CmDOF18 positively regulates salinity tolerance in Chrysanthemum morifolium by activating the oxidoreductase system.

BACKGROUND: Chrysanthemum, one of the four major cut flowers all over the world, is very sensitive to salinity during cultivation. DNA binding with one finger (DOF) transcription factors play important roles in biological processes in plants. The response mechanism of CmDOF18 from chrysanthemum to salt stress remains unclear. RESULTS: In this study, CmDOF18 was cloned from Chrysanthemum morifolium, and its expression was induced by salinity stress. The gene encodes a 291-amino acid protein with a typical DOF domain. CmDOF18 was localized to the nucleus in onion epidermal cells and showed transcriptional activation in yeast. CmDOF18 transgenic plants were generated to identify the role of this gene in resistance to salinity treatment. Chrysanthemum plants overexpressing CmDOF18 were more resistant to salinity stress than wild-type plants. Under salinity stress, the malondialdehyde content and leaf electrolyte conductivity in CmDOF18-overexpressing transgenic plants were lower than those in wild-type plants, while the proline content, chlorophyll content, superoxide dismutase activity and peroxidase activity were higher than those in wild-type plants. The opposite findings were observed in gene-silenced plants compared with wild-type plants. The gene expression levels of oxidoreductase increased in CmDOF18-overexpressing transgenic plants but decreased in CmDOF18-SRDX gene-silenced transgenic plants. CONCLUSION: In summary, we analyzed the function of CmDOF18 from chrysanthemum, which may regulate salinity stress in plants, possibly due to its role in the regulation of oxidoreductase.

Expression and prognostic significance of the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway in AIDS-related non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

OBJECTIVE: Immune tolerance and evasion play a critical role in virus-driven malignancies. However, the phenotype and clinical significance of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2, in aggressive acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related non-Hodgkin lymphoma (AR-NHL) remain poorly understood, particularly in the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive subset. METHODS: We used in situ hybridization with EBV-encoded RNA (EBER) to assess the EBV status. We performed immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry analysis to evaluate components of the PD-1/PD-L1/L2 pathway in a multi-institutional cohort of 58 patients with AR-NHL and compared EBV-positive and EBV-negative cases. RESULTS: The prevalence of EBV+ in AR-NHL was 56.9% and was associated with a marked increase in the expression of PD-1/PD-L1/PD-L2 in malignant cells. Patients with AR-NHLs who tested positive for both EBER and PD-1 exhibited lower survival rates compared to those negative for these markers (47.4% vs. 93.8%, p = 0.004). Similarly, patients positive for both EBER and PD-L1 also demonstrated poorer survival (56.5% vs. 93.8%, p = 0.043). Importantly, PD-1 tissue-expression demonstrated independent prognostic significance for overall survival in multivariate analysis and was correlated to elevated levels of LDH (r = 0.313, p = 0.031), increased PD-1+ Tregs (p = 0.006), and robust expression of EBER (r = 0.541, p < 0.001) and PD-L1 (r = 0.354, p = 0.014) expression. CONCLUSIONS: These data emphasize the importance of PD-1-mediated immune evasion in the complex landscape of immune oncology in AR-NHL co-infected with EBV, and contribute to the diagnostic classification and possible definition of immunotherapeutic strategies for this unique subgroup.

More applicable quantification of non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater treatment plants by on-site plant-integrated measurements.

Wastewater treatment is an important source of non-CO2 greenhouse gases (GHGs). However, current quantification of these GHG emissions mainly employs unit-based measurements, where emissions from individual process units are identified, leading to large uncertainties of overall emissions. Here we introduce plant-integrated measurements, where emissions from the whole plant are measured through the off-gas pipelines of the enclosed facility, to quantify methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from an underground municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in southern China. Our results show that the primary oxic tank contributes the largest in total CH4 and N2O emissions, with an average fraction of over 80 % and over 90 %, respectively. This can be attributed to the vigorous aeration process, which facilitates the transfer of dissolved CH4 and N2O from the liquid phase to the atmosphere through intensive air stripping. The plant-integrated measurements yield around 3-9 times higher emission factors of CH4 and N2O than the unit-based measurements. This difference in emission accounting is attributed to both varying survey durations of the two approaches and the omission of uncertain emission sources during unit-based measurements. The comparison between these two approaches indicates that plant-integrated measurements are more applicable for emission quantification of the whole plant whereas unit-based measurements provide insights into the emission characteristics of individual process units. More plant-integrated measurements are needed in the future for more accurate emission accounting of WWTPs.

