Big-brained alien birds tend to occur climatic niche shifts through enhanced behavioral innovation.

Identifying climatic niche shift and its influencing factors is of great significance in predicting the risk of alien species invasions accurately. Previous studies have attempted to identify the factors related to the niche shift of alien species in their invaded ranges, including changes in introduction history, selection of exact climate predictors, and anthropogenic factors. However, the effect of species-level traits on niche shift remains largely unexplored, especially those reflecting the species' adaptation ability to new environments.

Climate match is key to predict range expansion of the world's worst invasive terrestrial vertebrates.

Understanding the determinants of the range expansion of invasive alien species is crucial for developing effective prevention and control strategies. Nevertheless, we still lack a global picture of the potential factors influencing the invaded range expansion across taxonomic groups, especially for the world's worst invaders with high ecological and economic impacts. Here, by extensively collecting data on 363 distributional ranges of 19 of world's worst invasive terrestrial vertebrates across 135 invaded administrative jurisdictions, we observed remarkable variations in the range expansion across species and taxonomic groups.

Study on the mechanism of NLRP3 effect on the skeleton of de-ovalized mice.

Postmenopausal osteoporosis caused by estrogen deficiency affects millions of women worldwide. By influencing both osteoblast and osteoclast development, NOD-like receptor thermoprotein structural domain-associated protein 3 (NLRP3) is a key player in the etiology of osteoporosis (OP). The purpose of this research was to look into the mechanism of action of NLRP3 in osteoporosis caused by a lack of estrogen, highlighting that NLRP3 induces osteoblast pyroptosis and thus inflammatory responses in de-ovulated mice, thereby inhibiting osteogenic differentiation and participating in the development of osteoporosis.

Metal-polyphenol network coated magnetic hydroxyapatite for pH-activated MR imaging and drug delivery.

Engineered nanoparticles responsive to tumor microenvironment parameters such as pH have been developed as drug carriers and for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as contrast agents (CA). Nanoscale hydroxyapatite (HAP) has good biocompatibility and specific inhibition of tumor cells. However, the inherent tendency of nanoscale HAP to agglomerate and degrade under natural conditions has hindered its further application.

LncRNA SNHG7 Knockdown Aggravates Hepatic Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury and Promotes Apoptosis in Hemorrhagic Shock Pregnant Rats by Modulating miR-34a-5p/YWHAG Axis.

Hemorrhagic shock is a frequent threat to pregnant women, and blood transfusions can contribute to organ damage, including hepatic ischemia-reperfusion (HIR) injury. LncRNA SNHG7 (SNHG7) has been reported to exert an essential role in various diseases, while the effect of SNHG7 on HIR injury induced by hemorrhagic shock and reperfusion in pregnant rats is still unclear. In our study, we examined the function and mechanism of SNHG7 in the progression of HIR injury in pregnant rats.

Preferred prey reduce species realized niche shift and improve range expansion prediction.

Many studies have detected realized climatic niche shifts during range changes; this is challenging the fundamental theory of the niche conservatism hypothesis (NCH) and the usefulness of the ecological niche model (ENM) for predicting the distributions of species in space and time by tracking environmental change. Biotic factors such as predatory interactions are important components of species realized niches but are generally difficult to quantify during NCH testing and ENM building. Identifying species' preferred prey may provide a unique opportunity to include trophic interactions in assessing the NCH and determine whether more precise ENM predictions are generated.

Quantitative detection of captopril in urine by smartphone-assisted ratiometric fluorescence sensing platform.

Captopril (CP) is a widely used antihypertensive drug. In this study, a smartphone-assisted sensing platform on the basis of ratiometric fluorescent test strips was developed, which can accomplish visualization for the quantitative detection of captopril. Ratiometric fluorescent probe was constructed from carbon dots (CDs) and gold nanoclusters (Au NCs).

Biological invasions facilitate zoonotic disease emergences.

Outbreaks of zoonotic diseases are accelerating at an unprecedented rate in the current era of globalization, with substantial impacts on the global economy, public health, and sustainability. Alien species invasions have been hypothesized to be important to zoonotic diseases by introducing both existing and novel pathogens to invaded ranges. However, few studies have evaluated the generality of alien species facilitating zoonoses across multiple host and parasite taxa worldwide.

Screening and Demulsification Mechanism of Fluorinated Demulsifier Based on Molecular Dynamics Simulation.

