Engineering of Cerium Modified TiNb2O7 Nanoparticles For Low-Temperature Lithium-Ion Battery.

Although TiNb2O7 (TNO) with comparable operating potential and ideal theoretical capacity is considered to be the most ideal replacement for negative Li4Ti5O12 (LTO), the low ionic and electronic conductivity still limit its practical application as satisfactory anode for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) with high-power density. Herein, TNO nanoparticles modified by Cerium (Ce) with outstanding electrochemical performance are synthesized. The successful introduction of Ce3+ in the lattice leads to increased interplanar spacing, refined grain size, more oxygen vacancy, and a smaller lithium diffusion barrier, which are conducive to improve conductivity of both Li+ and electrons. As a result, the modified TNO reaches high reversible capacity of 256.0 mA h g-1 at 100 mA g-1 after 100 cycles, and 183.0 mA h g-1 even under 3200 mA g-1. In particular, when the temperature drops to -20 °C, the cell undergoing 1500 cycles at a high current density of 500 mA g-1 can still reach 89.7 mA h g-1, corresponding to a capacity decay rate per cycle of only 0.033%. This work provides a new way to improve the electrochemical properties of alternative anodes for LIBs at extreme temperature.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of tanshinone IIA derivatives as NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitors.

Natural product structures have long provided valuable pharmacophores and even candidates for drug discovery. Tanshinone scaffold showed moderately inhibitory activity in NLRP3 inflammasome/IL-1ß pathway. Herein, we designed a series of derivatives on different regions of Tanshinone IIA (TNA) scaffold. The biological evaluation identified compound T10, a scaffold hybrid of TNA and salicylic acid, as a potent NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor. Mechanistically, T10 inhibits the production of ROS and prevents NLRP3 inflammasome-dependent IL-1ß production. In addition, treatment with T10 significantly attenuated inflammatory response in DSS-induced peritonitis. Our work describes a potential tanshinone-based derivative, which needs to be further structurally optimized as NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitors for treating inflammatory disorders.

Photodegradation of polychlorinated biphenyls in water/nitrogen-doped silica and air/nitrogen-doped silica systems: Kinetics, mechanism and quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) analysis.

Developing efficient and low-cost photocatalytic materials is essential for removing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). In this work, the photodegradation process of fourteen representative polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in both water/nitrogen-doped SiO2 (N-SiO2) and air/N-SiO2 systems was studied. The photodegradation kinetics of PCBs is consistent with the pseudo-first-order kinetic equation. The variation in the degradation effects of different PCBs in the two systems is primarily related to the position of the Cl substituent and the effective absorption wavelength range of PCBs. A total of fourteen intermediates for 4'-Dichlorobiphenyl (PCB-15), 2,2',4,4',6,6'-Hexachlorobiphenyl (PCB-155), and 2,2',3,3',4,4',5,5',6,6'-Decachlorobiphenyl (PCB-209) generated from four reaction pathways were identified based on both mass spectrometry analysis and theoretical calculations. Using the values of lnk (k denotes pseudo-first-order kinetic constants) for the 11 PCBs in the training set and the calculated molecular and structural parameters, quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) models for the two systems were constructed by using multiple linear regression (MLR) method to better understand the factors affecting the photodegradation rate of PCBs. The QSAR equations were obtained with Cl atom substitution at position 3 (N3) as the main parameter, which were lnk = -1.98 - 0.19 N3 for the water/N-SiO2 system and lnk = -1.56 - 0.34 N3 for the air/N-SiO2 system, with the correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.66 and 0.73, leave-one-out cross-validation (Q2LOO) of 0.51 and 0.59, respectively, and bootstrapping validation coefficients (Q2BOOT) values of both 0.74, confirming that the models were well fitted and showed high robustness and prediction ability. This study provides valuable insights into photocatalytic degradation studies of PCBs.

Photodegradation of 2-chlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2-CDD) on the surface of municipal solid waste incineration fly ash: Kinetics and product analysis.

