The spontaneously produced lysogenic prophage phi456 promotes bacterial resistance to adverse environments and enhances the colonization ability of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli strain DE456.

In the last decade, prophages that possess the ability of lysogenic transformation have become increasingly significant. Their transfer and subsequent activity in the host have a significant impact on the evolution of bacteria. Here, we investigate the role of prophage phi456 with high spontaneous induction in the bacterial genome of Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) DE456. The phage particles, phi456, that were released from DE456 were isolated, purified, and sequenced. Additionally, phage particles were no longer observed either during normal growth or induced by nalidixic acid in DE456Δphi456. This indicated that the released phage particles from DE456 were only phi456. We demonstrated that phi456 contributed to biofilm formation through spontaneous induction of the accompanying increase in the eDNA content. The survival ability of DE456Δphi456 was decreased in avian macrophage HD11 under oxidative stress and acidic conditions. This is likely due to a decrease in the transcription levels of three crucial genes-rpoS, katE, and oxyR-which are needed to help the bacteria adapt to and survive in adverse environments. It has been observed through animal experiments that the presence of phi456 in the DE456 genome enhances colonization ability in vivo. Additionally, the number of type I fimbriae in DE456Δphi456 was observed to be reduced under transmission electron microscopy when compared to the wild-type strain. The qRT-PCR results indicated that the expression levels of the subunit of I fimbriae (fimA) and its apical adhesin (fimH) were significantly lower in DE456Δphi456. Therefore, it can be concluded that phi456 plays a crucial role in helping bacterial hosts survive in unfavorable conditions and enhancing the colonization ability in DE456.

Disease biomarker identification based on sample network optimization.

A large amount of evidence shows that biomarkers are discriminant features related to disease development. Thus, the identification of disease biomarkers has become a basic problem in the analysis of complex diseases in the medical fields, such as disease stage judgment, disease diagnosis and treatment. Research based on networks have become one of the most popular methods. Several algorithms based on networks have been proposed to identify biomarkers, however the networks of genes or molecules ignored the similarities and associations among the samples. It is essential to further understand how to construct and optimize the networks to make the identified biomarkers more accurate. On this basis, more effective strategies can be developed to improve the performance of biomarkers identification. In this study, a multi-objective evolution algorithm based on sample similarity networks has been proposed for disease biomarker identification. Specifically, we design the sample similarity networks to extract the structural characteristic information among samples, which used to calculate the influence of the sample to each class. Besides, based on the networks and the group of biomarkers we choose in every iteration, we can divide samples into different classes by the importance for each class. Then, in the process of evolution algorithm population iteration, we develop the elite guidance strategy and fusion selection strategy to select the biomarkers which make the sample classification more accurate. The experiment results on the five gene expression datasets suggests that the algorithm we proposed is superior over some state-of-the-art disease biomarker identification methods.

The effects of video double-lumen tubes on intubation complications in patients undergoing thoracic surgery: A randomised controlled study.

BACKGROUND: Tracheal injuries, vocal cord injuries, sore throat and hoarseness are common complications of double-lumen tube (DLT) intubation. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of 'video double-lumen tubes' (VDLTs) on intubation complications in patients undergoing thoracic surgery. DESIGN: A randomised controlled study. SETTINGT: Xuzhou Cancer Hospital, Xuzhou, China, from January 2023 to June 2023. PATIENTS: One hundred eighty-two patients undergoing elective thoracic surgery with one-lung ventilation were randomised into two groups: 90 in the DLT group and 92 in the VDLT group. INTERVENTION: VDLT was selected for intubation in the VDLT group, and DLT was selected for intubation in the DLT group. A fibreoptic bronchoscope (FOB) was used to record tracheal and vocal cord injuries. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcomes were the incidence of moderate-to-severe tracheal injury and the incidence of vocal cord injury. The secondary outcomes included the incidence and severity of postoperative 24 and 48 h sore throat and hoarseness. RESULTS: The incidence of moderate-to-severe tracheal injury was 32/90 (35.6%) in the DLT group, and 45/92 (48.9%) in the VDLT group ( P  = 0.077; relative risk 1.38, 95% CI, 0.97 to 1.95). The incidence of vocal cord injury was 31/90 (34.4%) and 34/92 (37%) in the DLT and VDLT groups, respectively ( P  = 0.449). The incidence of postoperative 24 h sore throat and hoarseness was significantly higher in the VDLT group than in the DLT group (for sore throat: P  = 0.032, relative risk 1.63, 95% CI, 1.03 to 2.57; for hoarseness: P  = 0.018, relative risk 1.48, 95% CI, 1.06 to 2.06). CONCLUSION: There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of moderate-to-severe tracheal injury and vocal cord injury between DLTs and VDLTs. While improving the first-attempt success rate, intubation with VDLT increased the incidence of postoperative 24 h sore throat and hoarseness. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry identifier: ChiCTR2300067348.

