Genome-Wide Epistasis Study of Cerebrospinal Fluid Hyperphosphorylated Tau in ADNI Cohort

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the main cause of dementia worldwide, and the genetic mechanism of which is not yet fully understood. Much evidence has accumulated over the past decade to suggest that after the first large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were conducted, the problem of "missing heritability" in AD is still a great challenge. Epistasis has been considered as one of the main causes of "missing heritability" in AD, which has been largely ignored in human genetics. The focus of current genome-wide epistasis studies is usually on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that have significant individual effects, and the amount of heritability explained by which was very low. Moreover, AD is characterized by progressive cognitive decline and neuronal damage, and some studies have suggested that hyperphosphorylated tau (P-tau) mediates neuronal death by inducing necroptosis and inflammation in AD. Therefore, this study focused on identifying epistasis between two-marker interactions at marginal main effects across the whole genome using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) P-tau as quantitative trait (QT). We sought to detect interactions between SNPs in a multi-GPU based linear regression method by using age, gender, and clinical diagnostic status (cds) as covariates. We then used the STRING online tool to perform the PPI network and identify two-marker epistasis at the level of gene-gene interaction. A total of 758 SNP pairs were found to be statistically significant. Particularly, between the marginal main effect SNP pairs, highly significant SNP-SNP interactions were identified, which explained a relatively high variance at the P-tau level. In addition, 331 AD-related genes were identified, 10 gene-gene interaction pairs were replicated in the PPI network. The identified gene-gene interactions and genes showed associations with AD in terms of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration, neuronal cells activation and brain development, thereby leading to cognitive decline in AD, which is indirectly associated with the P-tau pathological feature of AD and in turn supports the results of this study. Thus, the results of our study might be beneficial for explaining part of the "missing heritability" of AD.

Synergistic inhibition effect of ultraviolet irradiation and benzalkonium chloride on the corrosion of 316L stainless steel caused by Aspergillus terreus

Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) is a key factor that damages engineering materials in marine environments. One of the major concerns in this regard is the corrosion protection of stainless steel (SS) caused against fungal attacks. This study investigated the effect of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation and benzalkonium chloride (BKC) on the corrosion of 316L stainless steel (316L SS) induced by marine Aspergillus terreus in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution. This was accomplished by employing microstructural characterisations and electrochemical analysis to analyse the synergistic inhibition behaviour of the two methods. The results indicated that while UV and BKC demonstrated individual abilities to suppress the biological activity of A. terreus, their inhibitory effects were not significant. The combination of UV light and BKC was found to cause a further decline in the biological activity of A. terreus. The analysis revealed that the combination of BKC and UV significantly decreased the sessile cell counts of A. terreus by more than three orders of magnitude. The fungal corrosion inhibition effect of individual application of UV light or BKC did not yield satisfactory results owing to the low intensity of UV and low concentration of BKC. Furthermore, the corrosion inhibition of UV and BKC occurred mainly during the early stages. The corrosion rate of the 316L SS declined rapidly when the combination of UV light and BKC were used, indicating that UV light and BKC exert a good synergistic inhibitory effect on the corrosion of the 316L SS caused by A. terreus. Therefore, the results suggest that the combination of UV light and BKC can be an effective approach to control the MIC of 316L SS in marine environments.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Vasculopathy in a Syrian Golden Hamster Model

Clinical evidence of vascular dysfunction and hypercoagulability as well as pulmonary vascular damage and microthrombosis are frequently reported in severe cases of human coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Syrian golden hamsters recapitulate histopathologic pulmonary vascular lesions reported in patients with COVID-19. Herein, special staining techniques and transmission electron microscopy further define vascular pathologies in a Syrian golden hamster model of human COVID-19. The results show that regions of active pulmonary inflammation in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection are characterized by ultrastructural evidence of endothelial damage with platelet marginalization and both perivascular and subendothelial macrophage infiltration. SARS-CoV-2 antigen/RNA was not detectable within affected blood vessels. Taken together, these findings suggest that the prominent microscopic vascular lesions in SARS-CoV-2-inoculated hamsters likely occur due to endothelial damage followed by platelet and macrophage infiltration.