Considering that waste incineration fly ash is the main carrier of dioxins and can migrate over long distances in the atmosphere, it is of great significance to study the photochemical transformation behavior of dioxins on the surface of fly ash. In this work, 2-chlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2-CDD) was selected to conduct a systematic photochemical study. The influence of various factors on the photodegradation of 2-CDD were first explored, and the results showed that small particle size of fly ash, low concentration of 2-CDD and appropriate level of humidity were more conducive to photodegradation, with the highest degradation percentage reaching 76%-84%. The components of fly ash (Zn (Ⅱ), Al (Ⅲ), Cu (Ⅱ) and SiO2) also had a certain promoting effect on the degradation of 2-CDD, which increases the degradation efficiency by 10%-20%, because they could act as effective photocatalysts to produce free radicals for reaction. With a higher total light exposure intensity, natural light environments led to a more complete degradation of 2-CDD than laboratory Xe lamp irradiation (90% degradation Vs. 79% degradation). Based on chemical probe and radical quenching experiment, hydroxyl radical also contributed to 2-CDD photodegradation on fly ash. A total of 16 intermediate products were detected by mass spectrometry analysis, and four initial reaction pathways of 2-CDD were speculated in the process, including dechlorination, ether bond cleavage, hydroxyl substitution, and hydroxyl addition. According to the results of density functional theory calculation, the reaction channels of ether bond cleavage and •OH attack were determined. The toxicity assessment software tool (TEST) was used to assess the toxicity and bioconcentration coefficient of reaction products, and it was found that the overall toxicity of the photodegradation products was reduced. This study would provide new insights into the environmental fate of dioxins during long-range atmospheric migration process.

PB-LKS: a python package for predicting phage-bacteria interaction through local K-mer strategy.

Bacteriophages can help the treatment of bacterial infections yet require in-silico models to deal with the great genetic diversity between phages and bacteria. Despite the tolerable prediction performance, the application scope of current approaches is limited to the prediction at the species level, which cannot accurately predict the relationship of phages across strain mutants. This has hindered the development of phage therapeutics based on the prediction of phage-bacteria relationships. In this paper, we present, PB-LKS, to predict the phage-bacteria interaction based on local K-mer strategy with higher performance and wider applicability. The utility of PB-LKS is rigorously validated through (i) large-scale historical screening, (ii) case study at the class level and (iii) in vitro simulation of bacterial antiphage resistance at the strain mutant level. The PB-LKS approach could outperform the current state-of-the-art methods and illustrate potential clinical utility in pre-optimized phage therapy design.

Interaction between adolescent sleep rhythms and gender in an obese population.

BACKGROUND: The obesity rate of adolescents is gradually increasing, which seriously affects their mental health, and sleep plays an important role in adolescent obesity. AIM: To investigate the relationship between sleep rhythm and obesity among adolescents and further explores the interactive effect of sleep rhythm and gender on adolescent obesity, providing a theoretical basis for developing interventions for adolescent obesity. METHODS: Research data source Tianjin Mental Health Promotion Program for Students. From April to June 2022, this study selected 14201 students from 13 middle schools in a certain district of Tianjin as the research subject using the convenient cluster sampling method. Among these students, 13374 accepted and completed the survey, with an effective rate of 94.2%.The demographic data and basic information of adolescents, such as height and weight, were collected through a general situation questionnaire. The sleep rhythm of adolescents was evaluated using the reduced version of the morningness-eveningness questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 13374 participants (6629 females, accounting for 49.56%; the average age is 15.21 ± 1.433 years) were analyzed. Among them, the survey showed that 2942 adolescent were obesity, accounting for 22% and 2104 adolescent were overweight, accounting for 15.7%. Among them, 1692 male adolescents are obese, with an obesity rate of 25.1%, higher than 18.9% of female adolescents. There is a statistically significant difference between the three groups (χ2 = 231.522, P < 0.000). The obesity group has the smallest age (14.94 ± 1.442 years), and there is a statistical difference in age among the three groups (F = 69.996, P < 0.000).Obesity rates are higher among individuals who are not-only-child, have residential experience within six months, have family economic poverty, and have evening-type sleep (P < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis shows a correlation between sleep rhythm and adolescent obesity. Evening-type sleep rhythm can increase the risk of obesity in male adolescents [1.250 (1.067-1.468)], but the effect on female obesity is not remarkable. Further logistic regression analysis in the overall population demonstrates that the interaction between evening-type sleep rhythm and the male gender poses a risk of adolescent obesity [1.122 (1.043-1.208)]. CONCLUSION: Among adolescents, the incidence of obesity in males is higher than in females. Evening-type sleep rhythm plays an important role in male obesity but has no significant effect on female obesity. Progressive analysis suggests an interactive effect of sleep rhythm and gender on adolescent obesity, and the combination of evening-type sleep and the male gender promotes the development of adolescent obesity. In formulating precautions against adolescent obesity, obesity in male adolescents with evening-type sleep should be a critical concern.

