Cultivating the uncultured: Harnessing the "sandwich agar plate" approach to isolate heme-dependent bacteria from marine sediment.

In the classical microbial isolation technique, the isolation process inevitably destroys all microbial interactions and thus makes it difficult to culture the many microorganisms that rely on these interactions for survival. In this study, we designed a simple coculture technique named the "sandwich agar plate method," which maintains microbial interactions throughout the isolation and pure culture processes. The total yield of uncultured species in sandwich agar plates based on eight helper strains was almost 10-fold that of the control group. Many uncultured species displayed commensal lifestyles. Further study found that heme was the growth-promoting factor of some marine commensal bacteria. Subsequent genomic analysis revealed that heme auxotrophies were common in various biotopes and prevalent in many uncultured microbial taxa. Moreover, our study supported that the survival strategies of heme auxotrophy in different habitats varied considerably. These findings highlight that cocultivation based on the "sandwich agar plate method" could be developed and used to isolate more uncultured bacteria.

Recent progress of iron-based nanomaterials in gene delivery and tumor gene therapy.

Gene therapy aims to modify or manipulate gene expression and change the biological characteristics of living cells to achieve the purpose of treating diseases. The safe, efficient, and stable expression of exogenous genes in cells is crucial for the success of gene therapy, which is closely related to the vectors used in gene therapy. Currently, gene therapy vectors are mainly divided into two categories: viral vectors and non-viral vectors. Viral vectors are widely used due to the advantages of persistent and stable expression, high transfection efficiency, but they also have certain issues such as infectivity, high immunological rejection, randomness of insertion mutation, carcinogenicity, and limited vector capacity. Non-viral vectors have the advantages of non-infectivity, controllable chemical structure, and unlimited vector capacity, but the transfection efficiency is low. With the rapid development of nanotechnology, the unique physicochemical properties of nanomaterials have attracted increasing attention in the field of drug and gene delivery. Among many nanomaterials, iron-based nanomaterials have attracted much attention due to their superior physicochemical properties, such as Fenton reaction, magnetic resonance imaging, magnetothermal therapy, photothermal therapy, gene delivery, magnetically-assisted drug delivery, cell and tissue targeting, and so on. In this paper, the research progress of iron-based nanomaterials in gene delivery and tumor gene therapy is reviewed, and the future application direction of iron-based nanomaterials is further prospected.

Sex differences in hemoglobin levels and five-year refracture risk in patients with osteoporotic fractures: a retrospective cohort analysis.

We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis to examine the association between hemoglobin (Hb) levels and refracture risk in elderly patients with osteoporotic fractures (OPFs). Our findings suggest a nonlinear relationship exists in females, and females with Hb levels below 10.7 g/dL may be at a higher risk of refracture. INTRODUCTION: Hematopoiesis and bone health have a reciprocal influence on each other. Nevertheless, there is a scarcity of in-depth research on the association between Hb levels and the occurrence of fractures. The present research aimed to investigate the correlation between Hb levels and the rate of refracture within 5 years among individuals with OPFs. METHODS: A retrospective cohort analysis was undertaken between 2017 and 2022. The study included 1906 individuals who were inhabitants of Kunshan and were over 60 years old. These individuals had experienced an OPF between January 1, 2017, and July 27, 2022, resulting in their hospitalization. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to evaluate the risk of refracture within 5 years based on the Hb levels acquired during the admission examination, with consideration for sex differences. A nonlinear relationship was identified using smoothed curve fitting and threshold analysis. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to compare refracture rates between patients with low and high Hb levels. RESULTS: Elderly female patients with OPFs and lower Hb levels exhibited a significantly higher risk of a 5-year refracture. Conversely, no significant associations were observed between the two variables in male patients. A nonlinear correlation was found between Hb levels and the probability of refracture in females, with a turning point identified at 10.7 g/dL of Hb levels. A strong negative association was observed with the five-year refracture rate when Hb levels fell below 10.7 g/dL (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.63; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.48 to 0.83; P-value = 0.0008). This finding suggests that for every 1 g/dL increase in Hb below 10.7 g/dL, the risk of refracture reduced by 37%. However, no statistically significant association was observed when Hb levels were above 10.7 g/dL. CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrated a significant negative correlation between Hb levels and the likelihood of refracture in elderly female patients with OPFs and suggested that elderly females with recent OPFs and Hb levels below 10.7 g/dL may be at a higher risk of refracture. Additionally, the Hb levels can serve as an indicator of bone fragility in elderly female patients with OPFs. These findings highlight the importance of monitoring Hb levels as a part of comprehensive management strategies to both assess skeletal health and prevent refractures in this population.