Deletion of Nox from Listeria monocytogenes Strain EGDe Enhances Bacterial Virulence and Reduces the Production of Reactive Oxygen Species and Inflammatory Factors In Vivo.

The foodborne pathogens have a serious threat to human health, especially Listeria monocytogenes. NADPH oxidase (NOX) is involved in cellular respiration and the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), acting as messengers to host cells during the infection. However, the role of nox in the process of L. monocytogenes infection is unclear. In this study, we examined the impact of nox in L. monocytogenes by gene deletion. The results of cell experiment showed that knocking out nox from L. monocytogenes strain EGDe resulted in a twofold increase invasion ability to Caco-2 cells compared with that of wild-type strain (WT), but did not affect adhesion ability. Animal infection assays also showed that bacterial loads in the liver and spleen of mice challenged with EGDe-Δnox were approximately two times higher compared with those challenged with the WT strain. On the one hand, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction revealed that deletion of nox leads to upregulation of genes related to the internalization of L. monocytogenes (inlA, inlB, and inlC). More importantly, the expression of listeriolysin-positive regulatory (prfA) gene increased by three times in vivo compared with that of WT. On the other hand, the deletion of nox resulted in a reduction of the upregulation of proinflammatory factors in EGDe-Δnox compared with the WT and complementary strains. Thus, our study revealed that nox affected the virulence of L. monocytogenes by upregulating the expression of virulence genes and regulating the production of ROS and inflammatory factors in vivo.

Dynamic Covalent Bonds Regulate Zinc Plating/Stripping Behaviors for High-Performance Zinc Ion Batteries.

Artificial interfaces provide a comprehensive approach to controlling zinc dendrite and surface corrosion in zinc-based aqueous batteries (ZABs). However, due to consistent volume changes during zinc plating/stripping, traditional interfacial layers cannot consistently adapt to the dendrite surface, resulting in uncontrolled dendrite growth and hydrogen evolution. Herein, dynamic covalent bonds exhibit the Janus effect towards zinc deposition at different current densities, presenting a holistic strategy for stabilizing zinc anode. The PBSC intelligent artificial interface consisting of dynamic B-O covalent bonds is developed on zinc anode to mitigate hydrogen evolution and restrict dendrite expansion. Owing to the reversible dynamic bonds, PBSC exhibits shape self-adaptive characteristics at low current rates, which rearranges the network to accommodate volume changes during zinc plating/stripping, resisting hydrogen evolution. Moreover, the rapid association of B-O dynamic bonds enhances mechanical strength at dendrite tips, presenting a shear-thickening effect and suppressing further dendrite growth at high current rates. Therefore, the assembled symmetrical battery with PBSC maintains a stable cycle of 4500 hours without significant performance degradation and the PBSC@Zn||V2O5 pouch cell demonstrates a specific capacity exceeding 170 mAh g-1. Overall, the intelligent interface with dynamic covalent bonds provides innovative approaches for zinc anode interfacial engineering and enhances cycling performance.

Two Birds with One Stone: Micro/Nanostructured SiOx Cy Composites for Stable Li-Ion and Li Metal Anodes.

Developing stable silicon-based and lithium metal anodes still faces many challenges. Designing new highly practical silicon-based anodes with low-volume expansion and high electrical conductivity, and inhibiting lithium dendrite growth are avenues for developing silicon-based and lithium metal anodes, respectively. In this study, SiOx Cy microtubes are synthesized using a chemical vapor deposition method. As Li-ion battery anodes, the as-prepared SiOx Cy not only combines the advantages of nanomaterials and the practical properties of micromaterials, but also exhibits high initial Coulombic efficiency (80.3%), low volume fluctuations (20.4%), and high cyclability (98% capacity retention after 1000 cycles). Furthermore, SiOx Cy , as a lithium deposition substrate, can effectively promote the uniform deposition of metallic lithium. As a result, low nucleation overpotential (only 6.0 mV) and high Coulombic efficiency (≈98.9% after 650 cycles, 1.0 mA cm-2 and 1.0 mAh cm-2 ) are obtained on half cells, as well as small voltage hysteresis (only 9.5 mV, at 1.0 mA cm-2 ) on symmetric cells based on SiOx Cy . Full batteries based on both SiOx Cy and SiOx Cy @Li anodes demonstrate great practicality. This work provides a new perspective for the simultaneous development of practical SiOx Cy and dendrite-free lithium metal anodes.

Origin, Selection, and Succession of Coastal Intertidal Zone-Derived Bacterial Communities Associated with the Degradation of Various Lignocellulose Substrates.