Assessment of the UV/DCCNa and UV/NaClO oxidation process for the removal of diethyl phthalate (DEP) in the aqueous system.

In this work, the removal and transformation process of diethyl phthalate (DEP) in UV/dichloroisocyanurate (UV/DCCNa) and UV/sodium hypochlorite (UV/NaClO) systems were compared to evaluate the application potential of UV/DCCNa technology. Compared with UV/NaClO, UV/DCCNa process has the advantage of DEP removal and caused a higher degradation efficiency (93.8%) within 45 min of oxidation in ultrapure water due to the sustained release of hypochloric acid (HOCl). Fourteen intermediate products were found by high-resolution mass spectrometry, and the transformation patterns including hydroxylation, hydrolysis, chlorination, cross-coupling, and nitrosation were proposed. The oxidation processes were also performed under quasi-realistic environmental conditions, and it was found that DEP could be effectively removed in both systems, with yields of disinfection byproduct meeting the drinking water disinfection standard (<60.0 µg/L). Comparing the single system, the removal of DEP decreased in the mixed system containing five kinds of PAEs, which could be attributed to the regeneration of DEP and the competitive effect of •OH occurred among the Dimethyl phthalate (DMP), DEP, Dipropyl phthalate (DPrP), Diallyl phthalate (DAP) and Diisobutyl phthalate (DiBP). However, a greater removal performance presented in UV/DCCNa system compared with UV/NaClO system (69.4% > 62.1%). Further, assessment of mutagenicity and developmental toxicity by Toxicity Estimation Software Tool (T.E.S.T) software indicated that UV/DCCNa process has fewer adverse effects on the environment and is a more environmentally friendly chlorination method. This study may provide some guidance for selecting the suitable disinfection technology for drinking water treatment.

The microbiome, resistome, and their co-evolution in sewage at a hospital for infectious diseases in Shanghai, China.

The emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) caused by the overuse of antibiotics severely threatens human health. Hospital sewage may be a key transmission hub for ARB. However, the complex link between the microbiome and resistomeresistance in hospital sewage remains unclear. In this study, metagenomic assembly and binning methods were used to investigate the microbial community, resistome, and association of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) with ARB in sewage from 10 representative sites (outpatient building, surgery building, internal medicine buildings [IMB1-4], staff dormitory, laboratory animal building, tuberculosis building [TBB], and hospital wastewater treatment plant) of a hospital in Shanghai from June 2021 to February 2022. A total of 252 ARG subtypes, belonging to 17 antibiotic classes, were identified. The relative abundance of KPC-2 was higher at IMBs and TBB than at other sites. Of the ARG-carrying contigs, 47.3%-62.6% were associated with mobile genetic elements, and the proportion of plasmid-associated ARGs was significantly higher than that of chromosome-associated ARGs. Although a similar microbiome composition was shared, certain bacteria were enriched at different sites. Potential pathogens Enterococcus B faecium and Klebsiella pneumoniae were primarily enriched in IMB2 and IMB4, respectively. The same ARGs were identified in diverse bacterial hosts (especially pathogenic bacteria), and accordingly, the latter possessed multiple ARGs. Furthermore, gene flow was frequently observed in the sewage of different buildings. The results provide crucial information on the characterization profiles of resistomes in hospital sewage in Shanghai.IMPORTANCEEnvironmental antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) play a critical role in the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance, which poses a global health threat. Wastewater from healthcare facilities serves as a significant reservoir for ARGs. Here, we characterized the microbial community along with the resistome (comprising all antibiotic resistance genes) in wastewater from a specialized hospital for infectious diseases in Shanghai. Potential pathogenic bacteria (e.g., Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterococcus B faecium) were frequently detected in hospital wastewater and carried multiple ARGs. A complex link between microbiome and resistome was observed in the wastewater of this hospital. The monitoring of ARGs and antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) in hospital wastewater might be of great significance for preventing the spread of ARB.

Regulations of phage therapy across the world.