Spin-State Control in Dysprosium(III) Metallacrown Magnets via Thioacetal Modification.

Integrating controllable spin states into single-molecule magnets (SMMs) enables precise manipulation of magnetic interactions at a molecular level, but remains a synthetic challenge. Herein, we developed a 3d-4f metallacrown (MC) magnet [DyNi5(quinha)5(Clsal)2(py)8](ClO4)∙4H2O (H2quinha = quinaldichydroxamic acid, HClsal = 5-chlorosalicylaldehyde) wherein a square planar NiII is stabilized by chemical stacking. Thioacetal modification was employed via post-synthetic ligand substitutions and yielded [DyNi5(quinha)5(Clsaldt)2(py)8](ClO4)·3H2O (HClsaldt = 4-chloro-2-(1,3-dithiolan-2-yl)phenol). Thanks to the additional ligations of thioacetal onto the NiII site, coordination-induced spin state switching (CISSS) took place with spin state altering from low-spin S = 0 to high-spin S = 1. The synergy of CISSS effect and magnetic interactions results in distinct energy splitting and magnetic dynamics. Magnetic studies indicate prominent enhancement of reversal barrier from 57 cm-1 to 423 cm-1, along with hysteresis opening and an over 200-fold increment in coercive field at 2 K. Ab initio calculations provide deeper insights into the exchange models and rationalize the relaxation/tunnelling pathways. These results demonstrate here provide a fire-new perspective in modulating the magnetization relaxation via the incorporation of controllable spin states and magnetic interactions facilitated by the CISSS approach.

Direct Degradation of Fresh and Dried Macroalgae by Agarivorans albus B2Z047.

Marine macroalgae are increasingly recognized for their significant biological and economic potential. The key to unlocking this potential lies in the efficient degradation of all carbohydrates from the macroalgae biomass. However, a variety of polysaccharides (alginate, cellulose, fucoidan, and laminarin), are difficult to degrade simultaneously in a short time. In this study, the brown alga Saccharina japonica was found to be rapidly and thoroughly degraded by the marine bacterium Agarivorans albus B2Z047. This strain harbors a broad spectrum of carbohydrate-active enzymes capable of degrading various polysaccharides, making it uniquely equipped to efficiently break down both fresh and dried kelp, achieving a hydrolysis rate of up to 52%. A transcriptomic analysis elucidated the presence of pivotal enzyme genes implicated in the degradation pathways of alginate, cellulose, fucoidan, and laminarin. This discovery highlights the bacterium's capability for the efficient and comprehensive conversion of kelp biomass, indicating its significant potential in biotechnological applications for macroalgae resource utilization.

Development and validation of a prognostic nomogram for 3-year all-cause mortality risk among elderly patients undergoing surgery for osteoporotic fractures.