Terrestrial microbial consortia were reported to play fundamental roles in the global carbon cycle and renewable energy production through the breakdown of complex organic carbon. However, we have a poor understanding of how biotic/abiotic factors combine to influence consortia assembly and lignocellulose degradation in aquatic ecosystems. In this study, we used 96 in situ lignocellulose enriched, coastal intertidal zone-derived bacterial consortia as the initial inoculating consortia and developed 384 cultured consortia under different lignocellulose substrates (aspen, pine, rice straw, and purified Norway spruce lignin) with gradients of salinity and temperature. As coastal consortia, salinity was the strongest driver for assembly, followed by Norway spruce lignin, temperature, and aspen. Moreover, a conceptual model was proposed to demonstrate different succession dynamics between consortia under herbaceous and woody lignocelluloses. The succession of consortium under Norway spruce lignin is greatly related with abiotic factors, while its substrate degradation is mostly correlated with biotic factors. A discrepant pattern was observed in the consortium under rice straw. Finally, we developed four groups of versatile, yet specific consortia. Our study not only reveals that coastal intertidal wetlands are important natural resources to enrich lignocellulolytic degrading consortia but also provides insights into the succession and ecological function of coastal consortium.

Regulated Ion/Electron-Conducting Interphase Enables Stable Zinc-Metal Anodes for Aqueous Zinc-Ions Batteries.

Metallic Zinc (Zn) is considered as a remarkably promising anode for aqueous Zn-ion batteries due to its high volumetric capacity and low redox potential. Unfortunately, dendritic growth and severe side reactions destabilizes the electrode/electrolyte interface, and ultimately reduce the electrochemical performance. Here, an artificial protective layer (APL) with a regulated ion and electron-conducting interphase is constructed on the Zn-metal anode to provide excellent interfacial stability in high-rate cycling. The superior ionic and moderate electronic conductivity of the APL derives from the co-embedding of MXene and Zn(CF3 SO3 )2 salts into the polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel, which enables a synergistic effect of local current density reduction during plating and ion transport acceleration during stripping for Zn anode. Furthermore, the high Young's modulus of the protective layer and dendrite-free deposition morphology during cycling suppresses hydrogen evolution reactions (2.5 mmol h-1 cm-2 ) and passivation. As a result, in symmetrical cell tests, the modified battery presents a stable life of over 2000 cycles at ultra-high current density of 20 mA cm-2 . This research presents a new insight into the formation and regulation of stable electrode-electrolyte interface for the Zn-metal anode.

Flavobacterium taihuense sp. nov., a bacterium isolated from lake sediment.

A novel bacterium, designated NAS39T, was isolated from the interfacial sediment of Taihu Lake in PR China and its taxonomic position was investigated by using a polyphasic approach. Cells of the isolate were Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-motile, catalase-positive, yellow and rod-shaped. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences supported that strain NAS39T formed a cluster within the genus Flavobacterium, and was most closely related to Flavobacterium laiguense LB2P30T (98.4 %), followed by Flavobacterium tiangeerense 0563T (97.4 %). The average nucleotide identity values between strain NAS39T and F. laiguense LB2P30T and F. tiangeerense 0563T were 82.5 and 75.3 %, respectively. The digital DNA-DNA hybridization values between strain NAS39T and F. laiguense LB2P30T and F. tiangeerense 0563T were 40.9 and 18.6 %, respectively. The genomic DNA G+C content was 34.1 mol%. The major respiratory quinone was menaquinone-6. The dominant cellular fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0 and summed feature 3 comprising C16 : 1 ω7c/C16 : 1 ω6c. The polar lipids comprised phosphatidyl ethanolamine, two amino lipids, three amino phospholipids and two unidentified lipids. Based on the phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, genotypic and phylogenetic characteristics, strain NAS39T (=MCCC 1K06094T=KACC 22328T) represents a novel species of the genus Flavobacterium, for which the name Flavobacterium taihuense sp. nov. is proposed.

Suppression of Continuous Wave Interference in Loran-C Signal Based on Sparse Optimization Using Tunable Q-Factor Wavelet Transform and Discrete Cosine Transform.

Loran-C is the most essential backup and supplementary system for the global navigation satellite system (GNSS). Continuous wave interference (CWI) is one of the main interferences in the Loran-C system, which will cause errors in the measurement of the time of arrival, thereby affecting positioning performance. The traditional adaptive notch filter method needs to know the frequency of CWI when removing it, and the number is limited. This paper presents a method based on sparseness to suppress the CWI in the Loran-C signal. According to the different morphological characteristics of the Loran-C signal and the CWI, we construct dictionaries suitable for the two components, respectively. We use the tunable Q-factor wavelet transform and the discrete cosine transform to make the two components obtain a good sparse representation in their respective dictionaries. Then, the two components are separated using the morphological component analysis theory. We illustrate this method using both synthetic data and actual data. A huge advantage of the proposed method is that there is no need to know the frequencies of the CWI for it can better cope with frequency changes of the CWI in the actual environments. Compared with the adaptive notch filter method, the results of the proposed method show that our approach is more effective and convenient.