Observation of Yu-Shiba-Rusinov-like states at the edge of CrBr/NbSe heterostructure.

The hybrid ferromagnet-superconductor heterostructures have attracted extensive attention as they potentially host topological superconductivity. Relevant experimental signatures have recently been reported in CrBr/NbSe ferromagnet-superconductor heterostructure, but controversies remain. Here, we reinvestigate CrBr/NbSe by an ultralow temperature scanning tunneling microscope with higher spatial and energy resolutions.

Architecting a transcriptional repressor-based genetic inverter for tryptophan derived pathway regulation in Escherichia coli.

Efficient microbial cell factories require intricate and precise metabolic regulations for optimized production, which can be significantly aided by implementing regulatory genetic circuits with versatile functions. However, constructing functionally diverse genetic circuits in host strains is challenging. Especially, functional diversification based on transcriptional repressors has been rarely explored due to the difficulty in inverting their repression properties.

Evidence of electron interaction with an unidentified bosonic mode in superconductor CsCaFeAsF.

The kink structure in band dispersion usually refers to a certain electron-boson interaction, which is crucial in understanding the pairing in unconventional superconductors. Here we report the evidence of the observation of a kink structure in Fe-based superconductor CsCaFeAsF using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The kink shows an orbital selective and momentum dependent behavior, which is located at 15 meV below Fermi level along the direction at the band with d orbital character and vanishes when approaching the direction, correlated with a slight decrease of the superconducting gap.

Discovery of a long-ranged charge order with 1/4 Ge1-dimerization in an antiferromagnetic Kagome metal.

Exotic quantum states arise from the interplay of various degrees of freedom such as charge, spin, orbital, and lattice. Recently, a short-ranged charge order (CO) was discovered deep inside the antiferromagnetic phase of Kagome magnet FeGe, exhibiting close relationships with magnetism. Despite extensive investigations, the CO mechanism remains controversial, mainly because the short-ranged behavior hinders precise identification of CO superstructure.

The construction of a novel supplementary diagnostic model for patients with indeterminate HIV infection.

Introduction: The window period, defined as HIV nucleic acid test (NAT) reactivity but Western blot (WB) test inconclusive, is garnering more attention. Improving the detection efficiency of HIV high-risk populations in the window period is critical to reducing the risk of unanticipated transmission. The purpose of this study was to create an additional strategy for distinguishing indeterminate HIV infection cases.

Investigating and Engineering an 1,2-Propanediol-Responsive Transcription Factor-Based Biosensor.

Transcription factor (TF)-based biosensors have arisen as powerful tools in the advancement of metabolic engineering. However, with the emergence of numerous bioproduction targets, the variety of applicable TF-based biosensors remains severely limited. In this study, we investigated and engineered an 1,2-propanediol (1,2-PD)-responsive transcription activator, PocR, from to enrich the current biosensor repertoire.

Advancing microbial production through artificial intelligence-aided biology.

Microbial cell factories (MCFs) have been leveraged to construct sustainable platforms for value-added compound production. To optimize metabolism and reach optimal productivity, synthetic biology has developed various genetic devices to engineer microbial systems by gene editing, high-throughput protein engineering, and dynamic regulation. However, current synthetic biology methodologies still rely heavily on manual design, laborious testing, and exhaustive analysis.

Dynamic Metabolic Control: From the Perspective of Regulation Logic.

Establishing microbial cell factories has become a sustainable and increasingly promising approach for the synthesis of valuable chemicals. However, introducing heterologous pathways into these cell factories can disrupt the endogenous cellular metabolism, leading to suboptimal production performance. To address this challenge, dynamic pathway regulation has been developed and proven effective in improving microbial biosynthesis.

Characteristics of Hepatitis B Virus, Hepatitis C Virus, and Syphilis Coinfection in People With HIV/AIDS Contracted Through Different Sources: Retrospective Study.

Background: The burden of hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and syphilis coinfections remains disproportionately high among people living with HIV/AIDS. Hubei province is located in central China, where there are distinct regional characteristics of the distribution of people living with HIV/AIDS acquired via diverse transmission routes and the AIDS epidemic itself.

Objective: We aimed to estimate the magnitude of HBV, HCV, or syphilis coinfections among people living with HIV/AIDS with blood-borne transmission, which includes former paid blood donors, contaminated blood recipients, and intravenous drug users, as well as among people with sex-borne HIV transmission (including heterosexual people and men who have sex with men) and people with mother-to-child HIV transmission.

A self-regulated network for dynamically balancing multiple precursors in complex biosynthetic pathways.

Microbial synthesis has emerged as a promising and sustainable alternative to traditional chemical synthesis and plant extraction. However, the competition between synthetic pathways and central metabolic pathways for cellular resources may impair final production efficiency. Moreover, when the synthesis of target product requires multiple precursors from the same node, the conflicts of carbon flux have further negative impacts on yields.

JCAD deficiency attenuates activation of hepatic stellate cells and cholestatic fibrosis.

Background/aims: Cholestatic liver diseases including primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) are associated with active hepatic fibrogenesis, which ultimately progresses to cirrhosis. Activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are the main fibrogenic effectors in response to cholangiocyte damage. JCAD regulates cell proliferation and malignant transformation in nonalcoholic steatoheaptitis-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (NASH-HCC).

Establishing Tunable Genetic Logic Gates with Versatile Dynamic Performance by Varying Regulatory Parameters.

Genetic logic gates can be employed in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology to regulate gene expression based on diverse inputs. Design of tunable genetic logic gates with versatile dynamic performance is essential for expanding the usability of these toolsets. Here, using the -coumaric acid biosensor system as a proof-of-concept, we initially investigated the parameters influencing the buffer (BUF) genetic logic gates.