In order to solve the problem of demulsification difficulties in Liaohe Oilfield, 24 kinds of demulsifiers were screened by using the interface generation energy (IFE) module in the molecular dynamics simulation software Materials Studio to determine the ability of demulsifier molecules to reduce the total energy of the oil-water interface after entering the oil-water interface. Neural network analysis (NNA) and genetic function approximation (GFA) were used as technical means to predict the demulsification effect of the Liaohe crude oil demulsifier. The simulation results show that the SDJ9927 demulsifier with ethylene oxide (EO) and propylene oxide (PO) values of 21 (EO) and 44 (PO) reduced the total energy and interfacial tension of the oil-water interface to the greatest extent, and the interfacial formation energy reached -640.

Production of Class II MHC Proteins in Lentiviral Vector-Transduced HEK-293T Cells for Tetramer Staining Reagents.

Class II major histocompatibility complex peptide (MHC-IIp) multimers are precisely engineered reagents used to detect T cells specific for antigens from pathogens, tumors, and self-proteins. While the related Class I MHC/peptide (MHC-Ip) multimers are usually produced from subunits expressed in E. coli, most Class II MHC alleles cannot be produced in bacteria, and this has contributed to the perception that MHC-IIp reagents are harder to produce.

Characterization of a new smog chamber for evaluating SAPRC gas-phase chemical mechanism.

A new state-of-the-art indoor smog chamber facility (CAPS-ZJU) has been constructed and characterized at Zhejiang University, which is designed for chemical mechanism evaluation under well-controlled conditions. A series of characterization experiments were performed to validate the well-established experimental protocols, including temperature variation pattern, light spectrum and equivalent intensity (J), injection and mixing performance, as well as gases and particle wall loss. In addition, based on some characterization experiments, the auxiliary wall mechanism has been setup and examined.

The effects of humidity and ammonia on the chemical composition of secondary aerosols from toluene/NOx photo-oxidation.

The secondary aerosol formation mechanism in the presence of ammonia (NH), is poorly understood, especially under high relative humidity (RH) conditions. In this study, a total of seven experiments were conducted from toluene/NOx photo-oxidation in the presence/absence of NH under dry (~7% RH) and wet (>60% RH) conditions in a ~3 m smog chamber. A series of instruments including gas analysers, scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS), aerosol mass spectrometry (HR-ToF-AMS) etc.

Meteorological and chemical impacts on PM during a haze episode in a heavily polluted basin city of eastern China.

Haze formation involves many interacting factors, such as secondary aerosol formation, unfavourable synoptic conditions and regional transport. The interaction between these factors complicates scientific understanding of the mechanism behind haze formation. In this study, we investigated the factors resulting in haze events in Longyou, a city located in a basin in China.

Correction to "The Discovery of 3,3'-Spiro[azetidine]-2-oxo-indoline Derivatives as Fusion Inhibitors for Treatment of RSV Infection".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.7b00418.

Discovery of 3,3'-Spiro[Azetidine]-2-oxo-indoline Derivatives as Fusion Inhibitors for Treatment of RSV Infection.

A new series of 3,3'-spirocyclic-2-oxo-indoline derivatives was synthesized and evaluated against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in a cell-based assay and animal model. Extensive structure-activity relationship study led to a lead compound , which exhibited excellent potency with an EC value of 0.8 nM and demonstrated 71% oral bioavailability in mice.

Social-demographics, health behaviors, and telomere length in the Mexican American Mano a Mano Cohort.

In the current study, we examined cross-sectional associations among social-demographics, lifestyle behaviors, and relative telomere length (RTL) in peripheral blood leukocytes, as well as longitudinal relationships among major chronic diseases, weight gain, and RTL, among 12,792 Mexican Americans aged 20 to 85 years in the Mano-A-Mano, the Mexican American Cohort. As expected, RTL was inversely correlated with age (=-0.15, <0.

TRAF6 Restricts p53 Mitochondrial Translocation, Apoptosis, and Tumor Suppression.

Mitochondrial p53 is involved in apoptosis and tumor suppression. However, its regulation is not well studied. Here, we show that TRAF6 E3 ligase is a crucial factor to restrict mitochondrial translocation of p53 and spontaneous apoptosis by promoting K63-linked ubiquitination of p53 at K24 in cytosol, and such ubiquitination limits the interaction between p53 and MCL-1/BAK.

