Developing a microfluidic-based epicPCR reveals diverse potential hosts of the gene in marine cold seep.

Anaerobic methanotrophic (ANME) microbes play a crucial role in the bioprocess of anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM). However, due to their unculturable status, their diversity is poorly understood. In this study, we established a microfluidics-based epicPCR (Emulsion, Paired Isolation, and Concatenation PCR) to fuse the 16S rRNA gene and gene to reveal the diversity of ANME microbes ( gene hosts) in three sampling push-cores from the marine cold seep.

Assessment of Compliance Status and Its Determinants Among Hypertensive Patients From County Areas in Zhejiang, China: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objectives: Compliance is crucial for patients to control and manage their high blood pressure. This study assesses the compliance levels of hypertensive patients in China and explores the factors influencing compliance.

Design: A descriptive, cross-sectional design was conducted.

Unveiling the deterministic dynamics of microbial meta-metabolism: a multi-omics investigation of anaerobic biodegradation.

Background: Microbial anaerobic metabolism is a key driver of biogeochemical cycles, influencing ecosystem function and health of both natural and engineered environments. However, the temporal dynamics of the intricate interactions between microorganisms and the organic metabolites are still poorly understood. Leveraging metagenomic and metabolomic approaches, we unveiled the principles governing microbial metabolism during a 96-day anaerobic bioreactor experiment.

Community Health Centers' Responsiveness and Its Associated Factors Among Outpatients in Southeast China: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: The responsiveness of community health centers can reflect the soft capacity of medical institutions and is related to the improvement of health outcome indicators. This study is aimed at assessing the level and distribution of community health centers' responsiveness and its associated factors among outpatients under the health-oriented integrated healthcare system in China.

Methods: A total of 634 outpatients were recruited from six community health centers in Zhejiang Province, China, in July 2022.

Examining the relationship between alterations in plasma cholesterol, vascular endothelin-1 levels, and the severity of sepsis in children: An observational study.

Considering the significant impact of total cholesterol (TC) and vascular endothelin-1 (ET-1) on children sepsis outcomes, this research aimed to explore the association between the levels of plasma cholesterol and vascular endothelin-1 and the severity of sepsis and evaluated its clinical implications. In this study, we examined 250 pediatric patients diagnosed with sepsis between February 2019 and April 2021, collecting data on their plasma levels of TC and ET-1. Depending on the observed outcomes, the participants were divided into 2 categories: a group with a positive prognosis (control group, n = 100) and a group with a negative prognosis (n = 50).

Phylogenetic diversity of functional genes in deep-sea cold seeps: a novel perspective on metagenomics.

Background: Leakages of cold, methane-rich fluids from subsurface reservoirs to the sea floor are termed cold seeps. Recent exploration of the deep sea has shed new light on the microbial communities in cold seeps. However, conventional metagenomic methods largely rely on reference databases and neglect the phylogeny of functional genes.

Discovery, Crystallographic Studies, and Mechanistic Investigations of Novel Phenylalanine Derivatives Bearing a Quinazolin-4-one Scaffold as Potent HIV Capsid Modulators.

Optimization of compound 11L led to the identification of novel HIV capsid modulators, quinazolin-4-one-bearing phenylalanine derivatives, displaying potent antiviral activities against both HIV-1 and HIV-2. Notably, derivatives and showed significant improvements, with 2.5-fold over 11L and 7.

Uncovering the diverse hosts of tigecycline resistance gene (X4) in anaerobic digestion systems treating swine manure by epicPCR.

The (X4) gene is a clinically important tigecycline resistance gene and has shown high persistence in livestock-related environments. However, the bacterial hosts of (X4) remain unknown due to the lack of appropriate approaches. Herein, a culture-independent and high-throughput epicPCR (emulsion, paired isolation, and concatenation polymerase chain reaction) method was developed, optimized, and demonstrated for the identification of bacterial hosts carrying (X4) from environmental samples.

The Stability of Phyto-Zooplanktonic Networks Varied with Zooplanktonic Sizes in Chinese Coastal Ecosystem.

The linkages between phytoplankton and zooplankton are crucial for the stability of complex food webs and the flow of energy within the marine ecosystem. Despite body size exhibiting multiple effects on the planktonic community assembly and the dispersal scale, its role in determining the stability of phyto-zooplanktonic co-occurrence patterns remains unclear. Here, we focused on more than 13,000 kilometers of the Chinese coast to study the diatom-dominated plankton ecosystem and to report the significant negative effects of zooplanktonic body sizes on the topological properties of phyto-zooplanktonic networks (PZNs) by using more than 500 species from 251 samples taken along the coastline.

Evaluation Value and Clinical Significance of Cardiac Troponin Level and Pediatric Sequential Organ Failure Score in the Definition of Sepsis 3.0 in Critically Ill Children.

Objective: A case-control study was conducted to explore the value and clinical significance of troponin level and pediatric sequential organ failure score in the evaluation of sepsis 3.0 definition in critically ill children.

Methods: 180 children with sepsis who were admitted to the ICU from March 2019 to June 2021 were enrolled in our hospital as the research objects.

DARHD: A sequence database for aromatic ring-hydroxylating dioxygenase analysis and primer evaluation.

Biodegradation of aromatic compounds is ubiquitous in the environment and important for controlling organic pollutants. Aromatic ring-hydroxylating dioxygenases (ARHDs) are responsible for the first and rate-limiting step of aerobic biodegradation of aromatic compounds. The ARHD α subunit is a good biomarker for studying functional microorganisms in the environment, however their diversity and corresponding primer coverage are unclear, both of which require a comprehensive sequence database for the ARHD α subunit.

Organic fertilizer potentiates the transfer of typical antibiotic resistance gene among special bacterial species.

