Pre-B-Cell leukemia transcription factor 1 contributes to liver fibrosis by enabling IL-7 signaling in hepatic stellate cells.

Background And Aims: Liver fibrosis, when dysregulated, contributes to irreversible loss of hepatic structure and function heralding end-stage liver diseases including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) represent the common progenitor to myofibroblasts that produce extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins to mediate liver fibrosis. In the present study, we investigated the role of Pre-B-Cell leukemia transcription factor 1 (PBX1) in this process.

Screening and Identification of Biocontrol Bacteria for Anthracnose in Mahonia eurybracteata Fedde.

Mahonia eurybracteata exhibits characteristics related to heat dissipation, nutritional supplementation, and possesses antimicrobial and anticancer properties. Despite its widespread cultivation through artificial means, the detrimental impact of anthracnose on its growth has led to extensive reliance on chemical pesticides for disease control. Unscientific pesticide application and the use of outdated spraying techniques contribute to the presence of pesticide residues in both plants and the environment, thereby posing potential risks.

Incorporating multiscale methylation effects into nucleosome-resolution chromatin models for simulating mesoscale fibers.

Histone modifications play a crucial role in regulating chromatin architecture and gene expression. Here we develop a multiscale model for incorporating methylation in our nucleosome-resolution physics-based chromatin model to investigate the mechanisms by which H3K9 and H3K27 trimethylation (H3K9me3 and H3K27me3) influence chromatin structure and gene regulation. We apply three types of energy terms for this purpose: short-range potentials are derived from all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of wildtype and methylated chromatosomes, which revealed subtle local changes; medium-range potentials are derived by incorporating contacts between HP1 and nucleosomes modified by H3K9me3, to incorporate experimental results of enhanced contacts for short chromatin fibers (12 nucleosomes); for long-range interactions we identify H3K9me3- and H3K27me3-associated contacts based on Hi-C maps with a machine learning approach.

Radiologist-in-the-Loop Self-Training for Generalizable CT Metal Artifact Reduction.

Metal artifacts in computed tomography (CT) images can significantly degrade image quality and impede accurate diagnosis. Supervised metal artifact reduction (MAR) methods, trained using simulated datasets, often struggle to perform well on real clinical CT images due to a substantial domain gap. Although state-of-the-art semi-supervised methods use pseudo ground-truths generated by a prior network to mitigate this issue, their reliance on a fixed prior limits both the quality and quantity of these pseudo ground-truths, introducing confirmation bias and reducing clinical applicability.

Enabling genetic manipulation and robustness of Bacillus methanolicus for methanol-based bio-manufacturing.

Methanol-based biomanufacturing holds great promise for sustainability but is currently limited by the slow growth and low efficiency of natural or synthetic methylotrophic strains. In contrast, the thermophilic methylotroph Bacillus methanolicus exhibits rapid growth, high-temperatures tolerance, and efficient methanol utilization in defined mineral medium, making it a promising candidate for industrial applications. However, its potential is constrained by reluctant genetic modification and suboptimal robustness under fluctuating methanol concentrations.

Walnut shell-based biochar-assisted Fe sites anchored carbon-rich g-CN: Boosting photodegradation of 2-Mercaptobenzothiazole though synergistic enhancement of Fe sites and C substitution.

To expand the utilization of discarded walnut shells and enhance the photocatalytic activity of graphitic carbon nitride(g-CN), the carbon-rich graphitic carbon nitride anchored with Fe sites (FeW-CN) was synthesized via a walnut shell-based biochar-assisted strategy. Unlike the direct thermal copolymerization of melamine for g-CN, the iron-loaded walnut shell-based biochar (FeW) was first synthesized, followed by thermal copolymerization of melamine with FeW to form FeW-CN. The C substitution on the triazine ring enhanced the light absorption and electron migration for FeW-CN.

