Genetically Encoded Biosensors for Constrained Biological Functions in Probiotic Nissle.

The probiotic Nissle (EcN) is an exceptional strain that has attracted significant attention not only for its clinical efficacy in the treatment and prevention of gastrointestinal disorders but also as a burgeoning microbial chassis for living therapeutic applications. However, there is an immediate necessity to develop conditional expression systems that confine the activity of EcN specifically in the gastrointestinal tract, to avoid influencing the environment. Here, we constructed two genetically encoded interchangeable sensors responsive to body temperature at 37 °C, and small molecules such as protocatechuic acid (PCA), a metabolite found in green tea.

Efficacy and safety of patisiran for ATTRv-PN: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRv; v for variant) with polyneuropathy is a rare, progressive, and fatal autosomal dominant disorder. Therapies such as liver transplantation and TTR stabilizations have limitations. Patisiran is a small interfering RNA (siRNA), offering potential as a genetic-level therapy for hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis with polyneuropathy (ATTRv-PN).

Design of Thermoresponsive Genetic Controls with Minimal Heat-Shock Response.

As temperature serves as a versatile input signal, thermoresponsive genetic controls have gained significant interest for recombinant protein production and metabolic engineering applications. The conventional thermoresponsive systems normally require the continuous exposure of heat stimuli to trigger the prolonged expression of targeted genes, and the accompanied heat-shock response is detrimental to the bioproduction process. In this study, we present the design of thermoresponsive quorum-sensing (ThermoQS) circuits to make record transient heat stimuli.

QDTrack: Quasi-Dense Similarity Learning for Appearance-Only Multiple Object Tracking.

Similarity learning has been recognized as a crucial step for object tracking. However, existing multiple object tracking methods only use sparse ground truth matching as the training objective, while ignoring the majority of the informative regions in images. In this paper, we present Quasi-Dense Similarity Learning, which densely samples hundreds of object regions on a pair of images for contrastive learning.

Pharmacological interventions for preventing opioid-induced hyperalgesia in adults after opioid-based anesthesia: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH) is an adverse event of prolonged opioid use that increases pain intensity. The optimal drug to prevent these adverse effects is still unknown. We aimed to conduct a network meta-analysis to compare different pharmacological interventions for preventing the increase in postoperative pain intensity caused by OIH.

The diagnostic value of quantitative assessment of MR neurography in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of quantitative magnetic resonance neurography (MRN) in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP). We also compared various MRN parameters and determined the best performing one.

Methods: Through literature searches in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, Ovid MEDLINE and ClinicalTtrials.

A TRPV4 mutation caused Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2C with scapuloperoneal muscular atrophy overlap syndrome and scapuloperoneal spinal muscular atrophy in one family: a case report and literature review.

Background: Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease 2C (CMT2C) and scapuloperoneal spinal muscular atrophy (SPSMA) are different clinical phenotypes of TRPV4 mutation. The mutation of p.R316C has been reported to cause CMT2C and SPSMA separately.

Hippo Pathway in Schwann Cells and Regeneration of Peripheral Nervous System.

Hippo pathway is an evolutionarily conserved signaling pathway comprising a series of MST/LATS kinase complexes. Its key transcriptional coactivators YAP and TAZ regulate transcription factors such as TEAD family to direct gene expression. The regulation of Hippo pathway, especially the nuclear level change of YAP and TAZ, significantly influences the cell fate switching from proliferation to differentiation, regeneration, and postinjury repair.

Oxygen vacancy regulation strategy in V-Nb mixed oxides catalyst for enhanced aerobic oxidative desulfurization performance.

Bimetallic oxide is a potential catalyst for oxidative desulfurization of fuel. Thus, an appropriate method is needed to improve its catalytic performance. Manufacturing defect is an effective means.

Bacterial community response to chronic heavy metal contamination in marine sediments of the East China Sea.

Marine sediments act as a sink for various heavy metals, which may have profound impact on sedimentary microbiota. However, our knowledge about the collaborative response of bacterial community to chronic heavy metal contamination remains little. In this study, concentrations of seven heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, and Zn) in sediments collected from the East China Sea were analyzed and Illumina Miseq 16 S rRNA sequencing was applied to characterize the structure of bacterial community.

Engineering a Synthetic Pathway for Tyrosol Synthesis in .

Tyrosol is an aromatic compound with great value that is widely used in the food and pharmaceutical industry. In this study, we reported a synthetic pathway for converting -coumaric acid (-CA) into tyrosol in . We found that the enzyme cascade comprising ferulic acid decarboxylase (FDC1) from , styrene monooxygenase (SMO), styrene oxide isomerase (SOI) from , and phenylacetaldehyde reductase (PAR) from could efficiently synthesize tyrosol from -CA with a conversion rate over 90%.

Spatial topological analysis of sympathetic neurovascular characteristic of acupoints in Ren meridian using advanced tissue-clearing and near infrared II imaging.

Acupuncture has been used for treating various medical conditions in traditional Chinese medicine. Both manual and electro-acupuncture stimulate specific acupoints to obtain local and systemic biological effects, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we used three-dimensional tissue-clearing technology to study acupoints on the Ren meridian of mice to reveal the distribution, density, branching, and relationships between blood vessels and nerves.