The propagation of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in environments has evoked many attentions, however, how to identify their host pathogenic bacteria in situ remains a great challenge. Here we explored the bacterial host distribution and dissemination of a typical ARG, sul1 gene, in agricultural soils through the simultaneous detection of sul1 and its host 16S rRNA gene by emulsion paired isolation and concatenation PCR (epicPCR). Compared to chemical fertilizer, organic fertilizer (chicken manure) led to a higher prevalence of sul1 gene in the soil, and dominant bacterial hosts of sul1 gene were classified into Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes phyla.

iNAP: An integrated network analysis pipeline for microbiome studies.

Integrated network analysis pipeline (iNAP) is an online analysis pipeline for generating and analyzing comprehensive ecological networks in microbiome studies. It is implemented in two sections, that is, network construction and network analysis, and integrates many open-access tools. Network construction contains multiple feasible alternatives, including correlation-based approaches (Pearson's correlation and Spearman's rank correlation along with random matrix theory, and sparse correlations for compositional data) and conditional dependence-based methods (extended local similarity analysis and sparse inverse covariance estimation for ecological association inference), while network analysis provides topological structures at different levels and the potential effects of environmental factors on network structures.

The large-scale spatial patterns of ecological networks between phytoplankton and zooplankton in coastal marine ecosystems.

Although autotrophic phytoplankton and heterotrophic zooplankton both play important roles in the food web of marine ecosystem, their comprehensive interactions and spatial patterns at continental scale remain poorly studied. Here, we collected 251 seawater samples along 13,000 km of Chinese coastline, and microscopically investigated the latitudinal gradients of planktonic diversities. In total, 307 phytoplanktonic and 311 zooplanktonic species were visually identified.

Rod-shaped gold nanoparticles biosynthesized using Pb-induced fungus Aspergillus sp. WL-Au.

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) attracted much attention owing to their distinguished characteristics and applications. In this study, rod-shaped AuNPs were biosynthesized using Pb-induced fungus Aspergillus sp. The synthesized AuNPs showed a UV-vis absorption peak at 534 nm.

A novel environmental fate of graphene oxide: Biodegradation by a bacterium Labrys sp. WJW to support growth.

Graphene oxide (GO) is a new type of nanomaterial with unique physicochemical properties and diverse applications, whereas it poses potential risk to human and environment. By screening from natural soil exposed to GO in the laboratory, we successfully obtained a novel bacterium, Labrys sp. WJW, which was able to use GO as the sole carbon source for growth.

Hierarchical TiN nanoparticles-assembled nanopillars for flexible supercapacitors with high volumetric capacitance.

Titanium nitride (TiN) is an attractive electrode material in fast charging/discharging supercapacitors because of its excellent conductivity. However, the low capacitance and mechanical brittleness of TiN restricts its further application in flexible supercapacitors with high energy density. Thus, it is still a challenge to rationally design TiN electrodes with both high electrochemical and mechanical properties.

Comparison of gold nanoparticles biosynthesized by cell-free extracts of Labrys, Trichosporon montevideense, and Aspergillus.

Biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) by microbes has received much attention as an efficient and eco-friendly process. However, the characteristics of AuNPs biosynthesized by different microbial cell-free extracts are rarely comparatively studied. In this study, three locally isolated strains, i.

Biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles using cell-free extracts of Magnusiomyces ingens LH-F1 for nitrophenols reduction.

A green and eco-friendly method for the synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was developed using the cell-free extracts of a yeast strain Magnusiomyces ingens LH-F1. UV-vis spectra showed a distinct absorption band at ~ 540 nm, corresponding to the surface plasmon resonance of AuNPs. Transmission electron microscopy images revealed that the shapes of AuNPs were almost spherical and pseudo-spherical.

Green synthesis of gold nanoparticles using fungus Mariannaea sp. HJ and their catalysis in reduction of 4-nitrophenol.

In the present study, biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) by the cells (cells-AuNPs) and cell-free extracts (extracts-AuNPs) of a new fungus Mariannaea sp. HJ was reported. The as-synthesized particles were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).

Biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles by Trichoderma sp. WL-Go for azo dyes decolorization.

Developing an eco-friendly approach for metallic nanoparticles synthesis is important in current nanotechnology research. In this study, green synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was carried out by a newly isolated strain Trichoderma sp. WL-Go.

Catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol using gold nanoparticles biosynthesized by cell-free extracts of Aspergillus sp. WL-Au.

A facile one-pot eco-friendly process for synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with high catalytic activity was achieved using cell-free extracts of Aspergillus sp. WL-Au as reducing, capping and stabilizing agents. The surface plasmon resonance band of UV-vis spectrum at 532nm confirmed the presence of AuNPs.

Assessment of Retinal and Choroidal Measurements in Chinese School-Age Children with Cirrus-HD Optical Coherence Tomography.

Purpose: To evaluate retinal thickness (RT), retinal volume (RV) and choroidal thickness (ChT) in Chinese children using Cirrus-HD optical coherence tomography (OCT), and assess their associations with spherical equivalent (SE), age and gender.

Methods: This was a prospective study that recruited 193 healthy Chinese children (193 eyes) with no ophthalmic disease history between December 2012 and December 2013. RT and RV were acquired using OCT.

Green synthesis of gold nanoparticles by a newly isolated strain Trichosporon montevideense for catalytic hydrogenation of nitroaromatics.

Objective: To investigate green synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) by Trichosporon montevideense, and to study their reduction of nitroaromatics.

Results: AuNPs had a characteristic absorption maximum at 535 nm. Scanning electron microscopy images revealed that the biosynthesized nanoparticles were attached on the cell surface.