Re and Ru Co-Doped Transition Metal Alloy as a Bifunctional Catalyst for Electrooxidation of Glycerol to Formate Coupled with H Production.

Glycerol electrooxidation (GOR), as an innovative strategy for the production of value-added chemicals, is considered a promising anodic alternative to oxygen evolution reaction in electrocatalysis. However, the high potential and the limited selectivity and faradaic efficiency impede the industrial-scale application toward GOR. Herein, we for the first time constructed rhenium and ruthenium co-doped transition metal alloy (NiCoFeRuRe) for the efficient electrooxidation of glycerol to formate.

Phase transformation in lead titanate based relaxor ferroelectrics with ultra-high strain.

The reverse piezoelectric effect allows for the conversion of an electrical input signal into mechanical displacement and forms the basis for the operation of positioners and actuators. Addressing the practical need for cost-effective sensitive materials, we introduce erbium-doped lead magnesium niobium titanate ceramics which exhibit exceptionally high strain (3.19% bipolar and 0.

Genetic architecture in Greenland is shaped by demography, structure and selection.

Greenlandic Inuit and other indigenous populations are underrepresented in genetic research, leading to inequity in healthcare opportunities. To address this, we performed analyses of sequenced or imputed genomes of 5,996 Greenlanders with extensive phenotypes. We quantified their historical population bottleneck and how it has shaped their genetic architecture to have fewer, but more common, variable sites.

Measuring linkage disequilibrium and improvement of pruning and clumping in structured populations.

Standard measures of linkage disequilibrium (LD) are affected by admixture and population structure, such that loci that are not in LD within each ancestral population appear linked when considered jointly across the populations. The influence of population structure on LD can cause problems for downstream analysis methods, in particular those that rely on LD pruning or clumping. To address this issue, we propose a measure of LD that accommodates population structure using the top inferred principal components.

Compromised 2-start zigzag chromatin folding in immature mouse retina cells driven by irregularly spaced nucleosomes with short DNA linkers.

The formation of condensed heterochromatin is critical for establishing cell-specific transcriptional programs. To reveal structural transitions underlying heterochromatin formation in maturing mouse rod photoreceptors, we apply cryo-EM tomography, AI-assisted deep denoising, and molecular modeling. We find that chromatin isolated from immature retina cells contains many closely apposed nucleosomes with extremely short or absent nucleosome linkers, which are inconsistent with the typical two-start zigzag chromatin folding.

Musical Pitch Perception and Categorization in Listeners with No Musical Training Experience: Insights from Mandarin-Speaking Non-Musicians.

Pitch is a fundamental element in music. While most previous studies on musical pitch have focused on musicians, our understanding of musical pitch perception in non-musicians is still limited. This study aimed to explore how Mandarin-speaking listeners who did not receive musical training perceive and categorize musical pitch.

Disposal and resource utilization of oil-based drill cuttings in China - a review.

As a significant player in the global shale gas extraction industry, China has achieved a leading position in shale gas production on a worldwide scale. However, China is also facing the challenge of managing a considerable quantity of oil-based drill cuttings (OBDCs), which are classified as hazardous waste. Without appropriate treatment methods, these materials could cause significant environmental contamination.

Sildenafil Attenuates Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn via Inhibiting the Growth and Migration of Pulmonary Artery Smooth Muscle Cells.

Introduction: Sildenafil, a selective phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor, modulates vascular dysfunction, with hypoxia-induced pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) proliferation, migration, and invasion closely implicated in vascular remodeling in persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN). This study aimed to assess sildenafil's protective effects against PPHN and elucidate underlying molecular pathways.

Methods: Cell Counting Kit-8, wound healing, and Transwell assays evaluated rat PASMC proliferation, migration, and invasion under hypoxia.

Ultra-sparse reconstruction for photoacoustic tomography: Sinogram domain prior-guided method exploiting enhanced score-based diffusion model.

