Exploring the diversity of anti-defense systems across prokaryotes, phages and mobile genetic elements.

The co-evolution of prokaryotes, phages and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) has driven the diversification of defense and anti-defense systems alike. Anti-defense proteins have diverse functional domains, sequences and are typically small, creating a challenge to detect anti-defense homologs across prokaryotic and phage genomes. To date, no tools comprehensively annotate anti-defense proteins within a desired sequence.

Vacancy-rich NiFe-LDH/carbon paper as a novel self-supporting electrode for the electro-Fenton degradation of polyvinyl chloride microplastics.

Electrochemically upcycling polyvinyl chloride (PVC) into high-value small molecules represents a sustainable strategy for mitigating plastic pollution. Herein, a cost-effective self-supporting electrode with abundant vacancies, i.e.

Unveiling the skin microbial guardians and assailants in psoriasis subtypes: a Mendelian randomization study.

Previous studies have shown an association between skin microbiota and psoriasis, but the causal relationship between skin microbiota and different psoriasis subtypes remains unexplored. Our study employed the Mendelian randomization (MR) method, using summary statistics from Genome-Wide Association Studies, to investigate the causal relationships between skin microbiota and different subtypes of psoriasis. The inverse variance weighted (IVW) method served as the primary method in our MR study.

Lung squamous cell carcinoma with metastases in the left atrium and left ventricle responds to treatment with immunotherapy: A case report.

Tumor metastasis is a phenomenon in which tumor cells grow in distant organs far from their primary site and is the final and most lethal manifestation of cancer. Most patients with cancer succumb to metastatic disease, not primary tumors. The occurrence of cardiac metastases is rare, but any primary tumor can potentially metastasize to the heart.

Facile Construction of Soft Plasmonic Sensors with Exceptional Optical Activity for Quantitative Chiral Detection.

The facile construction of transmissive films with ultrabroad optical activity, spanning from deep-ultraviolet to short-wave infrared and offering convenient tunability across a wide range, is highly desirable for applications in sensing, imaging, and communication. However, achieving this remains challenging. Here, an easily applied wet-stretching method is introduced that simultaneously orients polymeric substrates and surface-coated plasmonic nanorods.

Synergistic Acid-Base Action Leads to Ultrafast Decontamination of Nerve and Blister Agents by OH Intercalated Zr-Doped MgAl-LDH under Ambient Conditions.

Developing materials capable of rapidly decontaminating nerve and blister agents directly under ambient conditions are crucial for practical applications. In this work, MgAl Zr-LDH with different Zr doping contents and corresponding OH intercalated materials MgAl Zr-LDH-OH are synthesized. First, they are used for the decontamination of nerve agents under ambient conditions, showing that increasing the Zr doping amount accelerates the decontamination rate of diethyl cyanophosphonate (DECP) and soman (GD), with the half-life of DECP and GD being 3-5 times shorter with MgAlZr-LDH (the highest Zr doping content) compared to MgAl-LDH.

Hydrogen restores central tryptophan and metabolite levels and maintains mitochondrial homeostasis to protect rats from chronic mild unpredictable stress damage.

Background And Purpose: The field of hydrogen medicine has garnered extensive attention since Professor Ohsawa established that low concentrations of hydrogen (2%-4%) exert antioxidant effects. The present study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effect of molecular hydrogen in a CUMS rat model.

Methods: A total of 40 SD rats were randomly divided into a control group, a model group, a hydrogen group, and a positive drug group.

How can traditional Chinese medicine enhance the efficacy of antibiotics in the treatment of MRSA-infected pneumonia: An experimental study on the combination of Reyanning mixture (RYN) and linezolid.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The Reyanning Mixture (RYN) is a Chinese patent medicine widely used in the treatment of respiratory inflammatory diseases in China and has potential in the treatment of bacteria-infected pneumonia.

Aim Of The Study: The present study aimed to demonstrate the therapeutic potential of RYN in combination with linezolid for the treatment of MRSA-infected pneumonia and to explore the mechanisms of action and active components.

Materials And Methods: The pharmacodynamics of RYN alone and in combination with linezolid was investigated in a rat model of MRSA-induced pneumonia.

Identification of 10,000-year-old rice beer at Shangshan in the Lower Yangzi River valley of China.

The origins of rice domestication and the beginnings of alcoholic fermentation in China are intriguing research topics, with the Shangshan culture in the Lower Yangzi River region being a focal point of archaeological investigations. This study employs a multiproxy approach (phytolith, starch, and fungi) to analyze microfossil remains associated with pottery vessels from the earliest phase of the Shangshan site (ca. 10,000 to 9,000 cal.

Bottom-up approaches to prepare ultrathin TiO nanosheets.

Atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) materials are promising platforms to explore the unusual physical and chemical properties in surface chemistry, various catalysis, and devices. Most 2D materials derive from inherently layer-structured compounds through top-down exfoliation, but it is usually challenging to directly prepare ultrathin nanosheets of non-layered materials. TiO contains at least 8 non-layered polymorphs, and some of them have found wide applications in heterogeneous catalysis, photocatalysis, solar cells, lithium-ion batteries, In this review, we summarize typical bottom-up wet-chemistry synthetic systems of atomically thin TiO nanosheets.

Insights into multi-scale structural evolution and dielectric response of poly(methyl acrylate) under pre-strain: A simulation study.

The structural evolution of dielectric elastomer induced by pre-strain is a complex, multi-scale process that poses a significant challenge to a deep understanding of the effect of pre-strain. Through simulation results, we identify the variation in the dielectric constant and multi-scale (electronic structure, molecular chain conformation, and aggregation structure) response of poly(methyl acrylate). As the pre-strain increases, the dielectric constant initially rises (below 200% pre-strain) and then declines (above 200% pre-strain).

