Splenic red pulp macrophages eliminate the liver-resistant from the blood circulation of mice.

Invasive infections by encapsulated bacteria are the major cause of human morbidity and mortality. The liver resident macrophages, Kupffer cells, form the hepatic firewall to clear many encapsulated bacteria in the blood circulation but fail to control certain high-virulence capsule types. Here we report that the spleen is the backup immune organ to clear the liver-resistant serotypes of (pneumococcus), a leading human pathogen.

Structure-based development of a covalent inhibitor targeting Streptococcus pyogenes over Staphylococcus aureus sortase A.

Sortase A (SrtA), a cysteine transpeptidase critical for surface protein anchoring in Gram-positive pathogens, represents an attractive antivirulence target. While covalent SrtA inhibitors show therapeutic potential, existing compounds lack species selectivity. Through structure-guided design, we developed T10, a covalent inhibitor selectively targeting Streptococcus pyogenes SrtA (SpSrtA) over Staphylococcus aureus SrtA (SaSrtA).

Longitudinal Multi-Channel Focused Vortex and Vector Beams Generation by Quarter-Wave Plate Meta-Atom Metasurfaces.

Metasurface-based longitudinal modulation introduces the propagation distance as a new degree of freedom, extending the light modulation with metasurfaces from 2D to 3D space. However, relevant longitudinal studies have been constrained to designing the metasurface of half-wave plate (HWP) meta-atoms and generating either non-focused or two-channel vortex and vector beams. In this study, we propose a metasurface composed of quarter-wave plate (QWP) meta-atoms to generate the longitudinal multi-channel focused vortex and vector beams.

Mesoderm/mesenchyme homeobox l as a potential target that orchestrates hepatic stellate cell activation.

Background: Hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation is a critical factor in the development of liver fibrosis. Recent research indicates that mesoderm/mesenchyme homeobox 1 (Meox1) contributes to fibrosis in organs like the skin and heart.

Objectives: To investigate the potential impact of Meox1 on HSC activation and provide an available target for hepatic fibrosis research.

The correlation of starch composition, physicochemical and structural properties of different sorghum grains.

The composition, structure, and physicochemical properties of starch in sorghum grains greatly influence the processing and quality of the final products. In this study, 19 sorghum lines were examined to analyze various starch-related characteristics. Correlation analysis of these key traits, revealed a significant correlation between amylose and amylopectin content.