Disulfide bonds-driven assembly and structural complexity of PTX3: High-resolution structures insights into multimeric architecture.

Pentraxin-3 (PTX3) is a multifunctional pattern-recognition molecule that is essential for immune defense, pathogen recognition, and complement activation. PTX3 is stored as a monomer in neutrophil granules, and assembles into higher-order oligomers upon immune activation, thereby enhancing its antimicrobial function. The mechanism underlying this assembly remains elusive.

Near-atomic cryo-EM structure of the light-harvesting complex LH2 from the sulfur purple bacterium Ectothiorhodospira haloalkaliphila.

Bacteria with the simplest system for solar energy absorption and conversion use various types of light-harvesting complexes for these purposes. Light-harvesting complex 2 (LH2), an important component of the bacterial photosynthetic apparatus, has been structurally well characterized among purple non-sulfur bacteria. In contrast, so far only one high-resolution LH2 structure from sulfur bacteria is known.

Overexpression of the Global Transcriptional Regulator LaeA Leads to Production of Cyclic Lipopeptides in Marine-Derived Aspergillus niger L14.

Overexpression of a global transcriptional regulator LaeA was performed to awaken cryptic biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) in a marine sponge-derived fungus, Aspergillus niger L14, to obtain secondary metabolites (SMs), and resulted in the production of five previously undiscovered SMs in the wild-type strain, including three cyclic lipopeptides aspochracin (1), JBIR-15 (2) sclerotiotide C (3), kojic acid (4) and penicillic acid (5). Bioassays revealed that compound 2 displayed promising antimicrobial effects on Candida albicans with a minimum inhibitory concentration value of 32 µg/mL and 4 exhibited significant antioxidant activity with a similar half-maximal inhibitory concentration value (5 µg/mL) to that of ascorbic acid. Transcriptome analysis results indicated that the overexpression of LaeA in strain L14 remarkably enhanced the expression of genes involved in polyketide synthase-non-ribosomal peptide synthetase hybrids and amino acid metabolism, demonstrating an effective approach for the production of cyclic lipopeptides.

Development of an inducible DNA barcoding system to understand lineage changes in Arabidopsis regeneration.

Plants demonstrate a high degree of developmental plasticity, capable of regenerating entire individuals from detached somatic tissues-a regenerative phenomenon rarely observed in metazoa. Consequently, elucidating the lineage relationship between somatic founder cells and descendant cells in regenerated plant organs has long been a pursuit. In this study, we developed and optimized both DNA barcode- and multi-fluorescence-based cell-lineage tracing toolsets, employing an inducible method to mark individual cells in Arabidopsis donor somatic tissues at the onset of regeneration.

Maximizing the environmental benefits of gas power development in China: A multidisciplinary modeling approach.

China, holding nearly half of the global coal-fired power capacity, must shift from its coal-centric energy system to meet climate and air quality goals. This study explores the optimal utilization of natural gas by evaluating the environmental and economic costs of gas- and coal-fired power using plant-level data and a multidisciplinary modeling approach. We find that gas power has substantially lower air pollution costs (0.

Role of immune cells in mediating the effect of gut microbiota on Hashimoto's thyroiditis: a 2-sample Mendelian randomization study.

Purpose: Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is one of the most commonly encountered types of autoimmune thyroid disorders (AITDs), influenced by environmental factors, genetics, and the immune system. Previous research has shown a correlation between gut microbiota and HT, as well as the involvement of immune cells in its onset and progression. We aimed to investigate whether immune cells act as intermediaries in the causal relationship between gut microbiota and HT.

Green and efficient extraction of an anticaner agent N-methylsansalvamide using ultrasound-assisted deep eutectic solvents from mycelia of strain Frusarium sp. R1.

N-methylsansalvamide (SA), one of cyclic pentadepsipeptides produced by several Fusarium strains, is a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of cancer disease. In order to make sufficient amount of SA for drug development, a green and efficient extraction process of SA from the mycelia of strain Fusarium sp. R1 using deep eutectic solvent-assisted ultrasound extraction (DES-UAE) was firstly achieved in this work.

Effects of social support on music performance anxiety among university music students: chain mediation of emotional intelligence and self-efficacy.

The primary goal of this research is to investigate the relationship between social support and music performance anxiety in the context of social cognitive theory and stimulus-organization-response theory among music university students in China. The study involved both postgraduate and undergraduate students. The suggested framework consisted of three independent variables: parental support, teacher support, and peer support, two mediators: emotional intelligence and self-efficacy, and one dependent variable: music performance anxiety.

