Cold seeps are potential hotspots of deep-sea nitrogen loss driven by microorganisms across 21 phyla.

Nitrogen bioavailability, governed by fixation and loss processes, is crucial for oceanic productivity and global biogeochemical cycles. The key nitrogen loss organisms-denitrifiers and anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (anammox) bacteria-remain poorly understood in deep-sea cold seeps. This study combined geochemical measurements, N stable isotope tracer analysis, metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, and three-dimensional protein structural simulations to explore cold-seeps nitrogen loss processes.

The Gut-Lung Axis During Ethanol Exposure and a Bacterial Challenge.

Susceptibility to and severity of pulmonary infections increase with ethanol consumption. We have previously shown that ethanol-induced changes in the gut microbiome disrupt gut homeostasis, allowing for the translocation of proinflammatory mediators into the circulation and eliciting an immune response in the lung. Additionally, targeting the gut with butyrate supplementation not only rescues ethanol-induced disruptions to gut health but also reverses aspects of immune dysregulation in the lungs.

Viral diversity within marine biofilms and interactions with corrosive microbes.

In marine environments, a wide variety of microbes like bacteria, and archaea influence on the corrosion of materials. Viruses are widely distributed in biofilms among these microbes and may affect the corrosion process through interactions with key corrosive prokaryotes. However, understanding of the viral communities within biofilms and their interactions with corrosive microbes remains is limited.

PALMD haploinsufficiency aggravates extracellular matrix remodeling in vascular smooth muscle cells and promotes calcification.

Reduced PALMD expression is strongly associated with the development of calcified aortic valve stenosis; however, the role of PALMD in vascular calcification remains unknown. Calcified arteries were collected from mice to detect PALMD expression. Heterozygous knockout () mice were established to explore the role of PALMD in subtotal nephrectomy-induced vascular calcification.

Natural variation in MORE GRAINS 1 regulates grain number and grain weight in rice.

Grain yield is determined mainly by grain number and grain weight. In this study, we identified and characterized MORE GRAINS1 (MOG1), a gene associated with grain number and grain weight in rice (Oryza sativa L.), through map-based cloning.

Tributyrin Supplementation Rescues Chronic-Binge Ethanol-Induced Oxidative Stress in the Gut-Lung Axis in Mice.

Excessive alcohol consumption increases the severity and worsens outcomes of pulmonary infections, often due to oxidative stress and tissue damage. While the mechanism behind this relationship is multifaceted, recent evidence suggests ethanol-induced changes to the gut microbiome impact the gut-lung axis. To assess this, a chronic-binge ethanol feeding mouse model was used to determine how ethanol altered the gut microbiome, small intestinal epithelial barrier, and immune responses, as well as neutrophil abundance and oxidative stress in the lungs, and how supporting gut health with tributyrin supplementation during chronic-binge ethanol exposure affected these responses.

A vast repertoire of secondary metabolites potentially influences community dynamics and biogeochemical processes in cold seeps.

In deep-sea cold seeps, microbial communities thrive on the geological seepage of hydrocarbons and inorganic compounds, differing from photosynthetically driven ecosystems. However, their biosynthetic capabilities remain largely unexplored. Here, we analyzed 81 metagenomes, 33 metatranscriptomes, and 7 metabolomes derived from nine different cold seep areas to investigate their secondary metabolites.

The Postbiotic Butyrate Mitigates Gut Mucosal Disruption Caused by Acute Ethanol Exposure.

We aimed to test how the postbiotic butyrate impacts select gut bacteria, small intestinal epithelial integrity, and microvascular endothelial activation during acute ethanol exposure in mice and primary human intestinal microvascular endothelial cells (HIMECs). Supplementation during an acute ethanol challenge with or without tributyrin, a butyrate prodrug, was delivered to C57BL/6 mice. A separate group of mice received 3 days of clindamycin prior to the acute ethanol challenge.

Machine learning-based coronary artery calcium score predicted from clinical variables as a prognostic indicator in patients referred for invasive coronary angiography.

Objectives: Utilising readily available clinical variables, we aimed to develop and validate a novel machine learning (ML) model to predict severe coronary calcification, and further assessed its prognostic significance.

Methods: This retrospective study enrolled patients who underwent coronary CT angiography and subsequent invasive coronary angiography. Multiple ML algorithms were used to train the models for predicting severe coronary calcification (cardiac CT-measured coronary artery calcium [CT-CAC] score ≥ 400).

Palmdelphin Deficiency Evokes NF-κB Signaling in Valvular Endothelial Cells and Aggravates Aortic Valvular Remodeling.