Factors Associated with Mortality Among Severe Omicron Patients for COVID-19.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to explore the potential risk factors of mortality in patients with severe pneumonia during the omicron pandemic in South China in 2022. Methods: Clinical data was collected from patients hospitalized with omicron COVID-19. Then, patients were categorized into the non-survival and survival groups. A comprehensive analysis was conducted to analyze the factors associated with negative outcome in individuals suffering from severe omicron COVID-19. Results: In this study, 155 severe COVID-19 patients were included, comprising 55 non-survivors and 100 survivors. Non-survivors, in comparison to survivors, exhibited elevated levels of various biomarkers including neutrophil count, hypersensitive troponin T, urea, creatinine, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, interleukin-6, plasma D-dimer, and derived neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (dNLR) (P < 0.05). They also displayed reduced lymphocyte count, platelet count, and albumin levels (P < 0.05) and were more prone to developing comorbidities, including shock, acute cardiac and renal injury, acute respiratory distress syndrome, coagulation disorders, and secondary infections. Platelet count (PLT) <100 × 10^/L, interleukin-6 (IL-6) >100 pg/mL, and dNLR >5.0 independently contributed to the risk of death in patients suffering from severe COVID-19. Conclusion: PLT, IL-6, and dNRL independently contributed to the risk of mortality in patients with severe pneumonia during the 2022 omicron pandemic in South China.

Characterization of the gut microbiota and fecal and blood metabolomes under various factors in urban children from Northwest China.

Introduction: Children have regional dynamics in the gut microbiota development trajectory. Hitherto, the features and influencing factors of the gut microbiota and fecal and plasma metabolites in children from Northwest China remain unclear. Methods: Shotgun metagenomic sequencing and untargeted metabolomics were performed on 100 healthy volunteers aged 2-12 years. Results: Age, body mass index (BMI), regular physical exercise (RPE), and delivery mode (DM) significantly affect gut microbiota and metabolites. Lactobacillus, Butyricimonas, Prevotella, Alistipes, and predicted pathway propanoate production were significantly increased with age while Bifidobacterium breve, B. animalis, B. pseudocatenulatum, Streptococcus infantis, and carbohydrate degradation were decreased. Fecal metabolome revealed that the metabolism of caffeine, amino acids, and lipid significantly increased with age while galactose metabolism decreased. Noticeably, BMI was positively associated with pathogens including Erysipelatoclostridium ramosum, Parabacteroides distasonis, Ruminococcus gnavus, and amino acid metabolism but negatively associated with beneficial Akkermansia muciniphila, Alistipes finegoldii, Eubacterium ramulus, and caffeine metabolism. RPE has increased probiotic Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Anaerostipes hadrus, acetate and lactate production, and major nutrient metabolism in gut and plasma, but decreased pathobiont Bilophila wadsworthia, taurine degradation, and pentose phosphate pathway. Interestingly, DM affects the gut microbiota and metabolites throughout the whole childhood. Bifidobacterium animalis, Lactobacillus mucosae, L. ruminis, primary bile acid, and neomycin biosynthesis were enriched in eutocia, while anti-inflammatory Anaerofustis stercorihominis, Agathobaculum butyriciproducens, Collinsella intestinalis, and pathogenic Streptococcus salivarius, Catabacter hongkongensis, and amino acid metabolism were enriched in Cesarean section children. Discussion: Our results provided theoretical and data foundation for the gut microbiota and metabolites in preadolescent children's growth and development in Northwest China.

In-depth multiomic characterization of the effects of obesity in high-fat diet-fed mice.