EDP2PDF: a computer program for extracting a pair distribution function from an electron diffraction pattern for the structural analysis of materials

Pair distribution function (PDF) analysis is a powerful technique to understand atomic scale structure in materials science. Unlike X-ray diffraction (XRD)-based PDF analysis, the PDF calculated from electron diffraction patterns (EDPs) using transmission electron microscopy can provide structural information from specific locations with high spatial resolution. The present work describes a new software tool for both periodic and amorphous structures that addresses several practical challenges in calculating the PDF from EDPs. The key features of this program include accurate background subtraction using a nonlinear iterative peak-clipping algorithm and automatic conversion of various types of diffraction intensity profiles into a PDF without requiring external software. The present study also evaluates the effect of background subtraction and the elliptical distortion of EDPs on PDF profiles. The EDP2PDF software is offered as a reliable tool to analyse the atomic structure of crystalline and non-crystalline materials.

Circ-SHPRH in human cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Circular RNA (circRNA) molecules are noncoding RNAs with ring-like structures formed by covalent bonds and are characterized by no 5'caps or 3'polyadenylated tails. Increasing evidence shows that circRNAs may play an important role in tumorigenesis and cancer metastasis. Circ-SHPRH originates from exons 26-29 of the SHPRH gene, and it is closely associated with human cancers. We searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases for relevant literatures until 24 December 2022. Eighteen research papers were included in this review, and 11 papers were selected for meta-analysis after screening. Three eligible published studies about circ-SHPRH were enrolled based on their tumor diagnosis aspect, 7 eligible published studies were related to overall survival (OS), and 3 eligible published studies were related to tumor grade. Many studies have shown that circ-SHPRH acts as a miRNA sponge or encodes a protein to regulate downstream genes or signal pathways, and exerts specific biological functions that affect the proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis of cancer cells. Meta-analysis showed that patients with high expression of circ-SHPRH had better OS (HR = 0.53, 95% CI 0.38-0.74, p-value <0.05) and lower TNM stage (HR = 0.33, 95% CI 0.18-0.62, p-value = 0.001). In addition, circ-SHPRH has potential diagnostic value (AUC = 0.8357). This review will help enrich our understanding of the role and mechanism of circ-SHPRH in human cancers. Circ-SHPRH has the potential to be a novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for various solid cancers.

Revealing Variable Dependences in Hexagonal Boron Nitride Synthesis via Machine Learning

Wafer-scale monolayer two-dimensional (2D) materials have been realized by epitaxial chemical vapor deposition (CVD) in recent years. To scale up the synthesis of 2D materials, a systematic analysis of how the growth dynamics depend on the growth parameters is essential to unravel its mechanisms. However, the studies of CVD-grown 2D materials mostly adopted the control variate method and considered each parameter as an independent variable, which is not comprehensive for 2D materials growth optimization. Herein, we synthesized a representative 2D material, monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), on single-crystalline Cu (111) by epitaxial chemical vapor deposition and varied the growth parameters to regulate the hBN domain sizes. Furthermore, we explored the correlation between two growth parameters and provided the growth windows for large flake sizes by the Gaussian process. This new analysis approach based on machine learning provides a more comprehensive understanding of the growth mechanism for 2D materials.