AXL is a potential therapeutic target in dedifferentiated and pleomorphic liposarcomas.

Background: AXL is a well-characterized, protumorigenic receptor tyrosine kinase that is highly expressed and activated in numerous human carcinomas and sarcomas, including aggressive subtypes of liposarcoma. However, the role of AXL in the pathogenesis of well-differentiated (WDLPS), dedifferentiated (DDLPS), and pleomorphic liposarcoma (PLS) has not yet been determined.

Methods: Immunohistochemical analysis of AXL expression was conducted on two tissue microarrays containing patient WDLPS, DDLPS, and PLS samples.

Michael acceptor in gambogic acid--Its role and application for potent antitumor agents.

Gambogic acid (GA), a natural product with unique structure, was reported to have broad antiproliferation activities against cancer cell lines. As a reactive Michael acceptor, the 10-position of GA is susceptible to nucleophiles, thus limiting its clinical application as an anticancer agent. Moreover, the 6-OH forms an intramolecular hydrogen bond with 8-CO, which can make the 9, 10 double bond more reactive to nucleophiles.

Mertk deficiency alters expression of micrornas in the retinal pigment epithelium cells.

Phagocytic clearance of the spent photoreceptor outer segments (OS) by RPE cells is regulated by circadian rhythm cycle and is essential for photoreceptor integrity and function. Mertk regulates RPE phagocytosis and a deficiency in Mertk causes photoreceptor degeneration and visual loss. This study aimed to investigate Mertk regulation of the microRNAs (miRNA), potentially regulating expression of their target genes, which affect phagocytosis.

A case report of intracranial infection caused by Shewanella putrefaciens.

Shewanella putrefaciens is as yet reputed to be a rare conditional pathogen. In recent years, some clinical infections caused by Shewanella putrefaciens came into view, and it was possible for the bacteria to be isolated from blood, pus, urine, sputum, and wound secretions, etc. A transferred patient who suffered from intracranial infection after operation of cerebral hemorrhage was admitted in the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University.

Retinal self-antigen induces a predominantly Th1 effector response in Axl and Mertk double-knockout mice.

The TAM family of receptors (Tyro3, Axl, and Mertk) plays an important role in the negative regulation of response of dendritic cells (DCs) and macrophages to pathogenic stimuli, and mice lacking this receptor family develop spontaneous lupus-like systemic autoimmunity against a variety of tissues, including retina. To study the molecular mechanism underlying the TAM regulation of APC functions and subsequent effects on the induction of an autoimmune response against the eye, we examined CD4 T cell differentiation following retinal self-antigen immunization. CD4 T cells prepared from naive or interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP)1-20-immunized Axl and Mertk double-knockout (dko) mice reacted to activation using anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 Abs or to bolster by self-antigen in vitro with a predominantly Th1 effector response, as characterized by increased IFN-γ production and higher frequency of IFN-γ-positive CD4 T cells.

TAM receptor knockout mice are susceptible to retinal autoimmune induction.

Purpose: TAM receptors are expressed mainly by dendritic cells and macrophages in the immune system, and mice lacking TAM receptors develop systemic autoimmune diseases because of inefficient negative control of the cytokine signaling in those cells. This study aims to test the susceptibility of the TAM triple knockout (tko) mice to the retina-specific autoantigen to develop experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU).

Methods: TAM tko mice that were or were not immunized with interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP) peptides were evaluated for retinal infiltration of the macrophages and CD3(+) T cells by immunohistochemistry, spontaneous activation of CD4(+) T cells, and memory T cells by flow cytometry and proliferation of IRBP-specific CD4(+) T cells by [(3)H]thymidine incorporation assay.

Synthesis, antifungal activities, and potential detoxification of N-(2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-beta-D-glucopyranosyl)thiocarbamates.

A series of N-(2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-beta-D-glucopyranosyl)thiocarbamates were synthesized by the reaction of glucosyl isothiocyanates with monohydric and dihydric alcohols, and acetone oxime, using methods of both normal reaction and microwave-assisted synthesis. Antifungal activities of the title compounds were determined with three kinds of plant pathogenic fungi, Fusarium graminearum, Rhizoctoria cerealis, and Colletotrichum orbiculare. The synthesized glucosyl thiocarbamates easily reacted with HgCl(2) to give novel metal-organic compounds, bis[O-alkyl N-(2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-beta-D-glucopyranosyl)thiocarbamato]mercury, in yields of 80%.