High-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice have been widely used in the clinical investigation of obesity. However, the long-term effect of HFD on gut microbiota and metabolites, plasma and liver metabolomics, colonic and liver transcriptomics remain largely unknown. In this study, 6-week-old C57BL/6J male mice fed with HFD for 14 weeks showed increased obesity-related indexes including alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, total cholesterol, total triglyceride, free fatty acids, lipopolysaccharides, IL-6, and TNFα. Furthermore, microbial diversity and richness were also significantly decreased. In the colon, genes involved in tryptophan metabolism, PPAR signaling pathway, cholesterol metabolism, and lipid localization and transport, were upregulated. While in the liver, MAPK signaling and unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis were upregulated. Metabolomic analyses revealed decreased levels of glycerophospholipids and fatty acyl, but increased amino acids, coenzymes and vitamins, and organic acids in the colon, suggesting high absorption of oxidized lipids, while acyl-carnitine, lysophosphatidylcholine, lysophosphatidylethanolamine, and oxidized lipids were reduced in the liver, suggesting a more active lipid metabolism. Finally, correlation analyses revealed a positive correlation between gut microbiota and metabolites and the expression of genes associated with lipid localization, absorption, and transport in the colon, and nutrients and energy metabolism in the liver. Taken together, our results provide a comprehensive characterization of long-term HFD-induced obesity in mice.

The mediating role of psychological capital on the relationship between authentic leadership and innovative behaviour among Chinese nurses.

AIM: To explore the mediating role of psychological capital between authentic leadership and innovative behaviour among Chinese nurses. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. METHODS: In December 2021, online surveys were delivered among nurses from 37 hospitals in Anhui Province by convenience sampling approach. The data was collected using the Chinese version of the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire, Nurse Psychological Capital Questionnaire and Nurse Innovative Behaviour Scale. The structural equation model and bootstrap test examined the mediating role of psychological capital between authentic leadership and innovative behaviour. RESULTS: 3495 Chinese nurses from 37 Anhui Province hospitals participated in this study. The mean item score of authentic leadership was 3.25 (SD 0.83), psychological capital was 4.85 (SD 0.89), and innovative behaviour was 2.82 (SD 0.84). Authentic leadership perceived by nurses, psychological capital, and innovative behaviour were statistically significant and positively correlated with each other (r = 0.524 ~ 0.806, p < 0.01). Psychological capital significantly mediated the association between authentic leadership and innovative behaviour (ß = 0.449, p < 0.001), and its mediating effect accounted for 76.75% of the total effect. CONCLUSION: Results suggest the importance of developing nurse managers' authentic leadership to foster nurses' psychological capital and innovation behaviour.

H2O2 drives the transition from conchocelis to conchosporangia in the red alga Pyropia haitanensis with promotion facilitated by 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid.

The Bangiales represent an ancient lineage within red algae that are characterized by a life history featuring a special transitional stage from diploid to haploid known as the conchosporangia stage. However, the regulatory mechanisms governing the initiation of this stage by changes in environmental conditions are not well understood. This study analyzed the changes in phytohormones and H2O2 content during the development of conchosporangia. It also compared the gene expression changes in the early development of conchosporangia through transcriptome analysis. The findings revealed that H2O2 was shown to be the key signal initiating the transition from conchocelis to conchosporangia in Pyropia haitanensis. Phytohormone analysis showed a significant increase in 1-aminocylopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) levels during conchosporangia maturation, while changes in environmental conditions were found to promote the rapid release of H2O2. H2O2 induction led to conchosporangia development, and ACC enhanced both H2O2 production and conchosporangia development. This promotive effect was inhibited by the NADPH oxidase inhibitor diphenylene iodonium and the H2O2 scavenger N, N'-dimethylthiourea. The balance of oxidative-antioxidative mechanisms was maintained by regulating the activities and transcriptional levels of enzymes involved in H2O2 production and scavenging. Transcriptome analysis in conjunction with evaluation of enzyme and transcription level changes revealed upregulation of protein and sugar synthesis along with modulation of energy supply under the conditions that induced maturation, and exogenous ACC was found to enhance the entire process. Overall, this study demonstrates that ACC enhances H2O2 promotion of the life cycle switch responsible for the transition from a vegetative conchocelis to a meiosis-preceding conchosporangia stage in Bangiales species.