Introduction: To develop and validate a comprehensive prognostic model for the mid-to-long term mortality risk among ≥50-year-old osteoporotic fracture (OPF) surgical patients. Methods: Our retrospective investigation included data from the Osteoporotic Fracture Registration System established by the Affiliated Kunshan Hospital of Jiangsu University, and involved 1,656 patients in the development set and 675 patients in the validation set. Subsequently, we employed a multivariable Cox regression model to establish a 3-year mortality predicting nomogram, and the model performance was further evaluated using C-index and calibration plots. Decision curve analysis (DCA) was employed to assess feasibility of the clinical application of this model. Results: Using six prognostic indexes, namely, patient age, gender, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI), fracture site, and fracture liaison service (FLS), we generated a simple nomogram. The nomogram demonstrated satisfactory discrimination within the development (C-index = 0.8416) and validation (C-index = 0.8084) sets. Using calibration plots, we also revealed good calibration. The model successfully classified patients into different risk categories and the results were comparable in both the development and validation sets. Finally, a 1-70% probability threshold, according to DCA, suggested that the model has promise in clinical settings. Conclusion: Herein, we offer a robust tool to estimating the 3-year all-cause mortality risk among elderly OPF surgical patients. However, we recommend further assessments of the proposed model prior to widespread clinical implementation.

Designing dynamic coordination bonds in polar hybrid crystals for a high-temperature ferroelastic transition.

Ferroelastic materials have gained widespread attention as promising candidates for mechanical switches, shape memory, and information processing. Their phase-transition mechanisms usually originate from conventional order-disorder and/or displacive types, while those involving dynamic coordination bonds are still scarce. Herein, based on a strategic molecular design of organic cations, we report three new polar hybrid crystals with a generic formula of AA'RbBiCl6 (A = A' = Me3SO+ for 1; A = Me3SO+ and A' = Me4N+ for 2; A = A' = Me3NNH2+ for 3). Their A-site cations link to the [RbBiCl6]n2n- inorganic framework with lon topology through Rb-O/N coordination bonds, while their significantly different interactions between A'-site cations and inorganic frameworks provide distinct phase-transition behaviour. In detail, the strongly coordinative A'-site Me3SO+ cations prevent 1 from a structural phase transition, while coordinatively free A'-site Me4N+ cations trigger a conventional order-disorder ferroelastic transition at 247 K in 2, accompanied by a latent heat of 0.63 J g-1 and a usual "high → low" second-harmonic-generation (SHG) switch. Interestingly, the A'-site Me3NNH2+ cations in 3 reveal unusual dynamic coordination bonds, driving a high-temperature ferroelastic transition at 369 K with a large latent heat of 18.34 J g-1 and an unusual "low → high" SHG-switching behaviour. This work provides an effective molecular assembly strategy to establish dynamic coordination bonds in a new type of host-guest model and opens an avenue for designing advanced ferroelastic multifunctional materials.

Strategies for the Construction of Benzobicyclo[3.2.1]octane in Natural Product Synthesis.

Benzobicyclo[3.2.1]octane is a cage-like unique motif containing a bicyclo[3.2.1]octane structure fused with at least one benzene ring. It is found in various natural products that exhibit structural complexities and important biological activities. The total synthesis of natural products possessing this challenging structure has received considerable attention, and great advances have been made in this field during the past 15 years. This review summarizes thus far achieved chemical syntheses and synthetic studies of natural compounds featuring the benzobicyclo[3.2.1]octane core. It focuses on strategic approaches constructing the bridged structure, aiming to provide a useful reference for inspiring further advancements in strategies and total syntheses of natural products with such a framework.

A novel fracture liaison service using digital health: impact on mortality in hospitalized elderly osteoporotic fracture patients.