Chrysomycin A Reshapes Metabolism and Increases Oxidative Stress to Hinder Glioblastoma Progression.

Glioblastoma represents the predominant and a highly aggressive primary neoplasm of the central nervous system that has an abnormal metabolism. Our previous study showed that chrysomycin A (Chr-A) curbed glioblastoma progression in vitro and in vivo. However, whether Chr-A could inhibit orthotopic glioblastoma and how it reshapes metabolism are still unclear.

Inhibition of Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase Ameliorates Cerebral Blood Flow Autoregulation and Cognition in Alzheimer's Disease and Diabetes-Related Dementia Rat Models.

Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease-related dementias (AD/ADRD) pose major global healthcare challenges, with diabetes mellitus (DM) being a key risk factor. Both AD and DM-related ADRD are characterized by reduced cerebral blood flow, although the exact mechanisms remain unclear. We previously identified compromised cerebral hemodynamics as early signs in TgF344-AD and type 2 DM-ADRD (T2DN) rat models.

Habitat for Coilia nasus in southern Zhejiang Province, China, based on a maximum entropy model.

As an important fishery resource and endangered species, studying the habitat of Coilia nasus (C. nasus) is highly significant. This study used fishery survey data from southern Zhejiang coastal waters from 2016 to 2020, employing a maximum entropy model (MaxEnt) to map the habitat distribution of C.

Safety and efficacy of drug-eluting stents versus heparin-bonded stents in treatment of femoropopliteal peripheral artery disease: study protocol for a multicentre, prospective randomised controlled trial in China (ELITE trial).

Introduction: Endovascular therapy has emerged as a prominent strategy for managing femoropopliteal peripheral artery disease, offering acceptable safety and efficacy compared with open surgical bypass. Both paclitaxel-eluting stents and heparin-bonded covered stents have exhibited enhanced clinical outcomes compared with bare metal stents. However, there is currently a lack of level I evidence comparing the safety and efficacy of paclitaxel-eluting stents and heparin-bonded covered stents.

Clinical characteristics and detection of MYB-QKI fusions in patients with angiocentric glioma.

Purpose: Angiocentric glioma (AG), a benign tumor identified within the last two decades, was officially included in the 2007 WHO Classification of Tumors of the Central Nervous System, WHO grade I. The tumor is relatively rare, with only approximately 100 cases reported. We aim to complement the characteristics and long-term prognosis of AG, as well as to detect MYB-QKI fusions.

The Prognostic Hub Gene POLE2 Promotes BLCA Cell Growth via the PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathway.

Background: BLCA is a common urothelial malignancy characterized by a high recurrence rate. Despite its prevalence, the molecular mechanisms underlying its development remain unclear.

Aims: This study aimed to explore new prognostic biomarkers and investigate the underlying mechanism of bladder cancer (BLCA).

Unveiling biosynthetic potential of an Arctic marine-derived strain Aspergillus sydowii MNP-2.

Background: A growing number of studies have demonstrated that the polar regions have the potential to be a significant repository of microbial resources and a potential source of active ingredients. Genome mining strategy plays a key role in the discovery of bioactive secondary metabolites (SMs) from microorganisms. This work highlighted deciphering the biosynthetic potential of an Arctic marine-derived strain Aspergillus sydowii MNP-2 by a combination of whole genome analysis and antiSMASH as well as feature-based molecular networking (MN) in the Global Natural Products Social Molecular Networking (GNPS).

Causal role of immune cells in Hashimoto's thyroiditis: Mendelian randomization study.

Objectives: Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is a common autoimmune disease whose etiology involves a complex interplay between genetics and environment. Previous studies have demonstrated an association between immune cells and HT. However, the casual relationship was not clear.

Nomogram for Risk of Secondary Venous Thromboembolism in Stroke Patients: A Study Based on the MIMIC-IV Database.

This study aims to identify risk factors for secondary venous thromboembolism (VTE) in stroke patients and establish a nomogram, an accurate predictor of probability of VTE occurrence during hospitalization in stroke patients. Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV (MIMIC-IV) database of critical care medicine was utilized to retrieve information of stroke patients admitted to the hospital between 2008 and 2019. Patients were randomly allocated into train set and test set at 7:3.