Ratio of hemoglobin to red cell distribution width: an inflammatory predictor of survival in AIDS-related DLBCL.

Background: Despite the introduction of combined antiretroviral therapy, AIDS-related diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (AR-DLBCL) remains a prominent cancer among individuals living with HIV with a suboptimal prognosis. Identifying independent prognostic markers could improve risk stratification. Methods: In this multicenter retrospective cohort study spanning years 2011 to 2019, 153 eligible patients with AR-DLBCL were examined. Overall survival (OS) factors were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier curves, and univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models. The discriminatory ability of the risk score was evaluated by examining the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. Results: The study included 153 patients with a median age of 47 years (interquartile range [IQR] 39-58), 83.7% of whom were men. The median follow-up was 12.0 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.5-15.5), with an OS rate of 35.9%. Among the potential inflammatory markers examined, only the ratio of hemoglobin (g/dL) to red cell distribution width (%) (Hb/RDW) emerged as an independent prognostic parameter for OS in the training (hazard ratios [HR] = 2.645, 95% CI = 1.267-5.522, P = 0.010) and validation cohorts (HR = 2.645, 95% CI = 1.267-5.522, P = 0.010). A lower Hb/RDW ratio was strongly correlated with adverse clinical factors, including advanced Ann Arbor stage, increased extranodal sites, reduced CD4 count, elevated lactate dehydrogenase levels, poorer Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS), and a higher International Prognostic Index (IPI) score. The addition of the Hb/RDW ratio to the IPI produced a highly discriminatory prognostic composite score, termed Hb/RDW-IPI. Conclusion: We identified a cost-effective and readily available inflammatory biomarker, the Hb/RDW ratio, as an independent predictor of outcomes in patients with AR-DLBCL. Its integration into the IPI score partially improves prognostic accuracy.

Autoimmune Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein Astrocytopathy Is Associated with HLA-A*3303 and HLA-DPB1*0501.

We determined the genetic association between specific human leucocyte antigen (HLA) loci and autoimmune glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) astrocytopathy. Our results showed that autoimmune GFAP astrocytopathy was associated with HLA-A*3303 (odds ratio [OR] = 2.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.32-3.06, p = 0.00072, padj. = 0.046) and HLA-DBP1*0501 (OR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.36-0.71, p = 0.000048, padj. = 0.0062). Moreover, HLA-A*3303 carriers with the disease had a longer hospital stay (p = 0.0005) than non-carriers. This study for the first time provides evidence for a role of genetic factor in the development of autoimmune GFAP astrocytopathy. ANN NEUROL 2024.

A Chinese Family with Digenic TBP/STUB1 Spinocerebellar Ataxia.

Spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) are inherited neurodegenerative diseases characterized by loss of balance, coordination, and slurred speech. Recently, a digenic mode of inheritance of TBP/STUB1 contributing to SCA was demonstrated. The clinical manifestations of SCATBP/STUB1 include not only ataxia but also obvious cognitive and behavioral impairment. Here, we describe a Chinese family with SCATBP/STUB1 and performed a literature search for similar cases. We identified a Chinese family with SCATBP/STUB1 and compare our clinical findings with other cases described in the literature so far. Four individuals in this family have been found to carry SCATBP/STUB1, of which three have clinical manifestations. A heterozygous deletion mutation in the STIP1-homologous and U-box containing protein 1 (STUB1) gene, NM_005861.4:c433_435del(p.K145del), was identified. The proband is a 34-year-old female with progressive dementia and dysarthria. The mother and uncle of the proband first presented with motor abnormalities and gradually developed cognitive impairment. The proband and her uncle showed cerebellar atrophy on MRI. The proband's brother carried digenic variants but was asymptomatic. SCATBP/STUB1 is a novel SCA subtype. The main clinical manifestations are motor, cognitive, and behavioral abnormalities. Brain MRI shows significant cerebellar atrophy and cortical thinning. The independent segregation of TBP and STUB1 alleles should be considered when evaluating patients with cognitive impairment and ataxia.