We examined the performance of an intelligent fracture liaison service (FLS) assisted by digital health (DH) to reduce all-cause mortality (ACM) risk. According to our findings, the new FLS reduced ACM by 36%. INTRODUCTION: A well-designed secondary prevention program known as FLS enhances the bone densitometry-based assessment rate as well as osteoporosis (OP) medication usage following a fracture. However, there are only a few reports on FLS incorporating DH, and it remains unclear whether this integration has influenced patient ACM, which refers to the overall death rate from any cause during the study period. METHODS: This retrospective observational study was conducted on data from the Fragility Fracture Registration System database linked to the Regional Health Registration Platform of Kunshan City and the Population Death Registration System of Jiangsu Province for one tertiary-level A hospital in China. Patients aged ≥ 50 years, who experienced an OP fracture between January 1, 2017, and July 27, 2022, requiring hospitalization, were selected for analysis. We compared the outcomes of patients who received routine fragility fracture management (the no-FLS group) or FLS (the FLS group). We employed multivariable Cox regression with inverse probability weighting based on the propensity score (PS). RESULTS: Of 2317 patients, 756 (32.6%) received FLS and 1561 (67.4%) did not. Using PS matching, we minimized the baseline characteristic differences between the two groups in the propensity score-matched samples, relative to the unmatched samples. Based on our analysis, the new FLS reduced ACM by 36% (hazard ratio [HR], 0.64; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.47 to 0.87; P-value = 0.004). Moreover, FLS patients experienced further reductions in fall-related mortality, refracture rate, and total refracture-related hospital costs, and had increased dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) testing and treatment initiation rates, relative to the no-FLS patients. CONCLUSIONS: A new FLS model implementation assisted by DH can effectively reduce ACM among elderly patients with OP fractures requiring surgery. In future investigations, we recommend examining the scalability of this model.

Study on the difference and regularity of tongue images in 309 patients with different pathological stages of non-small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Tongue diagnosis is a crucial traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) inspection method for TCM syndrome differentiation and treatment. OBJECTIVE: The primary research focus was on tongue image characteristic parameters of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Analysis of the tongue image parameters of various pathological stages of NSCLC provides technical support for establishing an integrated Chinese and Western auxiliary diagnosis and efficacy evaluation medicine system for lung cancer that integrates tongue image features. METHODS: Tongue image characteristics of 309 patients with NSCLC and 206 controls were collected and analyzed clinically. The T-test or rank sum test and logistic regression analysis were applied to analyze the characteristics of tongue image indicators of different pathological stages of NSCLC. RESULTS: There were differences in tongue image characteristics in the NSCLC group compared to the control group. The tongue quality and brightness of the tongue coating in the NSCLC group increased, the red component was reduced, the tongue coating thickened, and the yellow component increased compared to the healthy control group. A comparison of tongue image indexes of NSCLC in different pathological stages showed that stage IV had lower TB-b and higher TB-a than stage I. In addition, stage IV had lower TB-b than stage II + III, showing an increase in the blue and red components of the tongue in stage IV and the appearance of cyanotic tongue features. CONCLUSION: The tongue image characteristics of NSCLC patients differed from those of the control group. Tongue imaging indicators can reflect the characteristics of tongue images of patients with NSCLC. The tongue image characteristics of patients with stage IV lung cancer are bluish and purple compared with those with stage I, II, and III. It is suggested that the tongue's image characteristics can be used as a reference for the pathological classification of NSCLC and judgment of the disease process.

Association between perioperative blood transfusion and length of hospital stay in patients with osteoporotic fractures.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have examined the relationship between perioperative blood transfusion (PBT) and length of hospital stay (LOS) in patients with osteoporotic fractures. This research aims to study the association between PBT and LOS. METHODS: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study from the Affiliated Kunshan Hospital of Jiangsu University, Suzhou, China, involving 2357 osteoporotic fractures (OPF) patients who received surgical treatment during hospitalization from January 2017 and March 2022. Multiple linear regression was used to analyze the relationship between PBT and LOS. In the analysis, PBT volume was the dependent variable, whereas LOS was the independent variable. Simultaneously, age, gender, body mass index, hemoglobin, primary diagnosis, American Society of Anesthesiologists, creatinine (Cr), anesthesia, surgical method, and Charlson comorbidity index were included as covariates. The generalized additive model was then used to study nonlinear associations. Two piecewise linear regression exemplary evaluated the inception results for smoothing the curve. RESULTS: Our results proved that PBT was positively correlated with LOS in the fully adjusted model (ß, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.04 to 0.37; P < 0.0001). Furthermore, a "U-shape" nonlinear relationship existed between PBT and LOS. When the concentration of PBT was between 0 and 1.5 units, it was manifested as a negative correlation between PBT and LOS. However, there was a positive association between PBT and LOS when PBT levels exceeded 1.5 units. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that PBT and LOS in the OPF population were independent with a nonlinear relationship. These results suggest that PBT may be protective for patients with long LOS. If these findings are confirmed, the LOS in OPF patients can be regulated through appropriate perioperative blood transfusion.