Phage therapy, a century-long treatment targeting bacterial infection, was widely abandoned after the clinical availability of antibiotics in the mid-20th century. However, the crisis of antimicrobial resistance today led to its revival in many countries. While many articles dive into its clinical application now, little research is presenting phage therapy from a regulatory perspective. Here, we focus on the regulations of phage therapy by dividing sections into Eastern Europe where it was never abandoned and Western Europe, Australia, the United States, India, and China where it only re-attracted researchers' attention in recent decades. New insights about its regulations in China are provided as little English literature has specifically discussed this previously. Ultimately, by introducing the regulations in phage therapy for human health across representative countries, we hope to provide ideas of how countries may borrow each other's adapting legislation in phage therapy to best overcome the current regulatory hurdles.

Promoting Effect of Silver Oxide Nanoparticles on the Oxidation of Bisphenol B by Ferrate(VI).

Bisphenol B (BPB, 2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl) butane), as a substitute for bisphenol A, has been widely detected in the environment and become a potential threat to environmental health. This work found that silver oxide nanoparticles (Ag2O) could greatly promote the removal of BPB by ferrate (Fe(VI)). With the presence of 463 mg/L Ag2O, the amount of Fe(VI) required for the complete removal of 10 µM BPB will be reduced by 70%. Meanwhile, the recyclability and stability of Ag2O have been verified by recycling experiments. The characterization results and in situ electrochemical analyses showed that Ag(II) was produced from Ag(I) in the Fe(VI)-Ag2O system, which has a higher electrode potential to oxidize BPB to enhance its removal. A total of 13 intermediates were identified by high-resolution mass spectrometry, and three main reaction pathways were proposed, including oxygen transfer, bond breaking, and polymerization. Based on the toxicity assessment through the ECOSAR program, it is considered that the presence of Ag2O reduced the toxicity of BPB oxidation intermediates to aquatic organisms. These results would deepen our understanding of the interaction between Fe(VI) and Ag2O, which may provide an efficient and environmentally friendly method for water and wastewater treatment.

Initiating Binary Metal Oxides Microcubes Electrsomagnetic Wave Absorber Toward Ultrabroad Absorption Bandwidth Through Interfacial and Defects Modulation.

Cobalt nickel bimetallic oxides (NiCo2O4) have received numerous attentions in terms of their controllable morphology, high temperature, corrosion resistance and strong electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption capability. However, broadening the absorption bandwidth is still a huge challenge for NiCo2O4-based absorbers. Herein, the unique NiCo2O4@C core-shell microcubes with hollow structures were fabricated via a facile sacrificial template strategy. The concentration of oxygen vacancies and morphologies of the three-dimensional (3D) cubic hollow core-shell NiCo2O4@C framework were effectively optimized by adjusting the calcination temperature. The specially designed 3D framework structure facilitated the multiple reflections of incident electromagnetic waves and provided rich interfaces between multiple components, generating significant interfacial polarization losses. Dipole polarizations induced by oxygen vacancies could further enhance the attenuation ability for the incident EM waves. The optimized NiCo2O4@C hollow microcubes exhibit superior EMW absorption capability with minimum RL (RLmin) of -84.45 dB at 8.4 GHz for the thickness of 3.0 mm. Moreover, ultrabroad effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) as large as 12.48 GHz (5.52-18 GHz) is obtained. This work is believed to illuminate the path to synthesis of high-performance cobalt nickel bimetallic oxides for EMW absorbers with excellent EMW absorption capability, especially in broadening effective absorption bandwidth.

Oxidative degradation and possible interactions of coexisting decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) on polystyrene microplastics in UV/chlorine process.

This work was to investigate the transformation of coexisting decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) on microplastics and their possible interactions in UV/chlorine process. Compared with pristine microplastics, the highly aged polystyrene (PS) showed an inhibitory effect on degradation of BDE-209. Increasing initial concentration of BDE-209 on PS inhibited degradation, while the chlorine concentration and pH did not affect the final degradation efficiency. Moreover, the presence of NO3-, SO42-, HCO3- and HA in water was unfavorable for BDE-209 degradation. According to the experimental and calculation results, the contribution to the degradation of BDE-209 was ranked as direct photolysis > HO• > •Cl in the UV/ chlorine system. Chlorination products released by PS during UV/chlorination were detected. Four possible reaction pathways of BDE-209 were proposed, which mainly involved debromination, hydroxylation, chlorine substitution, cleavage of ether bond, and intramolecular elimination of HBr. It was worth noting that PS microplastics not only inhibited the degradation of BDE-209, but also affected the type and abundance of its transformation products. Meanwhile, interaction products of PS and BDE-209 were determined, which was attributed to reactions of PS-derived radicals with •Br/•C6Br5 and •Cl. Results of toxicity evaluation showed that the introduction of carbon-halogen bonds, especially C-Br bond, increased the toxicity of chain scission products of PS. This work provides some new insights into transformation, interaction, and associated ecological risks of coexisting microplastics and surface adsorbed contaminants in the UV/chlorine process of drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs).