-deficient mice of advanced age manifest increased aortic valve peak velocity, thickened aortic valve leaflets, and excessive extracellular matrix deposition, which are key features of calcific aortic valve disease. PALMD is predominantly expressed in endothelial cells of aortic valves, and PALMD-silenced valvular endothelial cells are prone to oscillatory shear stress-induced endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Mechanistically, PALMD is associated with TNFAIP3 interaction protein 1, a binding protein of TNFAIP3 and IKBKG in NF-κB signaling.

IL-17A induces valvular endothelial inflammation and aggravates calcific aortic valve disease.

Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is an aging related disease characterized by inflammation and fibrocalcific remodeling. IL-17A is a key cytokine associated with pathophysiology of inflammatory and fibrotic disease. Previous studies showed accumulation of IL-17A-producing T helper lymphocytes in human calcified aortic valves and significantly elevated IL-17RA expression in calcified valves.

Competition for Light Interception in Different Plant Canopy Characteristics of Diverse Cotton Cultivars.

Identifying the ideal plant nature and canopy structure is of great importance for improving photosynthetic production and the potential action of plants. To address this challenge, an investigation was accomplished in 2018 and 2019 at the Institute of Cotton Research (ICR) of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science (CAAS), Henan Province, China. Six cotton varieties with diverse maturities and plant canopy structures were used to evaluate the light interception (LI) in cotton, the leaf area index (LAI), the biomass, and the yield throughout the two years of study.

Critical Factors in the Implementation of Risk Awareness Education in Universities in China.

Under the influence of social changes, latent factors in campus safety are increasing, and dealing with them is becoming more difficult. Facing the challenges in the pluralistic society, students need to cope with the changes of external and internal environments in the dynamic society. Additionally, there are new events on campus at any time, which may lead to campus risk.

Targeting the Gut Microbiota and Host Immunity with a -Species Probiotic during Antibiotic Exposure in Mice.

Antibiotic therapy is necessary for the treatment of bacterial infections; however, it can also disrupt the balance and function of commensal gut microbes and negatively affect the host. Probiotics have been tested as a means to counteract the negative effects of antibiotic therapy, but many probiotics are also likely destroyed by antibiotics when taken together. Here we aimed to test the efficacy of a non-pathogenic spore-forming -species containing a probiotic blend provided during antibiotic therapy on host immune defenses in mice.

Active metabolism and biomass dynamics of biocrusts are shaped by variation in their successional state and seasonal energy sources.

Seasonal growth and changes in biomass within communities are the core of ecosystem dynamics. Biocrusts play a prominent role as pioneers in dryland soils. However, the seasonal dynamics of biocrusts remain poorly resolved.

miRNA Expression Profiling Uncovers a Role of miR-139-5p in Regulating the Calcification of Human Aortic Valve Interstitial Cells.

Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is the most common structural heart disease, and the morbidity is increased with elderly population. Several microRNAs (miRNAs) have been identified to play crucial roles in CAVD, and numerous miRNAs are still waiting to be explored. In this study, the miRNA expression signature in CAVD was analyzed unbiasedly by miRNA-sequencing, and we found that, compared with the normal control valves, 152 miRNAs were upregulated and 186 miRNAs were downregulated in calcified aortic valves.

[Effect of arachidonic acid cytochrome P450ω hydroxylase Cyp4a14 gene knockout on skeletal muscle regeneration after injury].

The objective of this study was to explore the roles of arachidonic acid cytochrome P450ω hydroxylase CYP4A14 in skeletal muscle regeneration after injury. Wild-type (WT) control mice and Cyp4a14 knockout (A14) mice were used to establish the muscle injury and regeneration model by intramuscular injection with cardiotoxin (CTX) on the tibial anterior (TA) muscle. The TA muscles were harvested at the time points of 0, 3, 5 and 15 days after injury.

Metagenomic Insight Into Patterns and Mechanism of Nitrogen Cycle During Biocrust Succession.

The successional ecology of nitrogen cycling in biocrusts and the linkages to ecosystem processes remains unclear. To explore this, four successional stages of natural biocrust with five batches of repeated sampling and three developmental stages of simulated biocrust were studied using relative and absolute quantified multi-omics methods. A consistent pattern across all biocrust was found where ammonium assimilation, mineralization, dissimilatory nitrite to ammonium (DNiRA), and assimilatory nitrate to ammonium were abundant, while denitrification medium, N-fixation, and ammonia oxidation were low.