Boosting the performance of molecular property prediction via graph-text alignment and multi-granularity representation enhancement.

Deep learning is playing an increasingly important role in accurate prediction of molecular properties. Prior to being processed by a deep learning model, a molecule is typically represented in the form of a text or a graph. While some methods attempt to integrate these two forms of molecular representations, the misalignment of graph and text embeddings presents a significant challenge to fuse two modalities.

Olanzapine suppresses mPFC activity-norepinephrine releasing to alleviate CLOCK-enhanced cancer stemness under chronic stress.

Background: Olanzapine (OLZ) reverses chronic stress-induced anxiety. Chronic stress promotes cancer development via abnormal neuro-endocrine activation. However, how intervention of brain-body interaction reverses chronic stress-induced tumorigenesis remains elusive.

Deciphering the Coevolutionary Dynamics of L2 β-Lactamases via Deep Learning.

L2 β-lactamases, serine-based class A β-lactamases expressed by , play a pivotal role in antimicrobial resistance (AMR). However, limited studies have been conducted on these important enzymes. To understand the coevolutionary dynamics of L2 β-lactamase, innovative computational methodologies, including adaptive sampling molecular dynamics simulations, and deep learning methods (convolutional variational autoencoders and BindSiteS-CNN) explored conformational changes and correlations within the L2 β-lactamase family together with other representative class A enzymes including SME-1 and KPC-2.

Pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase 1 reprograms proline metabolism to drive breast cancer stemness under psychological stress.

Cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) contribute to cancer metastasis, drug resistance and tumor relapse, yet how amino acid metabolism promotes CSC maintenance remains exclusive. Here, we identify that proline synthetase PYCR1 is critical for breast cancer stemness and tumor growth. Mechanistically, PYCR1-synthesized proline activates cGMP-PKG signaling to enhance cancer stem-like traits.

N-benzyl-2-methoxy-5-propargyloxybenzoamides, a new type of bleaching herbicides targeting the biosynthesis pathway of plastoquinone.

Background: Previously, the herbicidal activity of N-benzyl-2-methoxybenzamides was discovered during a random screening program in our laboratory. The chemicals resulted in bleaching effect of newly grown leaves by interfering with the biosynthesis of β-carotene in plant.

Results: A total of 28 benzamides were synthesized and subjected for the evaluation of herbicidal activity.

Gating interactions steer loop conformational changes in the active site of the L1 metallo-β-lactamase.

β-Lactam antibiotics are the most important and widely used antibacterial agents across the world. However, the widespread dissemination of β-lactamases among pathogenic bacteria limits the efficacy of β-lactam antibiotics. This has created a major public health crisis.

Progressively narrow the gap of PM pollution characteristics at urban and suburban sites in a megacity of Sichuan Basin, China.

Nowadays, the fine particle pollution is still severe in some megacities of China, especially in the Sichuan Basin, southwestern China. In order to understand the causes, sources, and impacts of fine particles, we collected PM samples and analyzed their chemical composition in typical months from July 2018 to May 2019 at an urban and a suburban (background) site of Chengdu, a megacity in this region. The daily average concentrations of PM ranged from 5.

and Activity of Phibilin Against .

The increase in the occurrence of antifungal-resistant infections necessitates more research to explore alternative effective and safe agents against this fungus. In this work, Phibilin, a new antimicrobial peptide obtained from and used in traditional Chinese medicine, effectively inhibits the growth and activities of , including the clinical resistant strains. Phibilin is a fungicidal antimicrobial peptide that exhibited its antimicrobial effect against mainly by disrupting the membrane and interacting with the DNA of the fungi.

In vitro and in vivo antibacterial activity of a lysine-rich scorpion peptide derivative.

Antimicrobial peptides are widely acknowledged as an alternative class of antimicrobial agents. In this study, a lysine-rich scorpion peptide derivative Pacavin-5K was designed, which showed an improved antibacterial spectrum, significantly higher antibacterial activity, and lower toxicity compared to the native peptide. It also showed an improved thermal and serum stability.

Is Trypophobia a Phobia?

In the past 10 years, thousands of people have claimed to be affected by trypophobia, which is the fear of objects with small holes. Recent research suggests that people do not fear the holes; rather, images of clustered holes, which share basic visual characteristics with venomous organisms, lead to nonconscious fear. In the present study, both self-reported measures and the Preschool Single Category Implicit Association Test were adapted for use with preschoolers to investigate whether discomfort related to trypophobic stimuli was grounded in their visual features or based on a nonconsciously associated fear of venomous animals.

Use of a stringent dimerizer-regulated gene expression system for controlled BMP2 delivery.

Gene therapy using constitutively active viral promoters to drive expression of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) has been extensively evaluated as a strategy for inducing bone regeneration. However, this approach offers little control over the concentration, timing, or duration of BMP synthesis. To gain greater control over BMP kinetics, we developed a new inducible system for the controlled expression of BMP2 using a two-component transcription factor that is dimerized with rapamycin (Rap).

Gene transfer of the Runx2 transcription factor enhances osteogenic activity of bone marrow stromal cells in vitro and in vivo.

Marrow stromal cells (MSCs) have the potential to differentiate into multiple mesenchymal cell types. To harness the power of MSCs for bone regeneration, methods must be developed to direct their differentiation selectively to the osteoblast lineage. The objective of this study was to examine the feasibility of using ex vivo Runx2 gene transfer to enhance the osteogenic activity of MSCs.

Cooperative interactions between activating transcription factor 4 and Runx2/Cbfa1 stimulate osteoblast-specific osteocalcin gene expression.

The role of ATF4 (activating transcription factor 4) in osteoblast differentiation and bone formation was recently described using ATF4-deficient mice (Yang, X., Matsuda, K., Bialek, P.

Combinatorial gene therapy for bone regeneration: cooperative interactions between adenovirus vectors expressing bone morphogenetic proteins 2, 4, and 7.

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) have demonstrated effectiveness as bone regeneration agents whether delivered as recombinant proteins or via gene therapy. Current gene therapy approaches use vectors expressing single BMPs. In contrast, multiple BMPs are coordinately expressed during bone development and fracture healing.