Association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and fasting blood glucose in osteoporosis patients.

Osteoporosis (OP) is often associated with other complications, such as impaired glucose homeostasis. Vitamin D deficiency is common and has been linked to bone metabolism and the regulation of blood sugar levels. The aim of this study was to evaluate the independent relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) and fasting blood glucose levels (FBG) in a group of patients diagnosed with OP. This is a retrospective cross-sectional study from a prospectively collected database at our tertiary referral center. Consecutive 2084 OP patients who were hospitalization were finally analyzed in this study. FBG is the dependent variable, serum 25(OH)D level of OP patients is exposure variable of this study. There was a linear significantly negative association between serum 25(OH)D and FBG (ß, - 0.02; 95% CI - 0.03 to - 0.01; P = 0.0011) in the fully adjusted models. Specifically, when serum 25(OH)D level was less than 23.39 ng/mL, FBG decreased by 0.04 mmol/L for every 1 ng/mL increase of serum 25(OH)D level. When serum 25(OH)D was greater than 23.39 ng/ mL, the negative association was insignificant (P = 0.9616). If the association is confirmed, the clinical management of blood glucose in OP patients with serum 25(OH)D deficiency has instructive implications.

Prognostic value of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and platelet counts during chemotherapy in patients with advanced gastric cancer.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the predictive significance of dynamic changes in the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet counts (PLTs) in patients with advanced gastric cancer (GC) during chemotherapy. METHODS: A total of 259 advanced GC patients receiving chemotherapy were enrolled and grouped by high or low NLR with a cut value of 2.5 and PLT with cut value of 300×109/L. The Kaplan-Meier survival model and the Log-rank test were carried out to determine the comparison on the overall survival differences. Cox regression analysis was employed to carry out both univariate and multivariate regression studies, aiming to explore potential prognostic factors acting independently. RESULTS: Higher pre-chemotherapy NLR exhibited an association with metastasis and advanced grade of Borrmann type, and higher NLR of pre- or post-chemotherapy GC patients was related with Borrmann type grade. Moreover, higher PLT counts are associated with advanced grades of Borrmann type. Interestingly, patients with lower post-chemotherapy NLR or decreasing NLR hold better overall response rate and disease control rate than those with higher NLR or increasing NLR. Furthermore, patients with high post-chemotherapy NLR alone or higher post-chemotherapy NLR plus higher post-chemotherapy PLT. CONCLUSION: Our study suggested that high post-chemotherapy NLR and post-chemotherapy PLT might be adverse prognostic markers in advanced GC patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Engineering thiol-ene click chemistry for the preparation of a chiral stationary phase based on a [4+6]-type homochiral porous organic cage for enantiomeric separation in normal-phase and reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography.

