coherent third-order nonlinear optical process. The experimental results show that the VO2 dispersions exhibit an excellent nonlinear optical response and may lay the foundation for the application of VO2-based all-optical devices.

Identification and characterization of a novel hydroxylamine oxidase, DnfA, that catalyzes the oxidation of hydroxylamine to N2.

Nitrogen (N2) gas in the atmosphere is partially replenished by microbial denitrification of ammonia. Recent study has shown that Alcaligenes ammonioxydans oxidizes ammonia to dinitrogen via a process featuring the intermediate hydroxylamine, termed "Dirammox" (direct ammonia oxidation). However, the unique biochemistry of this process remains unknown. Here, we report an enzyme involved in Dirammox that catalyzes the conversion of hydroxylamine to N2. We tested previously annotated proteins involved in redox reactions, DnfA, DnfB, and DnfC, to determine their ability to catalyze the oxidation of ammonia or hydroxylamine. Our results showed that none of these proteins bound to ammonia or catalyzed its oxidation; however, we did find DnfA bound to hydroxylamine. Further experiments demonstrated that, in the presence of NADH and FAD, DnfA catalyzed the conversion of 15N-labeled hydroxylamine to 15N2. This conversion did not happen under oxygen (O2)-free conditions. Thus, we concluded that DnfA encodes a hydroxylamine oxidase. We demonstrate that DnfA is not homologous to any known hydroxylamine oxidoreductases and contains a diiron center, which was shown to be involved in catalysis via electron paramagnetic resonance experiments. Furthermore, enzyme kinetics of DnfA were assayed, revealing a Km of 92.9 ± 3.0 µM for hydroxylamine and a kcat of 0.028 ± 0.001 s-1. Finally, we show that DnfA was localized in the cytoplasm and periplasm as well as in tubular membrane invaginations in HO-1 cells. To the best of our knowledge, we conclude that DnfA is the first enzyme discovered that catalyzes oxidation of hydroxylamine to N2.

The latent structure of global scientific development.

Science is essential to innovation and economic prosperity. Although studies have shown that national scientific development is affected by geographic, historic and economic factors, it remains unclear whether there are universal structures and trajectories of national scientific development that can inform forecasting and policy-making. Here, by examining the scientific 'exports'-publications that are indexed in international databases-of countries, we reveal a three-cluster structure in the relatedness network of disciplines that underpin national scientific development and the organization of global science. Tracing the evolution of national research portfolios reveals that while nations are proceeding to more diverse research profiles individually, scientific production is increasingly specialized in global science over the past decades. By uncovering the underlying structure of scientific development and connecting it with economic development, our results may offer a new perspective on the evolution of global science.

Dirammox Is Widely Distributed and Dependently Evolved in Alcaligenes and Is Important to Nitrogen Cycle.

Nitrogen cycle is an essential process for environmental health. Dirammox (direct ammonia oxidation), encoded by the dnfT1RT2ABCD cluster, was a novel pathway for microbial N2 production defined in Alcaligenes ammonioxydans HO-1. Here, a copy of the cluster dnfT1RT2ABCD as a whole was proved to have existed and very conserved in all Alcaligenes genomes. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and amino acid sequences of DnfAs, together with G + C content data, revealed that dnf cluster was evolved associated with the members of the genus Alcaligenes. Under 20% O2 conditions, 14 of 16 Alcaligenes strains showed Dirammox activity, which seemed likely taxon-related. However, the in vitro activities of DnfAs catalyzing the direct oxidation of hydroxylamine to N2 were not taxon-related but depended on the contents of Fe and Mn ions. The results indicated that DnfA is necessary but not sufficient for Dirammox activity. The fact that members of the genus Alcaligenes are widely distributed in various environments, including soil, water bodies (both freshwater and seawater), sediments, activated sludge, and animal-plant-associated environments, strongly suggests that Dirammox is important to the nitrogen cycle. In addition, Alcaligenes species are also commonly found in wastewater treatment plants, suggesting that they might be valuable resources for wastewater treatment.

Highly stable soliton and bound soliton generation from a fiber laser mode-locked by VSe2 nanosheets.