Triticum population sequencing provides insights into wheat adaptation.

Bread wheat expanded its habitat from a core area of the Fertile Crescent to global environments within ~10,000 years. The genetic mechanisms of this remarkable evolutionary success are not well understood. By whole-genome sequencing of populations from 25 subspecies within the genera Triticum and Aegilops, we identified composite introgression from wild populations contributing to a substantial portion (4-32%) of the bread wheat genome, which increased the genetic diversity of bread wheat and allowed its divergent adaptation.

2,7-Dibromocarbazole interferes with tube formation in HUVECs by altering Ang2 promoter DNA methylation status.

2,7-Dibromocarbazole (2,7-DBCZ) is one of the most frequently detected polyhalogenated carbazoles (PHCZs) in the environmental media. 2,7-DBCZ has attracted public attention for its potential for dioxin-like toxicity and cardiovascular toxicity. However, researches on the potential mechanism of angiogenesis inhibition by 2,7-DBCZ is still insufficient.

Metabolomic modulations of HepG2 cells exposed to bisphenol analogues.

Bisphenol analogues including bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol AF (BPAF), bisphenol F (BPF), and bisphenol S (BPS) share similar chemical structures and endocrine disrupting effects. Their effects on metabolisms, however, are so far only marginally understood. In this study, NMR-based metabonomic profiles of HepG2 cell culture media and PCR array were used to assess the metabolomics disturbances and gene expression levels of HepG2 in response to four BPs (BPA, BPAF, BPF, and BPS).

A Core Regulatory Pathway Controlling Rice Tiller Angle Mediated by the -Dependent Asymmetric Distribution of Auxin.

Tiller angle in cereals is a key shoot architecture trait that strongly influences grain yield. Studies in rice () have implicated shoot gravitropism in the regulation of tiller angle. However, the functional link between shoot gravitropism and tiller angle is unknown.

[Expression of interferon-λ1 in respiratory epithelial cells of children with RSV infection and its relationship with RSV load].

Objective: To investigate the expression of IFN-λ1 in respiratory epithelial cells of children with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection and its relationship with RSV load.

Methods: The nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from the children who were hospitalized with respiratory tract infection from June 2015 to June 2016. A direct immunofluorescence assay was used to detect the antigens of seven common respiratory viruses (including RSV) in the nasopharyngeal swabs.

A high-throughput method to detect RNA profiling by integration of RT-MLPA with next generation sequencing technology.

RNA in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues provides large amount of information indicating disease stages, histological tumor types and grades, as well as clinical outcomes. However, Detection of RNA expression levels in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded samples is extremely difficult due to poor RNA quality. Here we developed a high-throughput method, Reverse Transcription-Multiple Ligation-dependent Probe Sequencing (RT-MLPSeq), to determine expression levels of multiple transcripts in FFPE samples.

[A preliminary study on the disappearance time of influenza virus antigen].

Objective: To investigate the antigen clearance time, time to symptom disappearance, and the association between them using immunofluorescence assay for dynamic monitoring of influenza virus antigen in children with influenza.

Methods: A total of 1 063 children suspected of influenza who visited the Hunan People's Hospital from March to April, 2016 were enrolled. The influenza A/B virus antigen detection kit (immunofluorescence assay) was used for influenza virus antigen detection.

Comparative genomics analyses on EPS biosynthesis genes required for floc formation of Zoogloea resiniphila and other activated sludge bacteria.

Activated sludge (AS) process has been widely utilized for municipal sewage and industrial wastewater treatment. Zoolgoea and its related floc-forming bacteria are required for formation of AS flocs which is the key to gravitational effluent-and-sludge separation and AS recycling. However, little is known about the genetics, biochemistry and physiology of Zoogloea and its related bacteria.

Allele-specific PCR can improve the efficiency of experimental resolution of heterozygotes in resequencing studies.

Resolution of the two haplotypes present in an individual that is heterozygous at a locus has been a difficult problem for nucleotide sequence-based population genetic studies. Here, we demonstrate a method in which allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (AS-PCR) and computational phasing are combined for relatively high-throughput, efficient resolution of phase in resequencing studies. Using data from multiple loci that were fully experimentally phased, we demonstrate that the popular computational tool PHASE can accurately phase heterozygous individuals with common SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) and/or common haplotypes.

Tracing the geographic origins of major avocado cultivars.

It has been difficult to infer the genetic history of avocado breeding, owing to the role of hybridization in the origin of contemporary avocado cultivars. To address this difficulty, we used the model-based clustering program, STRUCTURE, and nucleotide polymorphism in 5960 bp of sequence from 4 nuclear loci to examine population structure in 21 wild avocado accessions. The origins of 33 cultivars were inferred relative to the wild sample.

Nucleotide diversity and linkage disequilibrium in wild avocado (Persea americana Mill.).

Resequencing studies provide the ultimate resolution of genetic diversity because they identify all mutations in a gene that are present within the sampled individuals. We report a resequencing study of Persea americana, a subtropical tree species native to Meso- and Central America and the progenitor of cultivated avocado. The sample includes 21 wild accessions from Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic.