Modifies Chronic Airway Infection Risk in Cystic Fibrosis.

Rationale: Chronic () airway infection is common and a key contributor to diminished lung function and early mortality in persons with cystic fibrosis (PwCF). Risk factors for chronic among PwCF include cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator genotype, genetic modifiers, and environmental factors. Intensive antibiotic therapy and highly effective modulators do not eradicate in most adolescents and adults with cystic fibrosis.

Orchestrated desaturation reprogramming from stearoyl-CoA desaturase to fatty acid desaturase 2 in cancer epithelial-mesenchymal transition and metastasis.

Background: Adaptative desaturation in fatty acid (FA) is an emerging hallmark of cancer metabolic plasticity. Desaturases such as stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) and fatty acid desaturase 2 (FADS2) have been implicated in multiple cancers, and their dominant and compensatory effects have recently been highlighted. However, how tumors initiate and sustain their self-sufficient FA desaturation to maintain phenotypic transition remains elusive.

Carbonized wood loading sustainable tannin used as free-standing electrodes for assembling heavy metal-free supercapacitors.

The design of heavy metal-free thick supercapacitor electrodes with excellent energy storage performance through a novel and effective strategy represents an attractive yet challenging area of research. In this study, a sustainable redox-active tannic acid (TA) is loaded on the carbonized wood (CW) collector to construct a low-curvature, high-capacity, heavy metal-free supercapacitor electrode. The uniform loading of TA on the surface of the CW cell wall is achieved through the combined action of mutually stable hydrogen bonding and π-π interactions, which constructs a fast electron transport channel in the collector.

Identification and validation of WDR5 WIN-site ligands via DNA-encoded chemical library screening.

WD repeat-containing protein 5 (WDR5) is a scaffolding protein involved in critical protein-protein interactions and a promising target for therapeutic development. Novel small-molecule ligands targeting WDR5 were identified using the DELopen platform, a free-access DNA-encoded chemical library (DEL) for academic research. Through off-DNA structure-activity relationship studies and photoaffinity labeling, two promising initial leads, DBL-6-13 and DBL-6-33, were identified as new binders of WDR5.

Assessing the Environmental Impact of Municipal Waste on Energy Incineration Technology for Power Generation Using Life Cycle Assessment Methodology.

The life cycle assessment methodology is a comprehensive environmental impact evaluation approach rooted in the "cradle-to-grave" concept. This study takes a municipal solid waste incineration power plant in central China as an example to comprehensively explore the potential ecological and environmental impacts of municipal solid waste incineration power generation through life cycle assessment methods. Burning one ton of waste can recover 7342 joules of thermal energy.

Bis(2-butoxyethyl) Ether-Promoted O-Mediated Oxidation of Alkyl Aromatics to Ketones under Clean Conditions.

Conventional oxidation processes for alkyl aromatics to ketones employ oxidants that tend to generate harmful byproducts and cause severe equipment corrosion, ultimately creating critical environmental problems. Thus, in this study, a practical, efficient, and green method was developed for the synthesis of aromatic ketones by applying a bis(2-butoxyethyl) ether/O system under external catalyst-, additive-, and base-free conditions. This O-mediated oxidation system can tolerate various functional groups and is suitable for large-scale synthesis.

Characterizing PFAS hazards and risks: a human population-based in vitro cardiotoxicity assessment strategy.

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are emerging contaminants of concern because of their wide use, persistence, and potential to be hazardous to both humans and the environment. Several PFAS have been designated as substances of concern; however, most PFAS in commerce lack toxicology and exposure data to evaluate their potential hazards and risks. Cardiotoxicity has been identified as a likely human health concern, and cell-based assays are the most sensible approach for screening and prioritization of PFAS.

Liver eQTL meta-analysis illuminates potential molecular mechanisms of cardiometabolic traits.

Understanding the molecular mechanisms of complex traits is essential for developing targeted interventions. We analyzed liver expression quantitative-trait locus (eQTL) meta-analysis data on 1,183 participants to identify conditionally distinct signals. We found 9,013 eQTL signals for 6,564 genes; 23% of eGenes had two signals, and 6% had three or more signals.

Identification of 5-Thiocyanatothiazol-2-amines Disrupting WDR5-MYC Protein-Protein Interactions.

amplification is frequently observed in approximately 50% of human cancers, rendering it a highly desired anticancer target. Given the challenge of direct pharmacological inhibiting of MYC, impairing the interaction of MYC and its key cofactor WDR5 has been proposed as a promising strategy for MYC-driven cancer treatment. Herein, we report the discovery of 5-thiocyanatothiazol-2-amines that disrupt the WDR5-MYC interaction.

WRKY transcription factors modulate flowering time in four Arachis species: a bioinformatics analysis.

Background: WRKY proteins are important transcription factors (TFs) in plants, involved in growth and development and responses to environmental changes. Although WRKY TFs have been studied at the genome level in Arachis genus, including oil crop and turfgrass, their regulatory networks in controlling flowering time remain unclear. The aim of this study was to predict the molecular mechanisms of WRKY TFs regulation flowering time in Arachis genus at the genome level using bioinformatics approaches.

Facile Recycling of Waste Biomass for Preparation of Hierarchical Porous Carbon with High-Performance Electromagnetic Wave Absorption.