The association of serum uric acid with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality among adults with rheumatoid arthritis: a cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: Serum uric acid (SUA) is associated with poor outcomes in patients with numerous types of disease. However, the association between SUA and the outcomes of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remains to be fully elucidated. Thus, the present study aimed to determine the associations between SUA and all-cause or cardiovascular disease (CVD)-associated mortality in adults with RA. METHODS: The data of patients with RA were collected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2001 to 2018. All-cause and CVD-associated mortality were identified using national death records through 31 December 2019. Weighted survival curves, Cox proportional hazards regression models, restricted cubic splines (RCS) and stratified analyses were used to assess the association between SUA levels and mortality. RESULTS: Among 2,312 patients with RA, a total of 597 all-cause deaths and 198 CVD-associated deaths were recorded during 19,133 person-years of follow-up. The results of the Kaplan-Meier curves for long-term all-cause and CVD-associated mortality demonstrated that increased levels of SUA were associated with a higher incidence of mortality. In the fully adjusted models, the highest SUA quartile exhibited hazard ratios [(HRs); 95% confidence intervals (CIs)] of 1.53 (1.10, 2.14) for all-cause mortality and 1.93 (1.14, 3.27) for CVD-associated mortality, compared with the lowest SUA quartile. The results of the RCS analysis confirmed a strong linear association between SUA levels and the HR of all-cause mortality, while a U-shaped association was observed between SUA and CVD-associated mortality. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study demonstrated that high SUA levels were significantly associated with increased risks of all-cause and CVD-associated mortality in patients with RA. Further studies are required to elucidate the potential impact of treatments on reducing SUA levels.

Oligoagars and microbial agents show potential for Porphyra disease prevention.

Disease is a major concern in Porphyra aquaculture, particularly during the early shell-borne conchocelis (SBC) seedling stage. To explore prevention strategies for Porphyra diseases, this study explored the potential of using oligoagars (OA) and microbial agents (MA) to treat SBC of Neoporphyra haitanensis in an aquaculture environment. The impact of these treatments on the phycosphere microbial community was analyzed, and the resistance of the treated Porphyra conchocelis to the pathogenic bacterium Vibrio mediterranei 117-T6 (which causes yellow spot disease) was tested in the lab. Results showed that OA reduced α-diversity while enriching Rhodobacteriaceae, and MA increased stability and relative abundance of Bacteroidetes (including Flavobacteria). Furthermore, compared to the control group, the abundance of pathogenic microorganisms and virulence functional genes decreased while defense-related functional gene abundance increased significantly in the groups treated with OA and MA. Most importantly, the OA and MA treatments improved resistance to Vm117-T6, with survival rates of 70% (OA) and 80% (MA), compared to 15% in the control group. Overall, the findings suggest that OA and MA treatments have great potential for preventing Porphyra disease, as they improve phycosphere microorganisms and increase algae resistance to pathogenic bacteria.

The mediating role of psychological capital on the relationship between authentic leadership and nurses' caring behavior: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Caring behavior among nurses would have an impact on patient outcomes. External organizational job resources and personal internal psychological resources are correlated to nurses' caring behavior. Authentic leadership and psychological capital were shown to be correlated with nurses' caring behavior in previous studies. However, the relationships among the three are nevertheless unclear. This study aimed to examine if psychological capital could act as a mediator between nursing managers' authentic leadership and nurses' caring behavior. METHODS: In December 2021, a total of 3,662 nurses were recruited from 37 hospitals in Anhui Province, China. They filled out online surveys, including general demographic information, the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire, the Psychological Capital Questionnaire, and the Caring Behavior Inventory. Structural Equation Modeling and the bootstrapping procedure were used to examine the mediating role of psychological capital. RESULTS: The scores of authentic leadership, psychological capital, and caring behavior of 3,495 nurses were 52.04 ± 13.24, 96.89 ± 17.78, and 104.28 ± 17.01, respectively. Psychological capital significantly mediated the relationship between authentic leadership and nurses' caring behavior (ß = 0.378, p < 0.001, 95% confidence interval: 0.350 ~ 0.402), which made up 78.75% of the total impact (0.480). CONCLUSION: The findings of this study suggested that nursing managers should develop an authentic leadership style, which can effectively improve nurses' caring behaviors toward patients in clinical practice. Meanwhile, nursing leaders should strengthen nurses' psychological evaluation and training, and promote nurses' caring behavior in clinical settings.