The safety and efficacy of PD-1 inhibitors in patients with advanced cancers and HIV/AIDS in China.

Purpose-Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer therapy, becoming the standard of care for various malignancy treatments. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients, however, are an underserved group with limited access to clinical trials and cancer therapy. This study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of programmed cell death 1 (PD - 1) inhibitors in patients with advanced cancer and HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

Engineering a Cas9 Ortholog with an RxQ PAM-Binding Motif for PAM-Free Gene Control in Bacteria.

The RNA-guided Cas9 endonucleases have revolutionized gene editing and regulation, but their targeting scope is limited by the protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) requirement. The most extensively used SpCas9 from recognizes the NGG PAM via an RxR PAM-binding motif within its PAM-interaction (PI) domain. To overcome the strict PAM requirement, we identified and characterized a Cas9 ortholog from HC5 (SeHCas9) that shows high sequence identity with SpCas9 but harbors a different RxQ PAM-binding motif.

The expanded CRISPR toolbox for constructing microbial cell factories.

Microbial cell factories (MCFs) convert low-cost carbon sources into valuable compounds. The CRISPR/Cas9 system has revolutionized MCF construction as a remarkable genome editing tool with unprecedented programmability. Recently, the CRISPR toolbox has been significantly expanded through the exploration of new CRISPR systems, the engineering of Cas effectors, and the incorporation of other effectors, enabling multi-level regulation and gene editing free of double-strand breaks.

Identifying, Characterizing, and Engineering a Phenolic Acid-Responsive Transcriptional Factor from .

Transcriptional factors-based biosensors are commonly used in metabolic engineering for inducible control of gene expression and related applications such as high-throughput screening and dynamic pathway regulations. Mining for novel transcriptional factors is essential for expanding the usability of these toolsets. Here, we report the identification, characterization, and engineering of a phenolic acid responsive regulator PadR from (BaPadR).

Characterization of peripheral cytokine-secreting cells responses in HIV/TB co-infection.

Background: Currently the responses of peripheral cytokine-secreting cells in the natural course of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis (TB) co-infection haven't been fully elucidated.

Methods: The function of peripheral proinflammatory, regulatory and cytotoxic cytokine-secreting cells were investigated by direct intracellular cytokine staining (ICS) and flow cytometry, additionally, the absolute numbers of different cytokine-secreting cells were measured among patients with HIV/TB co-infection (HT group), and compared them with the healthy controls (HC group), patients with TB (TB group) and patients with HIV infection (HIV group). After one week's anti-TB treatment, the changes of the percentages of cytokine-secreting cells were further evaluated in TB and HT groups.

Application of Metabolite-Responsive Biosensors for Plant Natural Products Biosynthesis.

Plant natural products (PNPs) have shown various pharmaceutical activities, possessing great potential in global markets. Microbial cell factories (MCFs) provide an economical and sustainable alternative for the synthesis of valuable PNPs compared with traditional approaches. However, the heterologous synthetic pathways always lack native regulatory systems, bringing extra burden to PNPs production.

Adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with antiretroviral therapy initiated before pregnancy and during pregnancy: a retrospective study in Hubei province, China.

Background: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation before pregnancy was reported to have an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs) than ART initiation during pregnancy. However, the risks of APOs associated with different ART regimens initiated before or during pregnancy remain unknown.

Methods: Pregnant women living with HIV (PWLHIV) from Hubei Province, China, were retrospectively enrolled between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2021.

Dimensionality-driven metal to Mott insulator transition in two-dimensional 1T-TaSe.

Two-dimensional materials represent a major frontier for research into exotic many-body quantum phenomena. In the extreme two-dimensional limit, electron-electron interaction often dominates over other electronic energy scales, leading to strongly correlated effects such as quantum spin liquid and unconventional superconductivity. The dominance is conventionally attributed to the lack of electron screening in the third dimension.

Charge order driven by multiple-Q spin fluctuations in heavily electron-doped iron selenide superconductors.

Intertwined spin and charge orders have been widely studied in high-temperature superconductors, since their fluctuations may facilitate electron pairing; however, they are rarely identified in heavily electron-doped iron selenides. Here, using scanning tunneling microscopy, we show that when the superconductivity of (LiFeOH)FeSe is suppressed by introducing Fe-site defects, a short-ranged checkerboard charge order emerges, propagating along the Fe-Fe directions with an approximately 2a period. It persists throughout the whole phase space tuned by Fe-site defect density, from a defect-pinned local pattern in optimally doped samples to an extended order in samples with lower T or non-superconducting.

Characteristics of refined lymphocyte subsets changes in people living with HIV/AIDS during antiretroviral therapy period: An observation from Wuhan, China.

Background: To analyze the changing characteristics of continuous monitoring of refined lymphocyte subsets in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) during ART period.

Methods: Refined lymphocyte subsets was continuously monitored using flow cytometry for 173 PLWHA, who were hospitalized in Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University from August 17, 2021 to September 14, 2022. The effect of ART status and duration of ART on changes of refined lymphocyte subsets were compared in different groups.

Establishing biosynthetic pathway for the production of p-hydroxyacetophenone and its glucoside in Escherichia coli.

p-Hydroxyacetophenone (p-HAP) and its glucoside picein are plant-derived natural products that have been extensively used in chemical, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries owing to their antioxidant, antibacterial and antiseptic activities. However, the natural biosynthetic pathways for p-HAP and picein have yet been resolved so far, limiting their biosynthesis in microorganisms. In this study, we design and construct a biosynthetic pathway for de novo production of p-HAP and picein from glucose in E.