C5aR1-positive adipocytes mediate non-shivering thermogenesis in neonatal mice.

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) plays an important role in maintaining body temperature in newborn mammals; however, its mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we report the identification of a special population of brown adipose tissue-derived stromal cells (ASCs) in neonatal mice that highly express CD45 and can be differentiated into adipocytes with lower thermogenic ability. These CD45 adipocytes also characteristically contained complement C5a receptor 1(C5aR1) on the cell membrane.

A Supramolecular Nanoformulation with Adaptive Photothermal/Photodynamic Transformation for Preventing Dental Caries.

In the context of an increasingly escalating antibiotics crisis, phototherapy has emerged as a promising therapeutic approach due to its inherent advantages, including high selectivity, noninvasiveness, and low drug resistance. Photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) are two complementary and promising phototherapies albeit with inherent limitations, noted as the challenges in achieving precise heat confinement and the associated risk of off-target damage for PTT, while the constraints due to the hypoxic microenvironment are prevalent in biofilms faced by PDT. Herein, we have designed a supramolecular nanoformulation that leverages the complexation-induced quenching of guanidinium-modified calix[5]arene grafted with fluorocarbon chains (GC5AF), the efficient recognition of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and the oxygen-carrying capacity of the fluorocarbon chain.

Guest adaptative supramolecular sensing strategy for warning the risky aflatoxins in contaminated cereals.

In the face of diversified analytes, it is a great challenge and infeasible task to design and synthesize corresponding macrocyclic hosts to realize the ideal supramolecular sensing. Herein, we proposed a novel supramolecular sensing strategy, guest adaptative assay (GAA), in which analyte was quantitatively transformed under mild conditions to perfectly adapt to macrocyclic host. As a health-threatening "landmine" in cereals, aflatoxins were converted by the aid of alkali hydrolysis to satisfactorily obtain aflatoxins transformants in ionic state, resulting in sensitive response by the guanidinocalix[5]arene•fluorescein reporter pair.

Non-Floquet engineering in periodically driven dissipative open quantum systems.

Floquet engineering plays a key role in realizing novel dynamical topological states. The conventional Floquet engineering, however, only applies to time-periodic non-dissipative Hermitian systems, and for the open quantum systems, non-Hermitian processes usually occur. So far, it remains unclear how to characterize the topological phases of time-periodic open quantum systems via the frequency space Floquet Hamiltonian.

Topological transition and Majorana zero modes in 2D non-Hermitian chiral superconductor with anisotropy.

We study a non-Hermitian chiral topological superconductor system on two dimensional square lattice, from which we obtained a rich topological phase diagram and established an exact relationship between topological charge flow of exceptional points in generalized Brillouin zone and change of topological properties. Its rich topological phase diagram is the result of competition between anisotropy and non-Hermitian effect. This system belongs to class D according to AZ classification of non-Hermitian systems.

Structurally screening calixarenes as peptide transport activators.

Calixarenes are reportedly excellent activators that can remarkably improve the transport efficiencies of cell penetrating peptides. We employed eight calixarenes to systematically study the influence of structure on activation efficiency, which revealed that the scaffold, head group, and alkyl chain are all significant factors for activation efficiency by affecting affinities with the peptide and membrane.

Effect of high-fat diet for rats at different stages on glucose and lipid metabolism in offspring and related mechanisms.

Objectives: To study the effect of high-fat diet for maternal Sprague-Dawley rats at different stages on glucose and lipid metabolism in offspring and related mechanisms.

Methods: According to the diet before pregnancy and during pregnancy and lactation, maternal rats were randomly divided into four groups (=9 each): CC (control diet before pregnancy and during pregnancy and lactation), HC (high-fat diet before pregnancy and control diet during pregnancy and lactation), CH (control diet before pregnancy and high-fat diet during pregnancy and lactation), and HH (high-fat diet before pregnancy and during pregnancy and lactation), and all offspring rats were given control diet after weaning. The body weight of maternal rats was recorded before and during pregnancy.

Distribution of Microbiota in Fine Particulate Matter Particles in Guangzhou, China.

