Bioinformatics analysis, immunogenicity, and therapeutic efficacy evaluation of a novel multi-stage, multi-epitope DNA vaccine for tuberculosis.

Background: The global tuberculosis (TB) epidemic remains severe. We aimed to develop a therapeutic DNA vaccine as an adjunct to TB treatment to improve efficacy.

Methods: The W545 DNA vaccine was constructed using the M.

The bridging role of soil organic carbon in regulating bacterial community by microplastic pollution: Evidence from different microplastic additions.

The serious threat posed by microplastics pollution to soil ecosystems and human health has attracted worldwide attention. Microplastics of different types are present in the soil environment, whereas research about the effects of different microplastics on soil ecology are limited. This study sought to determine how three common microplastics (polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC)) affect soil physicochemical characteristics, enzyme activities, bacterial community, and their metabolic pathways at a 1 % w/w concentration.

Pairing Electrocatalytic Reduction and Oxidation of Biomass-Derived 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural into Highly Value-Added Chemicals.

Simultaneous electrocatalytic reduction and oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is crucial for biomass refineries. Herein, we report the unprecedentedly high efficiency of the nearly complete conversion of biomass-derived HMF to value-added products, achieving >95% selectivity at -0.4 V vs RHE by pairing electrocatalytic reduction and oxidation (PERO) reactions in a single electrochemical cell.

Moderate Highland Barley Intake Affects Anti-Fatigue Capacity in Mice via Metabolism, Anti-Oxidative Effects and Gut Microbiota.

Objectives: this study aimed to explore the effects of different intake levels (20-80%) of highland barley on the anti-fatigue capacity of ICR mice, focusing on energy metabolism, metabolite accumulation, oxidative stress, and changes in the gut microbiota.

Methods: male ICR mice were assigned to five groups: control (normal diet) and four experimental groups with highland barley supplementation at 20%, 40%, 60%, and 80% of total dietary energy. Anti-fatigue performance was assessed by behavioral experiments (rotarod, running, and exhaustive swimming tests), biochemical markers, and gut microbiota analysis.

Physiological and Transcriptome Analysis Provide Insights into the Effects of Low and High Selenium on Methionine and Starch Metabolism in Rice Seedlings.

Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient for the human body and is closely linked to health. Rice ( L.), as a major staple food globally, is the primary source of Se intake for humans.

Machine learning discovery of novel antihypertensive peptides from highland barley protein inhibiting angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE).

Hypertension is a major global health concern, and there is a need for new antihypertensive agents derived from natural sources. This study aims to identify novel angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors from bioactive peptides derived from food sources, particularly highland barley proteins, addressing the gap in effective natural ACE inhibitors. This research employs a machine learning-based pipeline combined with peptidomics to screen for ACE-inhibitory peptides, Gradient Boosted Decision Trees (GBDT) with the best performance among four tested models was used to predict the ACE-inhibitory capacity of peptides derived from papain-hydrolyzed highland barley protein.

Refined highland barley ameliorates obesity-associated insulin resistance in high-fat diet-fed mice by targeting the gut microbiota and liver transcriptomics.

Purpose: It is generally believed that refined grains lack nutritional value compared to whole grains. The objective of this study was to investigate whether refined highland barley (RHB) holds the potential to combat obesity-associated insulin resistance.

Methods: Thirty-two male 6-week-old C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into four groups fed with a normal chow diet, a high-fat diet (HFD), a 30% RHB supplemented HFD diet, and a 30% whole-grain highland barley (WGHB) supplemented HFD diet.

The effect of freeze-thaw cycles on the characteristics of Symplectoteuthis oualaniensis of different sizes.

The objective of this study was to investigate the changes in the characteristics of different sizes of Symplectoteuthis oualaniensis during the freezing-thaw cycle as a means to provide some advice for its storage. The results showed that as the freeze-thaw cycles increase, the medium sizes (MS) group has better freshness. And there was a significant decrease in water holding capacity (WHC) in all groups after the seventh freeze-thaw cycle compared to the first time (p<0.

Microbial Composition Change and Heavy Metal Accumulation in Response to Organic Fertilization Reduction in Greenhouse Soil.

Increased application of organic fertilizer is an effective measure to improve greenhouse soil quality. However, prolonged and intensive application of organic manure has caused nutrient and certain heavy metal accumulation in greenhouse soil. Therefore, the optimal quantity of organic manure required to sustain soil fertility while mitigating the accumulation of heavy metals and other nutrients resulting from continuous application remains unclear.

Integrated enzyme activities and untargeted metabolome to reveal the mechanism that allow long-term biochar-based fertilizer substitution improves soil quality and maize yield.

Biochar-based fertilizer has potential benefits in improving soil quality and crop yield, but the biological mechanisms of soil microbial enzymes interacting with related metabolisms still need to be further investigated. In this study, we combined enzymology and untargeted metabolomics to investigate how biochar-based fertilizer substitution affects soil quality and crop yield by regulating soil enzymes and metabolites in dry-crop farmland. Our findings showed that biochar-based fertilizer substitution enhanced the activities of enzymes related to carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling, as well as influenced metabolite composition.