In this study, a new chiral stationary phase (CSP) was fabricated by covalent bonding of a [4+6]-type homochiral porous organic cage (POC) CC19-R onto thiolated silica via a thiol-ene click reaction. The CC19-R was synthesized via Schiff-base reaction between 2-hydroxybenzene-1,3,5-tricarbaldehyde and (1R, 2R)-(-)-1,2-diaminocyclohexane. The enantioseparation capability of the resulting CC19-R-based CSP was systematically evaluated upon separating various chiral compounds or chiral pharmaceuticals in normal phase HPLC (NP-HPLC) and reversed phase HPLC (RP-HPLC), including alcohols, organic acids, ketones, diols, esters, and amines. Fifteen racemates were enantioseparated in NP-HPLC and 11 racemates in RP-HPLC. Some racemates have been well separated, such as 4-chlorobenzhydrol, cetirizine (in the form of dihydrochloride), 1,2-diphenyl-1,2-ethanediol, and 3-(benzyloxy)propane-1,2-diol whose resolution values reached 3.66, 4.23, 6.50, and 3.50, respectively. When compared with a previously reported chiral POC-based column (NC1-R column), eight racemates were not separated on the NC1-R column in NP-HPLC and five racemates were not separated in RP-HPLC, but were well resolved on this column, revealing that the enantioselectivity and separable range of chiral POCs-type columns could be significantly widened using this fabricated CC19-R column. Moreover, the resolution performance of the CC19-R column was also compared with commercial Chiralpak AD-H [CSP: Amylose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate)] and Chiralcel OD-H [CSP: Cellulose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate)] columns. The column also can separate some racemates that could not be separated or not well be separated by the two commercial columns, showing its good complementarity to the two commercial columns on chiral separation. In addition, the column also had good stability and reproducibility with the relative standard deviation (n = 5) of the retention time and resolution lower than 1.0% and 1.8%, respectively, after it had undergone multiple injections (100, 200, 300, and 400 times). This work indicated that the features of good resolution ability and simple synthesis methods using with this POC-based CSP provided chiral POCs with potential application prospects in HPLC racemic separation.

Winogradskyella immobilis sp. nov., an Alginate-Hydrolyzing Bacterium Isolated from the Brown Algae Saccharina japonica.

A novel bacterium, designated E313T, was isolated from brown algae Saccharina japonica in Weihai, China. The strain is a Gram-stain-negative, non-flagellated, non-gliding, aerobic, rod-shaped bacterium that grows optimally at 28 °C with pH levels between 7.0 and 7.5 and in the presence of 2-3% (w/v) NaCl. Phylogenetic analyses based on its 16S rRNA gene sequence placed the strain within the monophyletic cluster of the genus Winogradskyella, exhibiting the highest similarity to Winogradskyella wandonensis KCTC 32579T (96.8%). Genome comparison of strain E313T with W. wandonensis KCTC 32579T and W. thalassocola KCTC 12221T revealed average nucleotide identity (ANI) values of 74.2% and 74.8%, and DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) values of 19.0% and 19.5%, respectively, lower than prokaryotic species delineation values. The strain E313T could hydrolyze alginate. A total of 123 carbohydrate-active enzymes were annotated according to the CAZy database. Especially, one oligo-alginate lyase and one poly(ß-D-mannuronate) lyase were identified in the genome of strain E313T. Strain E313T possessed MK-6 quinone and iso-C15:0, iso-C15:1 G, iso-C17:0 3-OH, and iso-C15:0 3-OH as main fatty acids. Its major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), one unidentified aminolipid, and two unknown lipids. Thus, based on phylogenetic, physiological, and chemotaxonomic analyses, we propose a novel species of the genus Winogradskyella, named Winogradskyella immobilis sp. nov., with E313T (= MCCC 1H00506T = KCTC 82731T) as the type strain.

Association between lumbar endplate damage and bone mineral density in patients with degenerative disc disease.

BACKGROUND: To explore the independent association between lumbar endplate damage and bone mineral density (BMD) in patients with degenerative disc disease (DDD). METHODS: This retrospective investigation was based out of a prospectively collected database from the Affiliated Kunshan Hospital of Jiangsu University. Data from 192 DDD patients, collected between December 2018 and January 2022, were chosen for the final analysis. The average total endplate score (TEPS) of lumbar(L) 1-L4 was assessed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and represents the extent of endplate damage. Osteoporosis severity was assessed via the L1-L4 BMD evidenced by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Other analyzed information included gender, age, body mass index (BMI), and osteophyte score (OSTS). Uni- and multivariate linear regression analyses were employed to evaluate the association between average TEPS and BMD of L1-L4. Moreover, the generalized additive model (GAM) was employed for non-linear association analysis. RESULTS: Upon gender, age, BMI, and OSTS adjustments, a strong independent inverse relationship was observed between average TEPS and BMD (ß, -0.021; 95% CI, -0.035 to -0.007, P-value = 0.00449). In addition, the gender stratification analysis revealed a linear relationship in males, and a non-linear relationship in females. Specifically, there was a significantly stronger negative relationship between average TEPS and BMD in females, when the average TEPS was < 3.75 (ß, -0.063; 95% CI, -0.114 to -0.013; P-value = 0.0157). However, at an average TEPS > 3.75, the relationship did not reach significance (ß, 0.007; 95% CI, -0.012 to 0.027; P-value = 0.4592). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated the independent negative association between average TEPS and BMD values of L1-L4. Upon gender stratification, a linear relationship was observed in males, and a non-linear association in females. The findings reveal that patients with osteoporosis or endplate damage require more detailed examinations and treatment regimen.