Development of phage resistance in multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae is associated with reduced virulence: a case report of a personalised phage therapy.

OBJECTIVES: Phage-resistant bacteria often emerge rapidly when performing phage therapy. However, the relationship between the emergence of phage-resistant bacteria and improvements in clinical symptoms is still poorly understood. METHODS: An inpatient developed a pulmonary infection caused by multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae. He received a first course of treatment with a single nebulized phage (ΦKp_GWPB35) targeted at his bacterial isolate of Kp7450. After 14 days, he received a second course of treatment with a phage cocktail (ΦKp_GWPB35+ΦKp_GWPA139). Antibiotic treatment was continued throughout the course of phage therapy. Whole-genome analysis was used to identify mutations in phage-resistant strains. Mutated genes associated with resistance were further analysed by generating knockouts of Kp7450 and by measuring phage adsorption rates of bacteria treated with proteinase K and periodate. Bacterial virulence was evaluated in mouse and zebrafish infection models. RESULTS: Phage-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae strains emerged after the second phage treatment. Comparative genomic analyses revealed that fabF was deleted in phage-resistant strains. The fabF knockout strain (Kp7450ΔfabF) resulted in an altered structure of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which was identified as the host receptor for the therapeutic phages. Virulence evaluations in mice and zebrafish models showed that LPS was the main determinant of virulence in Kp7450 and alteration of LPS structure in Kp7450ΔfabF, and the bacteriophage-resistant strains reduced their virulence at cost. DISCUSSION: This study may shed light on the mechanism by which some patients experience clinical improvement in their symptoms post phage therapy, despite the incomplete elimination of pathogenic bacteria.

Comparitive Analysis of the Chloroplast Genomes of Three Houpoea Plants.

The genus Houpoea belongs to the family Magnoliaceae, and the species in this genus have important medicinal values. However, the investigation of the correlation between the evolution of the genus and its phylogeny has been severely hampered by the unknown range of species within the genus and the paucity of research on its chloroplast genome. Thus, we selected three species of Houpoea: Houpoea officinalis var officinalis (OO), Houpoea officinalis var. biloba (OB), and Houpoea rostrata (R). With lengths of 160,153 bp (OO), 160,011 bp (OB), and 160,070 bp (R), respectively, the whole chloroplast genomes (CPGs) of these three Houpoea plants were acquired via Illumina sequencing technology, and the findings were annotated and evaluated. These three chloroplast genomes were revealed by the annotation findings to be typical tetrads. A total of 131, 132, and 120 different genes were annotated. The CPGs of the three species had 52, 47, and 56 repeat sequences, which were primarily found in the ycf2 gene. A useful tool for identifying species is the approximately 170 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) that have been found. The border area of the reverse repetition region (IR) was studied, and it was shown that across the three Houpoea plants, it is highly conservative, with only changes between H. rostrata and the other two plants observed. Numerous highly variable areas (rps3-rps19, rpl32-trnL, ycf1, ccsA, etc.) have the potential to serve as the barcode label for Houpoea, according to an examination of mVISTA and nucleotide diversity (Pi). Phylogenetic relation indicates that Houpoea is a monophyletic taxon, and its genus range and systematic position are consistent with the Magnoliaceae system of Sima Yongkang-Lu Shugang, including five species and varieties of H. officinalis var. officinalis, H. rostrata, H. officinalis var. biloba, Houpoea obovate, and Houpoea tripetala, which evolved and differentiated from the ancestors of Houpoea to the present Houpoea in the above order. This study provides valuable information on the genus Houpoea, enriches the CPG information on Houpoea genus, and provides genetic resources for the further classification of and phylogenetic research on Houpoea.

Insights into manganese(VII) enhanced oxidation of benzophenone-8 by ferrate(VI): Mechanism and transformation products.