Photoacoustic tomography, a novel non-invasive imaging modality, combines the principles of optical and acoustic imaging for use in biomedical applications. In scenarios where photoacoustic signal acquisition is insufficient due to sparse-view sampling, conventional direct reconstruction methods significantly degrade image resolution and generate numerous artifacts. To mitigate these constraints, a novel sinogram-domain priors guided extremely sparse-view reconstruction method for photoacoustic tomography boosted by enhanced diffusion model is proposed.

Redox-sensitive epigenetic activation of SUV39H1 contributes to liver ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Liver ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is a clinically relevant pathophysiological process that determines the effectiveness of life-saving liver transplantation, to which aberrant ROS accumulation plays a key role. In the present study we investigated the role of SUV39H1, a lysine methyltransferases, in this process focusing on regulatory mechanism and translational potential. We report that SUV39H1 expression was up-regulated in the liver tissues of mice subjected to ischemia-reperfusion and in hepatocytes exposed to hypoxia-reoxygenation (H/R) in a redox-sensitive manner.

Significant enhancement of the thermal stability and catalytic efficiency of transglutaminase in Streptomyces mobaraensis engineered through the novel S. mobaraensis genomic mutant library construction method GHR/Sml.

Herein, we developed a novel Streptomyces mobaraensis genomic mutant library construction method, GHR/Sml, to directly and significantly enhance the thermal stability and catalytic efficiency of TGase in the genome of S. mobaraensis. First, 13 key amino acid residues and their mutations for enhanced thermal stability were identified using error-prone PCR and site-directed mutagenesis.

Real-time intelligent 3D holographic photography for real-world scenarios.

Three-dimensional (3D) display can provide more information than two-dimensional display, and real-time 3D reconstruction of the real-world environment has broad application prospects as a key technology in the field of meta-universe and Internet of Things. 3D holographic display is considered to be an ideal 3D display scheme, thus enhancing the computational speed and reconstruction quality of 3D holograms can offer substantial support for real-time 3D reconstruction. Here, we proposed a real-time 3D holographic photography for real-world scenarios driven by both physical model and artificial intelligence.

Development of a xylose-inducible and glucose-insensitive expression system for Parageobacillus thermoglucosidasius.

Inducible expression systems are pivotal for governing gene expression in strain engineering and synthetic biotechnological applications. Therefore, a critical need persists for the development of versatile and efficient inducible expression mechanisms. In this study, the xylose-responsive promoter xylA5p and its transcriptional regulator XylR were identified in Parageobacillus thermoglucosidasius DSM 2542.

AI-based automated construction of high-precision Geobacillus thermoglucosidasius enzyme constraint model.

Geobacillus thermoglucosidasius NCIMB 11955 possesses advantages, such as high-temperature tolerance, rapid growth rate, and low contamination risk. Additionally, it features efficient gene editing tools, making it one of the most promising next-generation cell factories. However, as a non-model microorganism, a lack of metabolic information significantly hampers the construction of high-precision metabolic flux models.

Establishment of a transgene-free iPS cell line (SDCHi002-A) from a young patient bearing a NPRL3 mutation and suffering from Epilepsy.

Epilepsy affects ∼ 65 million people worldwide. In this study, peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated from a young patient patient bearing a Nitrogen Perntease Regulator Like 3 Protein (NPRL3) mutation and suffering from Epilepsy verified by clinical and genetic diagnosis. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) were established by a non-integrative method, using plasmids carrying OCT4, SOX2, KLF4, BCL-XL and C-MYC.

Concurrent removal of Fe(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II) cations from acid mine drainage by an industrial solid waste - Steel slag: Behaviors and mechanisms.

Acid mine drainage (AMD) contamination poses a severe environmental threat and is a significant risk to human health. There is an urgent need to develop environmentally sustainable and technically viable solutions for water contamination caused by heavy metals. In this study, steel slag (SS) was used as a secondary resource to concurrently remove Fe(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II) from AMD.