Pontibacterium sinense sp. nov., a nitrate-reducing and thiosulphate-oxidizing bacterium, isolated from coastal sediment.

A novel bacterial strain, N1Y112T, was isolated from coastal sediment collected in Weihai, PR China. This Gram-stain-negative, facultatively anaerobic, motile rod-shaped bacterium exhibited the ability to oxidize thiosulphate to sulphate and reduce nitrate to ammonia through its Sox system and nitrate reduction pathway, respectively. The strain grew at 20-35 °C (optimum, 28 °C), pH 6.0-10.0 (optimum, pH 7.5) and in the presence of 1.0-5.0 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 3.0 %). Major fatty acids present in the strain included summed feature 8 (comprising C18 : 1 ω7c and/or C18 : 1 ω6c), summed feature 3 (comprising C16 : 1 ω7c and/or C16 : 1 ω6c) and C16 : 0. Its polar lipid profile consisted of one phosphatidylethanolamine, two unknown aminolipids, one aminophosphoglycolipid, one diphosphatidylglycerol, one phosphatidylglycerol, two unknown phospholipids and two unknown lipids. Strain N1Y112T contained ubiquinone-7 and ubiquinone-8 as isoprenoid quinones, with a genomic G+C content of 50.6 mol%. Based on phylogenetic analysis, strain N1Y112T clustered with Pontibacterium granulatum JCM 30316T being its closest relative at 97.1 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity. The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values were 77.1 and 20.7 %, respectively, which suggest significant differences between genomes of N1Y112T and P. granulatum JCM 30316T. Based on the findings from its phenotypic, genotypic and phylogenetic analyses, N1Y112T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Pontibacterium, for which the name Pontibacterium sinense sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is N1Y112T (=KCTC 72927T=MCCC 1H00429T).

RGFP966 exerts neuroprotective effect via HDAC3/Nrf2 pathway after surgical brain injury in rats.

Histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) restores chromatin nucleosomes to a transcriptional repression state, thereby inhibiting gene expression. Studies have found that HDAC3 expression is upregulated in a variety of pathological states of the central nervous system and related to its neurotoxicity. However, the role of HDAC3 in surgical brain injury (SBI) has not been thoroughly explored. OBJECTIVE: To observe the role of HDAC3 in SBI and the outcome of SBI after its suppression. METHODS: Rat SBI model was used, and intraperitoneal injection of RGFP966 (HDAC3 specific inhibitor) was used to detect the changes of HDAC3 expression and neuronal apoptosis indexes in the surrounding cortex of SBI rats, and the cerebral edema and neurological outcome of rats were observed. RESULTS: The expression of HDAC3 in the peripheral cortex of SBI rats was increased, and RGFP966 inhibited the upregulation of HDAC3 and saved the nerve cells around the damaged area. In addition, RGFP966 increased the expression of anti-oxidative stress proteins such as heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2). At the same time, the expression of apoptotic marker protein cleaved-caspase-3 (cle-caspase-3) was decreased, while the expression level of apoptotic protective marker protein B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) was increased. In addition, this research demonstrated that in the RGFP966 rat SBI model, the expression level of antioxidant modifier nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) was increased. CONCLUSION: RGFP966 might activate HDAC3/Nrf2 signaling pathway by inhibiting HDAC3, regulated oxidative stress and nerve cell apoptosis induced by SBI in rat SBI model, reduced brain edema, and had a protective effect on nerve injury. It might be a potential target of SBI pathology.