Benzophenones (BPs) are commonly used as UV filters in cosmetics and plastics products and are potentially toxic to the environment. This paper presents kinetics and products of BPs oxidation by ferrate(VI) (FeO42-, Fe(VI)) promoted by permanganate (Mn(VII)) . Degradation of 10.0 µM 2,2'-dihydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone (BP-8)were determined under different experimental conditions ([Mn(VII)] = 0.5-1.5 µM, [Fe(VI)] = 50-150 µM, and pH = 7.0-10.0). The addition of Mn(VII) traces to Fe(VI)-BP-8 solution enhanced kinetics and efficiency of the removal. Similar enhanced removals were also seen for other BPs (BP-1, BP-3, and BP-4) under optimized conditions. The second-order rate constants (k, M-1s-1) of the degradation of BPs showed positive relationship with the energy of the highest occupied orbital (EHOMO). The possible interaction between Mn(VII) and BP-8 and the enhanced generation of Fe(V)/Fe(IV) and •OH was proposed to facilitate the oxidation of the target benzophenone, supported by in-situ electrochemical measurements, theoretical calculations and reactive species quenching experiments. Thirteen oxidation products of BP-8 suggested hydroxylation, bond breaking, polymerization and carboxylation steps in the oxidation. Toxicity assessments by ECOSAR program showed that the oxidized intermediate products posed a tapering ecological risk during the degradation process. Overall, the addition of Mn(VII) could improve the oxidation efficiency of Fe(VI).

Rapid Bacteriophage Quantification by Digital Biosensing on a SlipChip Microfluidic Device.

The rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global public health concern, and it is urgent to develop new antimicrobial drugs and alternative therapies. There has been growing interest in the use of phage therapy as an alternative to treat AMR, and it has shown promising results in early studies and clinical trials. Phage quantification is a crucial step in the development and application of phage therapy. The traditional double-layer plaque assay requires cumbersome manual operations and typically takes up to 18 h to yield a rough phage estimation. Spectrophotometry, flow cytometry, and PCR-based methods cannot distinguish between infectious and noninfectious phages. Here, we developed a digital biosensing method for rapid bacteriophage quantification on a digital phage SlipChip (dp-SlipChip) microfluidic device containing 2304 microdroplets in 3 nL. By compartmentalizing the phages and bacteria in nanoliter droplets and analyzing the growth profile of bacteria at 3 h, the number of infectious phages can be precisely quantified. The results from the dp-SlipChip were consistent with the traditional double-layer plaque assay method and exhibited higher consistency and repeatability. The dp-SlipChip does not require a complex fluidic handling instrument to generate and manipulate droplets. This SlipChip-based digital biosensing method not only provides a promising tool for rapid phage quantification, which is important for the use of phages in clinical practice to treat antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, but can also be used as an ultrasensitive, high-specificity method to detect bacteria. Furthermore, this approach can be applied to other digital biology studies that require analysis at the single-object level.

Associate toxin-antitoxin with CRISPR-Cas to kill multidrug-resistant pathogens.

CreTA, CRISPR-regulated toxin-antitoxin (TA), safeguards CRISPR-Cas immune systems by inducing cell dormancy/death upon their inactivation. Here, we characterize a bacterial CreTA associating with the I-F CRISPR-Cas in Acinetobacter. CreT is a distinct bactericidal small RNA likely targeting several essential RNA molecules that are required to initiate protein synthesis. CreA guides the CRISPR effector to transcriptionally repress CreT. We further demonstrate a proof-of-concept antimicrobial strategy named ATTACK, which AssociaTes TA and CRISPR-Cas to Kill multidrug resistant (MDR) pathogens. In this design, CRISPR-Cas is programed to target antibiotic resistance gene(s) to selectively kill MDR pathogens or cure their resistance, and when CRISPR-Cas is inactivated or suppressed by unwanted genetic or non-genetic events/factors, CreTA triggers cell death as the last resort. Our data highlight the diversity of RNA toxins coevolving with CRISPR-Cas, and illuminate a combined strategy of CRISPR and TA antimicrobials to 'ATTACK' MDR pathogens.

Artificial Cultivation Changes Foliar Endophytic Fungal Community of the Ornamental Plant Lirianthe delavayi.