Quantification of Fugitive Carbon Emissions from Uncontrolled Combustion in Coal Fire Area: the Sandaoba Coalfield, Xinjiang, China.

Spontaneous coal fires are a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to global warming. However, the lack of reliable estimation methods and research has obscured the full environmental impact of these emissions. This paper presents a novel quantification method for fugitive carbon emissions from spontaneous coal combustion.

A global overview of shared genetic architecture between smoking behaviors and major depressive disorder in European and East Asian ancestry.

Background: The co-occurrence of smoking behaviors and major depressive disorder (MDD) has been widely documented in populations. However, the underlying mechanism of this association remains unclear.

Methods: Genome-wide association studies of smoking behaviors and MDD, combined with multi-omics datasets, were used to characterise genetic correlations, identify shared loci and genes, and explore underlying biological mechanisms.

The Adsorption Process and Mechanism of Benzo[a]pyrene in Agricultural Soil Mediated by Microplastics.

The coexistence of microplastics and benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) in the environment, and their interactions within agricultural soils in particular, have garnered widespread attention. This study focused on the early-stage interactions between microplastics and BaP, aiming to uncover their initial adsorption mechanisms. Despite the significant environmental toxicity of both pollutants, research on their mutual interactions in soil is still limited.

Effects of high temperature, high pressure, and high shear during extrusion on maize starch-fish protein extrudates: Based on physical properties and multiscale structure.

This study explored the effects of high temperature, high pressure and high shear during extrusion on maize starch-fish protein extrudates and elucidated the interaction between starch and protein. The results showed that high temperatures promoted an increase in the β-sheets content of the extrudates and contributed to the fusion of starch and protein. High pressure disrupted the starch's agglomerate structure and protein gel network.

Atomically engineered interfaces inducing bridging oxygen-mediated deprotonation for enhanced oxygen evolution in acidic conditions.

The development of efficient and stable electrocatalysts for water oxidation in acidic media is vital for the commercialization of the proton exchange membrane electrolyzers. In this work, we successfully construct Ru-O-Ir atomic interfaces for acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The catalysts achieve overpotentials as low as 167, 300, and 390 mV at 10, 500, and 1500 mA cm in 0.

Feature genes identification and immune infiltration assessment in abdominal aortic aneurysm using WGCNA and machine learning algorithms.

Objective: Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a life-threatening vascular condition. This study aimed to discover new indicators for the early detection of AAA and explore the possible involvement of immune cell activity in its development.

Methods: Sourced from the Gene Expression Omnibus, the AAA microarray datasets GSE47472 and GSE57691 were combined to generate the training set.

Bioinformatics Analysis and Immunogenicity Assessment of the Novel Multi-Stage DNA Vaccine W541 Against Mycobacterium Tuberculosis.

Background: Vaccination is one of the effective measures to prevent latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) from developing into active tuberculosis (TB). Applying bioinformatics methods to pre-evaluate the biological characteristics and immunogenicity of vaccines can improve the efficiency of vaccine development.

Objectives: To evaluate the immunogenicity of TB vaccine W541 and to explore the application of bioinformatics technology in TB vaccine research.

Effects of water deficit on two cultivars of Hibiscus mutabilis: A comprehensive study on morphological, physiological, and metabolic responses.

Hibiscus mutabilis, commonly known as the cotton rose, is a widely cultivated ornamental and has been acclaimed as the representative flower of the 2024 World Horticultural Exposition. The growth and ornamental characteristics of Hibiscus mutabilis can be affected by drought stress. Therefore, we investigated the physiological and metabolic responses of drought-sensitive Hibiscus mutabilis JRX-1 and drought-tolerant Hibiscus mutabilis CDS-4 under drought stress.

Chromosomal analysis of progenies between intersectional hybrids and wild species using ND-FISH and GISH.

Introduction: Intersectional hybrids in lilies possess significant breeding value, but the lack of complete lily genomes and complex genotypes pose challenges for early identification of lily hybrids. This study aimed to use intersectional hybrid cultivars as female parents and wild lilies as male parents to facilitate early identification of hybrid offsprings and enhance the efficiency and convenience of the process.

Methods: We investigated the nature of cross combinations using Non-denaturing Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (ND-FISH) and Genomic In Situ Hybridization (GISH) techniques.

Source to risk receptor transport and spatial hotspots of heavy metals pollution in peri-urban agricultural soils of the largest megacity in China.

The traditional concentration-based health risk assessment of heavy metal (HMs) pollution in soil has often overlooked the initial loading and toxicity differences of HMs from various sources. This oversight hinders effective identification of the risky source, complicating precise risk management of soil HMs pollution. This study applied a source-oriented health risk assessment framework that integrates source profiling, exposure risk assessment, and spatial cluster analysis.

Identification of Key Volatile Compounds in Tilapia during Air Frying Process by Quantitative Gas Chromatography-Ion Mobility Spectrometry.

Air frying as a new roasting technology has potential for roasted fish production. In this study, the changes in volatile compounds (VCs) during air frying of tilapia were studied by quantitative gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry, followed by the identification of key VCs based on their odor activity value (OAV). There were 34 verified VCs, of which 16 VCs were identified as the key VCs with OAV ≥ 1.