Co-occurrence network in core microorganisms driving the transformation of phosphorous fractionations during phosphorus recovery product used as soil fertilizer

Phosphorus recovery from water and the subsequent reuse of its products can solve both water eutrophication and phosphorus resource waste issues. However, the potential use of the final recovered products as crop phosphorus fertilizers and the transformation of phosphorus fractions in soils have rarely been analyzed. In this study, the effects of a phosphorus recovery product (w-HC/CSH/P) obtained from our previous phosphorus recovery study on pepper growth were investigated. The association between soil phosphorus fraction transformation and the microbial co-occurrence network was investigated using high-throughput sequencing. The results showed that amendment with w-HC/CSH/P could promote the growth and chlorophyll content of pepper, which exhibited high phosphorus fertilizer efficiency. In addition, applying w-HC/CSH/P in soils could increase the microbial alpha-diversity during pepper cultivation and induce changes in the microbial community, leading to an increase in the relative abundance of Povalibacter, Lysobacter, and GP10 and a decrease in GP17. The proportion of Resin-P and NaHCO₃-P_o decreased, whereas that of NaOH-P_o increased during pepper cultivation. psOTU331 (g_Latescibacteria), psOTU377 (g_Lysobacter), and psOTU461 (g_Pseudoxanthomonas) were the key microorganisms driving the transformation of phosphorus fractionation in the microbial co-occurrence network. Latescibacteria and Lysobacter were closely correlated with the transformation of NaHCO₃-P_o to NaOH-P_o, and Pseudoxanthomonas was significantly correlated with a decrease in Resin-P. These observations highlight the potential of phosphorus recovery products as fertilizer for pepper and provide new insights into the transformation of phosphorus fractions corresponding to the microbiome in soils.

Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor mediates neovascularization in acellular dermal matrix-transplanted areas by promoting endothelial progenitor cell homing

Acellular dermal matrix (ADM) is an ideal material for tissue engineering skin construction. Accelerating the vascularization of ADM is of great significance for improving the survival of skin transplantation. The purpose of this study is to investigate the function of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) in endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs)-mediated neovascularization in ADM-transplanted skin area. Male Kunming mice were subcutaneous injected with 10 μg/kg GCSF at 5 days before skin in situ replantation or porcine ADM transplantation. The surrounding tissues of implanted skin or venous blood was collected from the mice before the operation, and after the operation for 48 h, 72 h, 1 week, and 2 weeks, respectively. Cells co-expressing EPC markers, CD133, CD34, and Flk-1 were detected by flow cytometry. Immunohistochemistry of BrdU was performed to evaluate neovascularization in ADM-transplanted skin area. The results showed that G-CSF treatment increased the number of CD133+-CD34+ cells and CD133+-Flk-1+ cells in ADMimplanted area as well as the number of CD34+-Flk-1+ cells in peripheral blood. Likewise, G-CSF also increased the number of capillaries in ADM-transplanted areas. To sum up, G-CSF mobilizes EPC migration from bone marrow to peripheral blood and homing to wound sites, thus inducing neovascularization in ADM-transplanted areas.

Epitaxial substitution of metal iodides for low-temperature growth of two-dimensional metal chalcogenides

The integration of various two-dimensional (2D) materials on wafers enables a more-than-Moore approach for enriching the functionalities of devices^1-3. On the other hand, the additive growth of 2D materials to form heterostructures allows construction of materials with unconventional properties. Both may be achieved by materials transfer, but often suffer from mechanical damage or chemical contamination during the transfer. The direct growth of high-quality 2D materials generally requires high temperatures, hampering the additive growth or monolithic incorporation of different 2D materials. Here we report a general approach of growing crystalline 2D layers and their heterostructures at a temperature below 400 °C. Metal iodide (MI, where M = In, Cd, Cu, Co, Fe, Pb, Sn and Bi) layers are epitaxially grown on mica, MoS₂ or WS₂ at a low temperature, and the subsequent low-barrier-energy substitution of iodine with chalcogens enables the conversion to at least 17 different 2D crystalline metal chalcogenides. As an example, the 2D In₂S₃ grown on MoS₂ at 280 °C exhibits high photoresponsivity comparable with that of the materials grown by conventional high-temperature vapour deposition (~700-1,000 °C). Multiple 2D materials have also been sequentially grown on the same wafer, showing a promising solution for the monolithic integration of different high-quality 2D materials.

