Structural Variations of Prions and Prion-like Proteins Associated with Neurodegeneration.

Neurodegeneration is becoming one of the leading causes of death worldwide as the population expands and grows older. There is a growing desire to understand the mechanisms behind prion proteins as well as the prion-like proteins that make up neurodegenerative diseases (NDs), including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD). Both amyloid-β (Aβ) and hyperphosphorylated tau (p-tau) proteins behave in ways similar to those of the infectious form of the prion protein, PrP, such as aggregating, seeding, and replicating under not yet fully understood mechanisms, thus the designation of prion-like.

Uncertainty reduction for precipitation prediction in North America.

Large differences in projected future annual precipitation increases in North America exists across 27 CMIP6 models under four emission scenarios. These differences partly arise from weak representations of land-atmosphere interactions. Here we demonstrate an emergent constraint relationship between annual growth rates of future precipitation and growth rates of historical temperature.

Method of 3D Coating Accumulation Modeling Based on Inclined Spraying.

In the process of repairing the surface of products in aviation, aerospace, and other fields by spraying, accurate 3D cumulative-coating modeling is an important research issue in spraying-process simulation. The approach to this issue is a 3D cumulative-coating model based on inclined spraying. Firstly, an oblique spraying layer cumulative model was established, which could quickly collect the coating thickness distribution data of different spray distances.

Established and Evolving Roles of the Multifunctional Non-POU Domain-Containing Octamer-Binding Protein (NonO) and Splicing Factor Proline- and Glutamine-Rich (SFPQ).

It has been more than three decades since the discovery of multifunctional factors, the Non-POU-Domain-Containing Octamer-Binding Protein, NonO, and the Splicing Factor Proline- and Glutamine-Rich, SFPQ. Some of their functions, including their participation in transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation as well as their contribution to paraspeckle subnuclear body organization, have been well documented. In this review, we focus on several other established roles of NonO and SFPQ, including their participation in the cell cycle, nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ), homologous recombination (HR), telomere stability, childhood birth defects and cancer.

Enhancing HO utilization efficiency for catalytic wet peroxide oxidation through the doping of La in the Fe-ZSM-5 Catalyst.

Iron-loaded zeolite (Fe-zeolite) has shown great potential as an efficient catalyst for degrading organic pollutants with high concentrations in the catalytic wet peroxide oxidation (CWPO) process under mild conditions. Here, 0.4 wt% Lanthanum (La) was added in the 1.

A Fur-regulated type VI secretion system contributes to oxidative stress resistance and virulence in Yersinia pseudotuberculosis.

The type VI secretion system (T6SS) is a widespread protein secretion apparatus deployed by many Gram-negative bacterial species to interact with competitor bacteria, host organisms, and the environment. Yersinia pseudotuberculosis T6SS4 was recently reported to be involved in manganese acquisition; however, the underlying regulatory mechanism still remains unclear. In this study, we discovered that T6SS4 is regulated by ferric uptake regulator (Fur) in response to manganese ions (Mn), and this negative regulation of Fur was proceeded by specifically recognizing the promoter region of T6SS4 in Y.

Quantifying the morphology of eyeballs with posterior staphyloma with Zernike polynomials.

To quantify the morphology of eyeballs with posterior staphyloma (PS) with Zernike decomposition and to explore the association between Zernike coefficients with existing PS classification. Fifty-three eyes with high myopia (HM, ≤-6.00D) and 30 with PS were included.

Effect of inorganic salt on the removal of typical pollutants in wastewater by RuO/TiO via catalytic wet air oxidation.

The treatment of high-salinity and high-organic wastewater is a tough task, with the removal of organic matter and the separation of salts often mutually restricting. Catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO) coupled desalination technology (membrane distillation (MD), membrane bioreactor (MBR), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), etc.) provides an effective method to simultaneously degrade the high-salinity (via desalination) and high-organic matters (via CWAO) in wastewater.

Immunometabolic Reprogramming in Response to HIV Infection Is Not Fully Normalized by Suppressive Antiretroviral Therapy.

Background: HIV infection results in immunometabolic reprogramming. While we are beginning to understand how this metabolic reprogramming regulates the immune response to HIV infection, we do not currently understand the impact of ART on immunometabolism in people with HIV (PWH).

Methods: Serum obtained from HIV-infected ( = 278) and geographically matched HIV seronegative control subjects ( = 300) from Rakai Uganda were used in this study.

Source analysis of heavy metal pollution in agricultural soil irrigated with sewage in Wuqing, Tianjin.

In this study, the contents of heavy metals and Cd and Pb isotope ratios of agricultural soil and potential source samples collected from farmland receiving sewage irrigation in Wuqing District, Tianjin, China were determined. Multiple methods were used for source analysis, including positive matrix factorization (PMF), correlation analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), and the Cd and Pb isotope ratio method. The results showed that agricultural soil was slightly contaminated by heavy metals in the research area, with relatively higher Cd and Pb accumulation levels compared to those of other heavy metals.

Aerobactin-Mediated Iron Acquisition Enhances Biofilm Formation, Oxidative Stress Resistance, and Virulence of .

Aerobactin is a citrate-hydroxamate siderophore that is critical for the virulence of pathogenic enteric bacteria. However, although the aerobactin-producing - operon is distributed widely in the genomes of species, none of the pathogenic spp. was found to produce aerobactin.