Sodium butyrate alleviates R97-116 peptide-induced myasthenia gravis in mice by improving the gut microbiota and modulating immune response.

Fermented butyrate exhibits an anti-inflammatory response to maintain immune homeostasis within the gut. However, the effect and underlying mechanism of butyrate on myasthenia gravis (MG) remain unclear. The changes in the gut microbiota and fecal contents of SCFAs in MG patients were examined. R97-116 peptide was used to induce the experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG) mice and sodium butyrate (NaB) was gavaged to the EAMG mice. Gut microbiota, the frequency of Th1, Th17, Treg, Tfh, and B cells, the levels of IFN-γ, IL-17 A, IL-10, IL-21, and anti-R97-116 IgG, RNA-seq of total B cells in the spleen were explored by metagenomics, flow cytometry, ELISA, and transcriptomics. A significant reduction in SCFA-producing bacteria including Butyricimonas synergistica and functional modules including butyrate synthesis/production II was observed in MG patients and fecal SCFAs detection confirmed the increase. The EAMG mice were successfully constructed and NaB supplementation has changed the composition and function of the gut microbiota. The numbers of Th1, Th17, Tfh, and B cells were significantly increased while that of Treg cells was obviously decreased in EAMG mice compared with controls. Interestingly, NaB treatment has reduced the amounts of Th17, Tfh, and B cells but increased that of Treg cells. Accordingly, the levels of IL-17 A, IL-21, and IgG were increased while IL-10 was decreased in EAMG mice. However, NaB treatment reduced IL-17 A and IL-21 but increased that of IL-10. RNA-seq of B cells has revealed 4577 deferentially expressed genes (DEGs), in which 1218 DEGs were up-regulated while 3359 DEGs were down-regulated in NaB-treated EAMG mice. GO enrichment and KEGG pathway analysis unveiled that the function of these DEGs was mainly focused on immunoglobulin production, mitochondrial respiratory chain complex, ribosome, oxidative phosphorylation, and CNS diseases including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. We have found that butyrate was significantly reduced in MG patients and NaB gavage could evidently improve MG symptoms in EAMG mice by changing the gut microbiota, regulating the immune response, and altering the gene expression and function of B cells, suggesting NaB might be a potential immunomodulatory supplement for MG drugs.

Tumor vaccines: Toward multidimensional anti-tumor therapies.

For decades, immunotherapies have offered hope for patients with advanced cancer. However, they show distinct benefits and limited clinical effects. Tumor vaccines have the potential to prime tumor-antigen-specific T cells and induce broad subsets of immune responses, ultimately eradicating tumor cells. Here, we classify tumor vaccines by their anti-tumor mechanisms, which include boosting the immune system, overcoming tumor immunosuppression, and modulating tumor angiogenesis. We focus on multidimensional tumor vaccine strategies using combinations of two or three of the above mechanisms, as these are superior to single-dimensional treatments. This review offers a perspective on tumor vaccine strategies and the future role of vaccine therapies in cancer treatment.

Multiomics Revealed the Multi-Dimensional Effects of Late Sleep on Gut Microbiota and Metabolites in Children in Northwest China.

Background Sleep plays a pivotal role in children's mental and physical development and has been linked to the gut microbiota in animals and adults. However, the characteristics of the gut microbiota and metabolites and the relationship to late bedtimes in children remain unclear. Methods In total, 88 eligible children, aged from 3 to 8 years, were recruited and divided into two groups according to the bedtime collected by designed questionnaires (early, before 22:00: n = 48; late, after 22:00, n = 40). Stools and plasma samples were collected to examine the characteristics of the gut microbiota and metabolites by shotgun metagenomics and metabolomics. Results The richness and diversity of the gut microbiota in children with early bedtime were significantly increased compared with the late ones. Coprococcus, Collinsella, Akkermansia muciniphila, and Bifidobacterium adolescentis were significantly more abundant in children with early bedtime, while Bacteroides and Clostridium sp. CAG-253 were obviously enriched in the late ones. A total of 106 metabolic pathways, including biosynthesis of ribonucleotide, peptidoglycan, and amino acids, and starch degradation were enriched in children with early bedtime, while 42 pathways were abundant in those with late bedtime. Notably, more gut microbial metabolites were observed in children with late bedtime, which included aldehyde, ketones, esters, amino acids and their metabolites, benzene and substituted derivatives, bile acids, heterocyclic compounds, nucleotide and metabolites, organic acid and derivatives, sugars and acyl carnitine. In plasma, fatty amides, lipids, amino acids, metabolites, hormones, and related compounds were enriched in children with early bedtime, while bile acids were higher in children with late bedtime. Association studies revealed that the different microbial species were correlated with metabolites from gut microbiota and plasma. Conclusions The results of our study revealed that the gut microbiota diversity and richness, and metabolic pathways were significantly extensive in children with early bedtime, whereas the gut microbial metabolites were significantly decreased, which might be related to gut microbial differences.

Nuclear factor-kappa B p50-induced microRNA-20a-3p plays a detrimental role in sepsis-induced acute kidney injury.

Sepsis is the most common cause of acute kidney injury (AKI). Based on microarray-based clustering analysis of miRNAs altered in the kidneys of LPS-AKI mice, miR-20a-3p was upregulated in the kidney tissues of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated mice. We aimed to reveal the functions of miR-20a-3p in septic AKI by establishing the LPS-stimulated mouse model of AKI and constructing the LPS-stimulated HK-2 cells. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR was used to quantify miR-20a-3p expression and inflammation-associated factors including MCP-1, TNF-α, and IL-6. Silencing of miR-20a-3p reduced inflammation and apoptosis in kidneys as well as alleviated AKI symptoms in mice. The LPS-induced inflammatory response and apoptosis in HK-2 cells were rescued by miR-20a-3p silence. Moreover, nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) is a transcriptional factor for miR-20a-3p to increase its expression. The binding of NF-κB p50 and miR-20a-3p promoter was verified by ChIP assay. To sum up, miR-20a-3p is transcriptionally activated by NF-κB p50, playing a harmful role in sepsis-induced AKI by inducing inflammation and apoptosis.

Transcriptomic Time-Course Sequencing: Insights into the Cell Wall Macromolecule-Mediated Fruit Dehiscence during Ripening in Camellia oleifera.

Camellia oleifera (C. oleifera), one of the world's four major edible woody oil crops, has been widely planted in southern China's subtropical region for the extremely high nutritional and health benefits of its seed oil. Timing and synchronization of fruit dehiscence are critical factors influencing the oil output and quality, as well as the efficiency and cost of harvesting C. oleifera, yet they extremely lack attention. To gain an understanding of the molecular basis underlying the dehiscence of C. oleifera fruit, we sampled pericarp-replum tissues containing dehiscence zones from fruits at different developmental stages and performed time-series transcriptomic sequencing and analysis for the first time. Statistical and GO enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes revealed that drastic transcriptional changes occurred over the last short sampling interval (4 days, 18th-22nd October), which directed functional classifications link to cell wall and cell wall macromolecule activity. WGCNA further showed that factors controlling cell wall modification, including endo-1,3;1,4-beta-D-glucanase, WAT1-like protein 37, LRR receptor-like serine/threonine-protein kinase, and cellulose synthase A catalytic subunit, were identified as core members of the co-expression network of the last stage highly related modules. Furthermore, in these modules, we also noted genes that were annotated as coding for polygalacturonase and pectinesterase, two pectinases that were expected to be major players in cell separation during dehiscence. qRT-PCR further confirmed the expression profiles of these cell wall modification relating factors, which possessed a special high transcriptional abundance at the final stage. These results suggested the cell wall associated cell separation, one of the essential processes downstream of fruit dehiscence, happened in dehiscing fruit of C. oleifera during ripening. Hydrolases acting on cell wall components are good candidates for signal mediating dehiscence of C. oleifera fruit. In conclusion, our analysis provided insights into the cell wall macromolecule-mediated fruit dehiscence during ripening in C. oleifera.