Elucidation of the key flavonol biosynthetic pathway in golden and its application in genetic modification of tomato fruit metabolism.

Golden refers to a group of species in the genus that display yellow petals. The secondary metabolites in these petals hold ornamental significance and potential health benefits. However, the biosynthetic mechanisms governing the synthesis of these metabolites in golden petals remain elusive, and the exploitation of their bioactive components is not fully realized.

Rpl12 is a conserved ribophagy receptor.

Ribophagy is a selective autophagic process that regulates ribosome turnover. Although NUFIP1 has been identified as a mammalian receptor for ribophagy, its homologues do not exist in yeast and nematodes. Here we demonstrate that Rpl12, a ribosomal large subunit protein, functions as a conserved ribophagy receptor in multiple organisms.

Mec1-mediated Atg9 phosphorylation regulates the PAS recruitment of Atg9 vesicles upon energy stress.

Mec1 plays an essential role in both the DNA damage response and glucose starvation-induced autophagy. We recently reported that Mec1 regulates glucose starvation-induced autophagy through its direct binding to Atg13. However, the role of Mec1's kinase activity in autophagy remains unclear.

Peripheral blood complement factors C2 and C3 as biomarkers of clinical efficacy in patients with first-episode schizophrenia after aripiprazole treatment.

Objective: The objective of this study was to identify serum complement factor-based biomarkers indicative of clinical efficacy in patients with first-episode schizophrenia (SCZ) following treatment with aripiprazole.

Methods: The retrospective study cohort comprised 40 patients diagnosed with first-episode SCZ (SCZ group) and 40 healthy individuals (control group). Quantitative analyses were conducted on five complement factors, namely complement component 1 (C1), C2, C3, C4, and the 50% hemolytic complement (CH50).

Long term Coptidis Rhizoma intake induce gastrointestinal emptying inhibition and colon barrier weaken via bitter taste receptors activation in mice.

Background: Coptidis Rhizoma, a classic bitter traditional Chinese medicine, can lead to digestive dysfunction when long-term use according to traditional experience. Bitter taste receptors have been found to regulate gastrointestinal smooth muscle contraction. Coptidis Rhizoma alkaloids are potential agonists for bitter taste receptors, but whether they can induce gastrointestinal dysfunction via bitter taste receptors is not clear.

Gap plasmonic properties of NPOM structures composed of gold nanoparticles and thin films.

Metal nanoparticles have attracted great interest because of their unique near-field enhancement properties, and have important applications in many fields, such as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), fluorescence enhancement, solar cell efficiency enhancement and so on. In this paper, we use the finite element method to study the local field enhancement characteristics of the coupling system in which the gold ellipsoidal nanoparticles (GENP) on a mirror. In the coupling system, a hot spot will be formed at the gap between the GENP and the mirror under the appropriate incident light excitation.

Aspartame enhances the scavenging activity of mice to low-dose Escherichia coli infection via strengthening macrophage phagocytosis caused by sweet taste receptor activation.

Aspartame is the most common artificial sweetener and a famous sweet-taste receptor agonist. Macrophages are essential in the antibacterial system to maintain the stability of the intestinal environment. Recently, the sweet taste receptor has been found in macrophages.

Insights into major pigment accumulation and (non)enzymatic degradations and conjugations to characterized flavors during intelligent black tea processing.

Intelligently processed black teas (BT) possess premium quality but there is a lack in comprehensive understanding of flavor formation mechanism. In this study, the accumulation of carotenoids, flavonoids, and Maillard products and (non)enzymatic degradations and conjugations to characterized flavors were comprehensively studied. Significant decrease was observed that flava-3-ols were heavily oxidised from > 240 mg·g in fresh leaves (FL) to < 30 mg·g, while other 21 flavonoids decreased by < 30% in BT, accompanied by a sweet aftertaste.

Mass spectrometry-based multi-omics analysis reveals distinct molecular features in early and advanced stages of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is a serious primary solid tumor that is prevalent worldwide. Due to its high mortality rate, it is crucial to explore both early diagnosis and advanced treatment for HCC. In recent years, multi-omics approaches have emerged as promising tools to identify biomarkers and investigate molecular mechanisms of biological processes and diseases.

Engineering Plant Metabolism for Synthesizing Amino Acid Derivatives of Animal Origin Using a Synthetic Modular Approach.

The biosynthesis of amino acid derivatives of animal origin in plants represents a promising frontier in synthetic biology, offering a sustainable and eco-friendly approach to enhancing the nutritional value of plant-based diets. This study leverages the versatile capabilities of as a transient expression system to test a synthetic modular framework for the production of creatine, carnosine, and taurine-compounds typically absent in plants but essential for human health. By designing and stacking specialized synthetic modules, we successfully redirected the plant metabolic flux toward the synthesis of these amino acid derivatives of animal origin.

Photo-Thermal Conversion and Raman Sensing Properties of Three-Dimensional Gold Nanostructure.