Hybrid Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks for Promoting Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution via a Dual-Site Relay Mechanism.

Developing efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts is important for enhancing the water splitting efficiency. However, with the current catalysts containing one kind of active sites, it is challenging to achieve low overpotentials because of the four-electron transfer process. Herein is reported HZIF-2-CoMo, a new metal-organic framework with well-defined Co-Mo dual sites that can promote the OER process through an unconventional Mo/Co dual-site relay mechanism.

Sex-specific associations between cerebrospinal fluid inflammatory marker levels and cognitive function in antiretroviral treated people living with HIV in rural Uganda.

People with HIV (PWH) taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) have persistent cognitive impairment. The prevalence of cognitive impairment is higher in women with HIV (WWH) compared to men with HIV (MWH), possibly due to sex differences in immune function. Here we report sex differences in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) immune markers in relation to cognitive performance.

CoMo-bimetallic N-doped porous carbon materials embedded with highly dispersed Pt nanoparticles as pH-universal hydrogen evolution reaction electrocatalysts.

The hydrogen evolution reaction is a key half reaction for water electrolysis and is of great significance. Pt-based nanomaterials are promising candidates for HER electrocatalysts. However, the high price of platinum and poor durability impede their practical applications.

Two-Dimensional Mesoporous Carbon Materials Derived from Fullerene Microsheets for Energy Applications.

Porous carbon materials rich in defects are promising candidates in energy storage and conversion applications. Herein, a facile template-free approach is reported for the synthesis of a two-dimensional (2 D) mesoporous carbon material derived from fullerene (C ) microsheets (FMSs) through simple heat treatment. The sample obtained at 1000 °C (FMS1000) shows a large surface area of 1507.

Common genetic variants in pre-microRNAs are associated with cervical cancer susceptibility in southern Chinese women.

Cervical cancer is a commonly diagnosed cancer among females. Polymorphisms in pre-microRNAs have been demonstrated to play critical roles in cancer. However, the roles of pre-microRNA polymorphisms in the aetiology of cervical cancer have not been well documented.

K Channel Blocker Glibenclamide Prevents Radiation-Induced Lung Injury and Inhibits Radiation-Induced Apoptosis of Vascular Endothelial Cells by Increased Ca Influx and Subsequent PKC Activation.

Radiation-induced lung injury (RILI) is a common and severe side effect of thoracic radiotherapy, which compromises patients' quality of life. Recent studies revealed that early vascular injury, especially microvascular damage, played a central role in the development of RILI. For this reason, early vascular protection is essential for RILI therapy.

Intravenous glucocorticoids therapy in the treatment of Graves' ophthalmopathy: a systematic review and Meta-analysis.

Aim: To evaluate the benefit and harms of high-dose intravenous glucocorticoids (IVGC) as first-line treatment for Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO).

Methods: A systematic review and Meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) comparing IVGC for the treatment of GO, with placebo or other treatments, were conducted. Electronic databases were searched, and standard methodological guidance of Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions was used.

Novel Data Transformations for RNA-seq Differential Expression Analysis.

We propose eight data transformations (r, r2, rv, rv2, l, l2, lv, and lv2) for RNA-seq data analysis aiming to make the transformed sample mean to be representative of the distribution center since it is not always possible to transform count data to satisfy the normality assumption. Simulation studies showed that for data sets with small (e.g.

New Statistical Methods for Constructing Robust Differential Correlation Networks to characterize the interactions among microRNAs.

The interplay among microRNAs (miRNAs) plays an important role in the developments of complex human diseases. Co-expression networks can characterize the interactions among miRNAs. Differential correlation network is a powerful tool to investigate the differences of co-expression networks between cases and controls.

C-Decorated nickel-cobalt phosphide as an efficient and robust electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction.

High-activity electrocatalysts play a crucial role in energy conversion through splitting water to produce hydrogen. Here we report the synthesis of a bimetallic phosphide of Ni-Co-P coupled with C60 molecules which acts as an electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) characterization reveals that the synthesized C60-decorated Ni-Co-P nanoparticles have an average diameter of ∼4 nm with rich structural defects.

METTL3 promotes ovarian carcinoma growth and invasion through the regulation of AXL translation and epithelial to mesenchymal transition.

Objective: As the most prevalent internal modification in mammalian messenger RNA, N‑methyladenosine (mA) plays an important role in posttranscriptional gene regulation. METTL3 is a key component of the mA methyltransferase complex and has recently been shown to play important roles in cancer development and progression. The current study was aimed to explore the function and underlying mechanism of METTL3 in ovarian cancer.

The association of polymorphisms in nucleotide excision repair genes with ovarian cancer susceptibility.

Nucleotide excision repair (NER), the core mechanism of DNA repair pathway, was commonly used to maintain genomic stability and prevent tumorigenesis. Previous investigations have demonstrated that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of NER pathway genes were associated with various types of cancer. However, there was no research elucidating the genetic association of entire NER pathway with ovarian cancer susceptibility.

Progesterone attenuates hypertension and autoantibody levels to the angiotensin II type 1 receptor in response to elevated cadmium during pregnancy.

Introduction: Preeclampsia is associated with the presence of pathogenic angiotensin-receptor-activating autoantibodies. Cadmium is an increasingly prevalent environmental pollutant that can mimic oestrogens, which may enhance immunoglobulin production. Progesterone exerts opposite effects to oestrogen.