Coupling Probiotics with CaO Nanoparticle-Loaded CoFeCe-LDH Nanosheets to Remodel the Tumor Microenvironment for Precise Chemodynamic Therapy.

Chemodynamic therapy (CDT) has become an emerging cancer treatment strategy with advantages of tumor-specificity, high selectivity, and low systemic toxicity. However, it usually suffers from low therapeutic efficacy. This is caused by low hydroxyl radical (·OH) yield arising because of the relatively high pH, overexpressed glutathione, and low HO concentration in the tumor microenvironment (TME).

Copper Ion-Chelated and Polydopamine-Modified Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose Nanoparticles with Multiple Responses for Intelligent Pesticide Release and Improved Foliar Deposition.

Intelligent controlled-release nanopesticides have been a crucial tactic in advanced precision agriculture during the past few years, which can improve pesticide utilization and reduce environmental pollution. Herein, a novel hydroxypropyl methylcellulose-based nanopesticide carrier (PCH) with pH-/enzyme-/near-infrared multiple responses was constructed by the initial cross-linking with dimethyl diallyl ammonium chloride and the subsequent copper ion chelation and polydopamine coating. Avermectin (Av) was further loaded to create the intelligent pesticide release system (APCH) by antisolvent precipitation.

Astragalus polysaccharide/carboxymethyl chitosan/sodium alginate based electroconductive hydrogels for diabetic wound healing and muscle function assessment.

Natural polysaccharides with excellent biocompatibility are considered ideal materials for repairing diabetic foot ulcer. However, diabetic foot ulcer is often accompanied by decreased muscle function, even resulting in muscle atrophy. During wound repair, monitoring muscle function at the wound site in real time can identify the decreased muscle strength timely, which is crucial for precise wound rehabilitation.

Effects of energetic compounds on soil microbial communities and functional genes at a typical ammunition demolition site.

High concentrations of energetic compounds such as 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX), and octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX) in military-contaminated sites pose a serious threat to human health and ecosystems. Better understanding about their effects on microbial diversity and functional genes in soil of ammunition demolition sites is required. In this study, the information of soil microbial community composition was obtained by metagenomic sequencing, and the impacts of energetic compounds on microbial community structure at the level of functional genes and enzymes based on Nr (Non-Redundant Protein Sequence Database), KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes), CAZy (Carbohydrate-Active enZymes Database) and other databases were discussed.

Review of Chinese species of genus Paramritodus Xue & Zhang (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) with description of a new species.

The Chinese leafhopper species of the genus Paramritodus Xue & Zhang are reviewed. One new species, Paramritodus concavicaudus Zhang sp. nov.

Neuropsychiatric comorbidities and associated factors in 182 Chinese children with tic disorders.

Objective: Tic disorders (TD) often present with associated neuropsychiatric comorbidities. This study aims to examine the clinical manifestations of TD in pediatric patients and explore the spectrum and features of neuropsychiatric comorbidities among Chinese children diagnosed with TD.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on pediatric TD cases newly diagnosed at our institution, using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents 5.

Potential therapeutic strategies for colitis and colon cancer: bidirectional targeting STING pathway.

The cyclic-GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS)-stimulator of interferon gene (STING) pathway has emerged as a promising therapeutic target for colitis and colon cancers. Notably, inhibiting STING may mitigate the progression of colitis, whereas activating STING can enhance anti-tumor immune responses against colon cancer. This duality suggests that the development of STING agonists and inhibitors possesses significant clinical translational potential.

Comprehensive host cell proteins profiling in biopharmaceuticals by a sensitivity enhanced mass spectrometry strategy using TMT-labeling and signal boosting.

Background: Host Cell Proteins (HCPs) are impurities expressed in host cells during the biopharmaceutical production process, whichmay compromise product quality and potentially leading to immunogenic reactions or other adverse effects. Mass spectrometry (MS)-based strategy is more and more considered as a promising method for HCPs analysis, since it is capable of simultaneously quantifying thousands of proteins in a single test. However, considering the large excess biopharmaceutical product protein present in the system and the extremely low abundance of HCPs, sensitive MS methods are urgently needed in HCPs analysis.

New mechanisms of PM induced atherosclerosis: Source dependent toxicity and pathogenesis.

Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) is recognized to induce atherosclerosis, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. This study used ambient PM samples collected in one of the highly polluted regions of Guanzhong Plain in China (2017-2020) and an ApoE mouse model to investigate the association between exposure to PM and atherosclerosis. Despite a substantial decrease in the ambient concentration of PM from 266.

Effect of exercise for patients with advanced lung cancer and cancer-related fatigue: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a significant burden for patients with advanced lung cancer. While exercise is recommended for managing CRF during pre- and active treatment phases, evidence supporting its efficacy in advanced stage remains limited. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to quantify the effects of exercise on CRF and its common complications in patients with advanced lung cancer.

Mechanism and nanotechnological-based therapeutics for tolerance and resistance of bacterial biofilms.

Bacterial biofilms are one of the most relevant drivers of chronic and recurrent infections and a significant healthcare problem. Biofilms were formed by cross-linking of hydrophobic extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), such as proteins, polysaccharides, and eDNA, which were synthesized by bacteria themselves after adhesion and colonization on biological surfaces. They had the characteristics of dense structure and low drug permeability, leading to tolerance and resistance of biofilms to antibiotics and to host responses.