Three-dimensional plasma nanostructures with high light-thermal conversion efficiency show the prospect of industrialization in various fields and have become a research hotspot in areas of light-heat utilization, solar energy capture, and so on. In this paper, a simple chemical synthesis method is proposed to prepare gold nanoparticles, and the electrophoretic deposition method is used to assemble large-area three-dimensional gold nanostructures (3D-GNSs). The light-thermal water evaporation monitoring and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) measurements of 3D-GNSs were performed via theoretical simulation and experiments.

Two distinct regulatory pathways govern Cct2-Atg8 binding in the process of solid aggrephagy.

CCT2 serves as an aggrephagy receptor that plays a crucial role in the clearance of solid aggregates, yet the underlying molecular mechanisms by which CCT2 regulates solid aggrephagy are not fully understood. Here we report that the binding of Cct2 to Atg8 is governed by two distinct regulatory mechanisms: Atg1-mediated Cct2 phosphorylation and the interaction between Cct2 and Atg11. Atg1 phosphorylates Cct2 at Ser412 and Ser470, and disruption of these phosphorylation sites impairs solid aggrephagy by hindering Cct2-Atg8 binding.

Compressible effect on the mutual interaction of two cavitation bubbles in radial oscillations and translational motion.

In this study, we considered the compressible effect on the mutual interaction of two cavitation bubbles by correcting the sound field emitted by one bubble in the radial equations of the other bubble to first order in the Mach number of the flow, and the effect is represented by the incident wave acting on bubbles. The results illustrates that the incident wave can enhance the resonance response at the redistributed resonance frequency, which leads to an increase in radial acceleration and the secondary Bjerknes force, and rapid approach of bubbles. Furthermore, the influence of incident wave on the interaction of bubbles driven at lower frequencies is more significant, due to resonance enhancement caused by the proximity of natural frequencies and frequency multiplications of the external sound field.

Properties of phosphorus-boron co-doped c-Si quantum dots/SiNx:H thin film prepared by PECVD in-situ deposition.

Co-doping of phosphorus and boron elements into crystalline silicon quantum dot (c-Si QD) is an effective approach for enhancing the photoluminescence (PL) performance. In this paper, we report on the preparation of hydrogenated silicon nitride (SiN:H) thin films embedded with phosphorus-boron co-doped c-Si QDs via plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition route. Mixed dilution including hydrogen (H) and argon (Ar) is applied in the in-situ deposition process for optimizing the deposition process.

Reversible control of kinase signaling through chemical-induced dephosphorylation.

The coordination between kinases and phosphatases is crucial for regulating the phosphorylation levels of essential signaling molecules. Methods enabling precise control of kinase activities are valuable for understanding the kinase functions and for developing targeted therapies. Here, we use the abscisic acid (ABA)-induced proximity system to reversibly control kinase signaling by recruiting phosphatases.

Conservation and specialization of the Ycf2-FtsHi chloroplast protein import motor in green algae.

The protein import motor in chloroplasts plays a pivotal role in their biogenesis and homeostasis by driving the translocation of preproteins into chloroplasts. While the Ycf2-FtsHi complex serves as the import motor in land plants, its evolutionary conservation, specialization, and mechanisms across photosynthetic organisms are largely unexplored. Here, we isolated and determined the cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of the native Ycf2-FtsHi complex from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, uncovering a complex composed of up to 19 subunits, including multiple green-algae-specific components.

Effect of Common Cold on Serum Clozapine Concentrations in Hospitalized Patients with Schizophrenia.

Objective: The present study aims to investigate the effect of common cold on the serum clozapine concentrations in hospitalized patients with schizophrenia.

Methods: A total of 65 schizophrenic patients with common cold receiving clozapine treatment were retrospectively enrolled. The demographic data, medication situation, clozapine concentration, and parameters of routine haematological and biochemical laboratory tests were obtained from the medical record system.

Blockade of LAG-3 and PD-1 leads to co-expression of cytotoxic and exhaustion gene modules in CD8 T cells to promote antitumor immunity.

Relatlimab (rela; anti-LAG-3) plus nivolumab (nivo; anti-PD-1) is safe and effective for treatment of advanced melanoma. We designed a trial (NCT03743766) where advanced melanoma patients received rela, nivo, or rela+nivo to interrogate the immunologic mechanisms of rela+nivo. Analysis of biospecimens from this ongoing trial demonstrated that rela+nivo led to enhanced capacity for CD8 T cell receptor signaling and altered CD8 T cell differentiation, leading to heightened cytotoxicity despite the retention of an exhaustion profile.

Identification of low-abundance proteins in the royal jelly using the Osborne classification method.

Royal jelly (RJ) is recognized as healthy food, with a high content of proteins. These proteins play important roles in honeybee caste and human health, but the proteomic analysis of low-abundance proteins in RJ has long been a challenge. Herein, we used the Osborne classification method to separate the RJ proteins of Xinjiang black bees into various fractions.

A Chemoselective Enrichment Strategy for In-Depth Coverage of the Methyllysine Proteome.

Proteomics is a powerful method to comprehensively understand cellular posttranslational modifications (PTMs). Owing to low abundance, tryptic peptides with PTMs are usually enriched for enhanced coverage by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Affinity chromatography for phosphoproteomes by metal-oxide and pan-specific antibodies for lysine acetylome allow identification of tens of thousands of modification sites.