Objective: High PM concentration is the main feature of increasing haze in developing states, but information on its microbial composition remains very limited. This study aimed to determine the composition of microbiota in PM in Guangzhou, a city located in the tropics in China.

Methods: In Guangzhou, from March 5 to 10 , 2016, PM was collected in middle volume air samplers for 23 h daily.

Robust Majorana edge modes with low frequency multiple time periodic driving.

Floquet Majorana edge modes capture the topological features of periodically driven p-wave superconductors. We present a Kitaev chain with multiple time periodic driving terms. Our results demonstrate how multiple driving will affect Floquet bands in frequency space, leading to more robust Floquet Majorana edge modes against driving frequencyin comparison with the single driving scenario.

Topological supersolidity of dipolar Fermi gases in a spin-dependent optical lattice.

We investigate the topological supersolid states of dipolar Fermi gases trapped in a spin-dependent 2D optical lattice. Our results show that topological supersolid states can be achieved via the combination of topological superfluid states with the stripe order. Different from the general held belief that supersolid state in fermionic system can only survive with simultaneous coexistence of the repulsive and attractive dipolar interaction.

Development of an Internally Controlled Reverse Transcription Recombinase-aided Amplification Assay for the Rapid and Visual Detection of West Nile Virus.

West Nile virus (WNV) causes West Nile fever and West Nile encephalitis. Because infection by WNV creates serious public health problems, its simple, rapid, and visual detection is very important in clinical practice, especially in resource-limited laboratories. We have developed a rapid, specific, and highly sensitive internally controlled reverse transcription recombinase-aided amplification (RTRAA) assay to detect WNV, using both real-time fluorescence and the lateral flow dipstick (LFD) at 39.

Serological Survey of Zika Virus in Humans and Animals in Dejiang Prefecture, Guizhou Province, China.

Objective: The current outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV) poses a severe threat to human health. Two ZIKV strains were isolated from mosquitoes collected from the Dejiang prefecture in China in 2016, which was the first isolation of ZIKV in nature in China.

Methods: In this study, serum samples were collected from 366 healthy individuals and 104 animals from Dejiang prefecture in 2017, and the plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) was used to evaluate the seroprevalence of ZIKV.

New Insight into the Role of Exosomes in Pancreatic Cancer.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal diseases among solid malignancies. Most patients are diagnosed in the late stage or after metastasis. Notably, pancreatic cancer is resistant to chemotherapy and lacks efficient target therapy methods.

Targeting TF-AKT/ERK-EGFR Pathway Suppresses the Growth of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Tissue factor (TF) is a transmembrane glycoprotein to initiate blood coagulation and frequently overexpressed in a variety of tumors. Our previous study has showed that the expression of TF is upregulated and correlated with prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the role and molecular mechanism of TF in the growth of HCC are still unclear.

The Relationship between Japanese Encephalitis and Environmental Factors in China Explored Using National Surveillance Data.

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a serious public health issue. This study was undertaken to better understand the relationship between JE distribution and environmental factors in China. JE data from 2005 to 2010 were retrieved from National Notifiable Disease Report System.

TaqMan Real-time RT-PCR Assay for Detecting and Differentiating Japanese Encephalitis Virus.

Objective: To detect Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) rapidly and distinguish its genotypes, a TaqMan-based reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) detection system was developed.

Methods: By aligning the full-length sequences of JEV (G1-G5), six sets of highly specific TaqMan real-time RT-PCR primers and probes were designed based on the highly conserved NS1, NS2, and M genes of JEV, which included one set for non-specific JEV detection and five sets for the detection of specific JEV genotypes. Twenty batches of mosquito samples were used to evaluate our quantitative PCR assay.

Identification of a Newly Isolated Getah Virus in the China-Laos Border, China.

In this study, we isolated a virus strain (YN12031) from specimens of Armigeres subalbatus collected in the China-Laos border. BHK-21 cells infected with YN12031 exhibited an evident cytopathic effect (CPE) 32 h post-infection. The virus particles were spherical, 70 nm in diameter, and enveloped; they also featured surface fibers.