A novel pillar[3]trianglimine macrocycle with a deep cavity used as a chiral selector to prepare a chiral stationary phase by thiol-ene click reaction for enantioseparation in high-performance liquid chromatography.

A chiral pillar[3]trianglimine (C60 H72 N6 O6 ) with a deep cavity has been developed as a chiral selector and bonded to thiolated silica by thiol-ene click reaction to fabricate a novel chiral stationary phase for enantioseparation in high-performance liquid chromatography. The enantioseparation performance of the fabricated chiral stationary phase has been evaluated by separating various racemic compounds, including alcohols, esters, amines, ketones, amino acids, and epoxides, in both normal-phase and reversed-phase elution modes. In total, 14 and 17 racemates have been effectively separated in these two separation modes, respectively. In comparison with two widely used chiral columns (Chiralcel OD-H and Chiralpak AD-H), our novel chiral stationary phase offered good chiral separation complementarity, separating some of the tested racemates that could not be separated or were only partially separated on these two commercial columns. The influences of analyte mass, mobile phase composition, and column temperature on chiral separation have been investigated. Good repeatability, stability, and column-to-column reproducibility of the chiral stationary phase for enantioseparation have been observed. After the fabricated column had been eluted up to 400 times, the relative standard deviations (n = 5) of resolution (Rs) and retention time of the separated analytes were < 0.39% and < 0.20%, respectively. The relative standard deviations (n = 3) of Rs and retention time for column-to-column reproducibility were < 4.6% and < 5.2%, respectively. This study demonstrated that the new chiral stationary phase has great prospects for chiral separation in high-performance liquid chromatography.

Research on Electroacupuncture Parameters for Cancer Pain Based on Data Mining.

BACKGROUND: Cancer pain, a common complication of this disease, has been widely treated by electroacupuncture in recent years. However, there are numerous treatment parameters that are not conducive to clinical translation applications. This study aims to summarize the stimulation parameters commonly used in electroacupuncture treating cancer pain by data mining and visualization techniques to provide a basis for the future acupuncture technology transformation and selection of optimal stimulation parameters. METHODS: Nine databases, including Pubmed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, OVID, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, China Biology Medicine disk, China Science and Technology Journal Database, and Wanfang Database, were searched for clinical studies on electroacupuncture treatment cancer pain published between January 2012 and September 2022. A database was established using Microsoft Excel 2020 and analyzed with SPSS Modeler 18.1 software and SPSS statistics 26.0 software. RESULTS: Twenty-four articles were included according to the established criteria. The most used electroacupuncture stimulation parameters were a dilatational wave, the current frequency of 2/100 Hz, stimulation duration of 30 minutes per treatment, and frequency of treatment once a day. Fifty-eight acupoints were mentioned, and the total frequency of acupoints involved was 156 times. The most used ones include Zusanli (ST36), Sanyinjiao (SP06), Hegu (LI04), Neiguan (PC06), Quchi (LI11), Taichong (LR03), Ashi point, Jiaji point, and those most generally used acupoints that are closely arranged on the Stomach Channel of Foot Yangming and the Spleen Channel of Foot Taiyin. The association analysis of acupoints revealed that the most supported acupoint pair was Sanyinjiao (SP06) and Zusanli (ST36). Cluster analysis demonstrated 3 groups, 1 for obligatory acupoints, 1 for Ashi point, and the third for Jiaji point. CONCLUSIONS: A dilatational wave, the current frequency of 2/100 Hz, 30-minute stimulation, and acupoints of the Stomach Channel of Foot Yangming and the Spleen Channel of Foot Taiyin selection are frequently used in electroacupuncture for treating cancer pain. Due to the limitations of this study, further research and more standardized, multi-center, large-sample clinical trials can be carried out to guide optimizing acupuncture treatment schemes and promote the formation of TCM-characteristic technologies for cancer pain.