We demonstrate the highly stable soliton generation from a fiber laser mode-locked by the VSe2 nanosheets experimentally. The VSe2 nanosheets prepared via the liquid phase exfoliation method exhibit ultrafast relaxation time and excellent nonlinear optical behavior with saturation intensity and modulation depth of 14.28 MW/cm2 and 19.11%, respectively. A highly stable mode-locked Er3+-doped fiber laser with pulse duration of 714 fs and signal-to-noise ratio of 78.44 dB has been delivered successfully based on the VSe2 nanosheets saturable absorber. In addition, the transition from the conventional soliton to bound-state soliton has been observed experimentally. Our results reveal that VSe2 nanosheets possess excellent nonlinear optical performance and can act as a robust optical platform for versatile optical applications.

Genetic Foundations of Direct Ammonia Oxidation (Dirammox) to N2 and MocR-Like Transcriptional Regulator DnfR in Alcaligenes faecalis Strain JQ135.

Ammonia oxidation is an important process in both the natural nitrogen cycle and nitrogen removal from engineered ecosystems. Recently, a new ammonia oxidation pathway termed Dirammox (direct ammonia oxidation, NH3→NH2OH→N2) has been identified in Alcaligenes ammonioxydans. However, whether Dirammox is present in other microbes, as well as its genetic regulation, remains unknown. In this study, it was found that the metabolically versatile bacterium Alcaligenes faecalis strain JQ135 could efficiently convert ammonia into N2 via NH2OH under aerobic conditions. Genetic deletion and complementation results suggest that dnfABC is responsible for the ammonia oxidation to N2 in this strain. Strain JQ135 also employs aerobic denitrification, mainly producing N2O and trace amounts of N2, with nitrite as the sole nitrogen source. Deletion of the nirK and nosZ genes, which are essential for denitrification, did not impair the capability of JQ135 to oxidize ammonia to N2 (i.e., Dirammox is independent of denitrification). Furthermore, it was also demonstrated that pod (which encodes pyruvic oxime dioxygenase) was not involved in Dirammox and that AFA_16745 (which was previously annotated as ammonia monooxygenase and is widespread in heterotrophic bacteria) was not an ammonia monooxygenase. The MocR-family transcriptional regulator DnfR was characterized as an activator of the dnfABC operon with the binding motif 5'-TGGTCTGT-3' in the promoter region. A bioinformatic survey showed that homologs of dnf genes are widely distributed in heterotrophic bacteria. In conclusion, this work demonstrates that, besides A. ammonioxydans, Dirammox occurs in other bacteria and is regulated by the MocR-family transcriptional regulator DnfR. IMPORTANCE Microbial ammonia oxidation is a key and rate-limiting step of the nitrogen cycle. Three previously known ammonia oxidation pathways (i.e., nitrification, anaerobic ammonia oxidation [Anammox], and complete ammonia oxidation [Comammox]) are mediated by autotrophic microbes. However, the genetic foundations of ammonia oxidation by heterotrophic microorganisms have not been investigated in depth. Recently, a previously unknown pathway, termed direct ammonia oxidation to N2 (Dirammox), has been identified in the heterotrophic bacterium Alcaligenes ammonioxydans HO-1. This paper shows that, in the metabolically versatile bacterium Alcaligenes faecalis JQ135, the Dirammox pathway is mediated by dnf genes, which are independent of the denitrification pathway. A bioinformatic survey suggests that homologs of dnf genes are widely distributed in bacteria. These findings enhance the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of heterotrophic ammonia oxidation to N2.

How Does C-V2X Help Autonomous Driving to Avoid Accidents?

Accidents are continuously reported for autonomous driving vehicles including those with advanced sensors installed. Some of accidents are usually caused by bad weather, poor lighting conditions and non-line-of-sight obstacles. Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) radio technology can significantly improve those weak spots for autonomous driving. This paper describes one of the C-V2X system solutions: Vulnerable Road User Collision Warning (VRUCW) for autonomous driving. The paper provides the system architecture, design logic, network topology, message flow, artificial intelligence (AI) and network security feature. As a reference it also includes a commercial project with its test results.

Realization of all-optical higher-order spatial differentiators based on cascaded operations.

Cascaded operations play an important role in traditional electronic computing systems for the realization of advanced strategies. Here, we introduce the idea of cascaded operations into all-optical spatial analog computing. The single function of the first-order operation has difficulty meeting the requirements of practical applications in image recognition. The all-optical second-order spatial differentiators are implemented by cascading two first-order differential operation units, and the image edge detection of amplitude and phase objects are demonstrated. Our scheme provides a possible pathway toward the development of compact multifunctional differentiators and advanced optical analog computing networks.