Hierarchical-porous-structured materials have been widely used in the field of electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption, playing a critical role in minimizing EMW interference and pollution. High-quality EMW absorbers, characterized by a lower thickness, lighter weight, wider absorption band, and stronger absorption capacity, have been instrumental in reducing damage and preventing malfunctions in the automotive and aviation industries. The utilization of discarded nut shells through recycling can not only alleviate environmental problems but relieve resource constraints.

Study on the efficacy and mechanism of treatment of manganese-containing wastewater by pulse-alternating current coagulation.

To assess the effectiveness and underlying mechanism of pulse-alternating current coagulation (PACC) for treating manganese-laden wastewater, we examined the influence of various parameters. Specifically, we investigated the impact of current density, initial pH, initial Mn concentration, electrolyte concentration, and alternating current frequency on the removal efficacy. The removal mechanism was meticulously examined using an adsorption kinetics analysis, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrum (FTIR), and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS).

Control of false discoveries in grouped hypothesis testing for eQTL data.

Background: Expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) analysis aims to detect the genetic variants that influence the expression of one or more genes. Gene-level eQTL testing forms a natural grouped-hypothesis testing strategy with clear biological importance. Methods to control family-wise error rate or false discovery rate for group testing have been proposed earlier, but may not be powerful or easily apply to eQTL data, for which certain structured alternatives may be defensible and may enable the researcher to avoid overly conservative approaches.

Hazard and risk characterization of 56 structurally diverse PFAS using a targeted battery of broad coverage assays using six human cell types.

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are extensively used in commerce leading to their prevalence in the environment. Due to their chemical stability, PFAS are considered to be persistent and bioaccumulative; they are frequently detected in both the environment and humans. Because of this, PFAS as a class (composed of hundreds to thousands of chemicals) are contaminants of very high concern.

AI in healthcare: navigating opportunities and challenges in digital communication.

The landscape of healthcare communication is undergoing a profound transformation in the digital age, and at the heart of this evolution are AI-powered chatbots. This mini-review delves into the role of AI chatbots in digital health, providing a detailed exploration of their applications, benefits, challenges, and future prospects. Our focus is on their versatile applications within healthcare, encompassing health information dissemination, appointment scheduling, medication management, remote patient monitoring, and emotional support services.

Synthesis and Antiphytopathogenic Activity of Novel Oxazolidine-2,4-diones Bearing Phenoxypyridine Moiety.

In the present study, we conducted optimization of pyramoxadone and synthesized a series of novel oxazolidinediones. Antifungal assays showed that these compounds exhibited moderate to excellent antifungal activity against various pathogens. Further SAR analysis revealed that the introduction of substituents to the benzene ring of the phenoxy group or the inclusion of bulky groups, such as -butyl, on the aniline moiety, had a detrimental effect on the activity.

Degradation of levofloxacin from antibiotic wastewater by pulse electrochemical oxidation with BDD electrode.

Antibiotic-containing wastewater is a typical biochemical refractory organic wastewater and general treatment methods cannot effectively and quickly degrade the antibiotic molecules. In this study, a novel boron-doped diamond (BDD) pulse electrochemical oxidation (PEO) technology was proposed for the efficient removal of levofloxacin (LFXN) from wastewater. The effects of current density (j), initial pH (pH), frequency (f), electrolyte types and initial concentration (c(LFXN)) on the degradation of LFXN were systematically investigated.

Integrative Chemical-Biological Grouping of Complex High Production Volume Substances from Lower Olefin Manufacturing Streams.

Human cell-based test methods can be used to evaluate potential hazards of mixtures and products of petroleum refining ("unknown or variable composition, complex reaction products, or biological materials" substances, UVCBs). Analyses of bioactivity and detailed chemical characterization of petroleum UVCBs were used separately for grouping these substances; a combination of the approaches has not been undertaken. Therefore, we used a case example of representative high production volume categories of petroleum UVCBs, 25 lower olefin substances from low benzene naphtha and resin oils categories, to determine whether existing manufacturing-based category grouping can be supported.

Association of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection stage with lung function trajectory in children with cystic fibrosis.

Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa) infection in cystic fibrosis (CF) is characterized in stages: never (prior to first positive culture) to incident (first positive culture) to chronic. The association of Pa infection stage with lung function trajectory is poorly understood and the impact of age on this association has not been examined. We hypothesized that FEV decline would be slowest prior to Pa infection, intermediate after incident infection and greatest after chronic Pa infection.

Simultaneous modeling of multivariate heterogeneous responses and heteroskedasticity via a two-stage composite likelihood.

Multivariate heterogeneous responses and heteroskedasticity have attracted increasing attention in recent years. In genome-wide association studies, effective simultaneous modeling of multiple phenotypes would improve statistical power and interpretability. However, a flexible common modeling system for heterogeneous data types can pose computational difficulties.

Spatial sterol metabolism unveiled by stimulated Raman imaging.

Spatiotemporal dynamics of small-molecule metabolites have gained increasing attention for their essential roles in deciphering the fundamental machinery of life. However, subcellular-level regulatory mechanisms remain less studied, particularly due to a lack of tools to track small-molecule metabolites. To address this challenge, we developed high-resolution stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) imaging of a genetically engineered model (GEM) to map metabolites in subcellular resolution.