Many wild ornamental plant species have been introduced to improve the landscape of cities; however, until now, no study has been performed to explore the composition and function of foliar endophytes associated with cultivated rare plants in cities after their introduction. In this study, we collected the leaves of the healthy ornamental plant Lirianthe delavayi from wild and artificially cultivated habitats in Yunnan and compared their diversity, species composition, and functional predictions of their foliar endophytic fungal community based on high-throughput sequencing technology. In total, 3125 ASVs of fungi were obtained. The alpha diversity indices of wild L. delavayi populations are similar to those of cultivated samples; however, the species compositions of endophytic fungal ASVs were significantly varied in the two habitats. The dominant phylum is Ascomycota, accounting for more than 90% of foliar endophytes in both populations; relatively, artificial cultivation trends to increase the frequency of common phytopathogens of L. delavayi, such as Alternaria, Erysiphe. The relative abundance of 55 functional predictions is different between wild and cultivated L. delavayi leaves (p < 0.05); in particular, chromosome, purine metabolism, and peptidases are significantly increased in wild samples, while flagellar assembly, bacterial chemotaxis, and fatty acid metabolism are significantly enhanced in cultivated samples. Our results indicated that artificial cultivation can greatly change the foliar endophytic fungal community of L. delavayi, which is valuable for understanding the influence of the domestication process on the foliar fungal community associated with rare ornamental plants in urban environments.

Rapid point-of-care detection of BK virus in urine by an HFman probe-based loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay and a finger-driven microfluidic chip.

Background: BK virus (BKV)-associated nephropathy (BKVN) is one of the leading causes of renal dysfunction and graft loss in renal transplant recipients. Early monitoring of BKV in urine is crucial to minimize the deleterious effects caused by this virus on preservation of graft function. Methods: We report a simple, rapid, sensitive loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay using an HFman probe for detecting BKV in urine. To evaluate the performance of the assay, a comparison of the HFman probe-based LAMP (HF-LAMP) assay with two qPCR assays was performed using urine samples from 132 HIV-1 infected individuals. We further evaluated the performance of HF-LAMP directly using the urine samples from these HIV-1 infected individuals and 30 kidney transplant recipients without DNA extraction. Furthermore, we combined the HF-LAMP assay with a portable finger-driven microfluidic chip for point-of-care testing (POCT). Results: The assay has high specificity and sensitivity with a limit of detection (LOD) of 12 copies/reaction and can be completed within 30 min. When the DNA was extracted, the HF-LAMP assay showed an equivalent and potentially even higher sensitivity (93.5%) than the qPCR assays (74.2-87.1%) for 132 urine samples from HIV-1 infected individuals. The HF-LAMP assay can be applied in an extraction-free format and can be completed within 45 min using a simple heat block. Although some decreased performance was seen on urine samples from HIV-1 infected individuals, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the extraction-free BKV HF-LAMP assay were 95%, 100%, and 96.7% for 30 clinical urine samples from kidney transplant recipients, respectively. Conclusion: The assay has high specificity and sensitivity. Combined with a portable finger-driven microfluidic chip for easy detection, this method shows great potential for POCT detection of BKV.

The relationship between health literacy and internet addiction among middle school students in Chongqing, China: A cross-sectional survey study.

BACKGROUND: Internet addiction has emerged as a major global concern as a potential adverse impact of internet exposure on adolescents. Internet addiction is associated with many demographic variables; however, there is a lack of consensus on its relationship with health literacy. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess the rates of internet addiction and health literacy level among middle school students (grades 7 to 12) in Chongqing, China, as well as to investigate the association between them. METHODS: A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted among 8971 students who were randomly selected by using stratified cluster sampling between November and December 2019. The Internet Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire, Adolescent Health Literacy Scale and a self-designed basic information questionnaire were used to collect data. Chi-square tests were performed to compare the differences in the distribution of internet addiction across health literacy levels as well as some sociodemographic characteristics. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify the association between health literacy and internet addiction. RESULTS: The prevalence of internet addiction among middle school students in Chongqing was 6.1%. The percentage of the students who spent more than 4 hours online every day in the past week was 14.3%. In addition, 26.7%, 26.0%, 28.3% and 26.3% of the participants reported low functional, interactive, critical and total health literacy, respectively. After adjusting for the confounding effects of demographics, multivariate regression analysis showed that critical health literacy was a protective variable for internet addiction, while functional, and interactive health literacy were the risk variable (P<0.05). Furthermore, the internet addiction rates were higher among boys, students with good peer relationships, and students without parental supervision, whereas internet addiction rates were lowest among students in grade 12. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of internet addiction among middle school students in Chongqing is relatively high. Internet addiction is strongly negatively associated with critical health literacy, but it is positively associated with functional and interactive health literacy but not total health literacy. This study provides preliminary evidence for the predictive role of health literacy in internet addiction of adolescents.