Expression pattern analysis of anti-Mullerian hormone in testis development of pearlscale angelfish (Centropyge vrolikii)

In vertebrates, anti-Mullerian hormone (Amh) secreted by Sertoli cells (SC) performs a pivotal function in male sex differentiation. Compared with that of higher vertebrates, the expression pattern of Amh is more diversified in fish. In this study, the full-length complementary DNA (cDNA) of Amh in Centropyge vrolikii (Cv-Amh) was cloned and analysed, which was 2,470 bp, including a 238 bp 5'UTR, a 1,602 bp ORF and a 633 bp 3'UTR; the similarity of Amh between Cv-Amh and other fish is relatively high. The quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) results of healthy tissues and gonads at sex reversal stages in C. vrolikii showed that the expression level of Amh in the testis was significantly higher than that in other tissues (P < 0.05). Amh was weakly expressed in the vitellogenic stage ovary and perinucleolus stage ovary, but its expression significantly increased in the gonads at the hermaphroditic stage, and finally reached the highest in the pure testis after sexual reversal. The results of in situ hybridization indicated that the positive signal of Amh was strongly concentrated in SCs of testis. After Amh knockdown in the gonads, the effect on sex-related genes was tested using qRT-PCR. Among these, the expression of Dmrt1, Cyp11a, Hsd11b2, Sox8 and Sox9 significantly decreased, whereas that of Cyp19a, Sox4, Foxl2 and Sox3 increased. These results suggested that Amh could be the pivotal gene in reproductive regulation in C. vrolikii, and the data will contribute to sex-related research of C. vrolikii in the future.

Elevated methylmercury in Antarctic surface seawater: The role of phytoplankton mass and sea ice

Methylmercury is a neurotoxin that is biomagnified in marine food webs. Its distribution and biogeochemical cycle in Antarctic seas are still poorly understood due to scarce studies. Here, we report the total methylmercury profiles (up to 4000 m) in unfiltered seawater (MeHg_T) from the Ross Sea to the Amundsen Sea. We found high MeHg_T levels in oxic unfiltered surface seawater (upper 50 m depth) in these regions. It was characterized by an obviously higher maximum concentration level of MeHg_T (up to 0.44 pmol/L, at a depth of 3.35 m), which is higher than other open seas (including the Arctic Ocean, the North Pacific Ocean and the equatorial Pacific), and a high MeHg_T average concentration in the summer surface water (SSW, 0.16 ± 0.12 pmol/ L). Further analyses suggest that the high phytoplankton mass and sea-ice fraction are important drivers of the high MeHg_T level that we observed in the surface water. For the influence of phytoplankton, the model simulation showed that the uptake of MeHg by phytoplankton would not fully explain the high levels of MeHg_T, and we speculated that high phytoplankton mass may emit more particulate organic matter as microenvironments that can sustain Hg in-situ methylation by microorganisms. The presence of sea-ice may not only harbor a microbial source of MeHg to surface water but also trigger increased phytoplankton mass, facilitating elevation of MeHg in surface seawater. This study provides insight into the mechanisms that impact the content and distribution of MeHg_T in the Southern Ocean.

Research progress on PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors in the treatment of metastatic urothelial carcinoma

Urothelial carcinoma (UC) is a very common malignant tumor. In the past few decades, platinum-based chemotherapy has been regarded as the standard recommended regimen for patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) who can receive either cisplatin or carboplatin. The emergence of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) brought some hope for possible treatments for mUC patients who were unfit for platinum therapy. ICIs drugs have emerged as new potential weapons to overcome UC in our lifetime. ICIs block the binding of programmed death-1 (PD-1) to programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), leading to enhancement of the immune function of antitumor T cells. In the treatment of UC, ICIs show an apparent ascendancy and effectively enhance survival rates. With good tolerability and remarkable effects, ICIs have given thousands of patients hope. This article mainly shows the application of PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors in mUC.

Grating waveguides by machine learning for augmented reality

We propose a machine-learning-based method for grating waveguides and augmented reality, significantly reducing the computation time compared with existing finite-element-based numerical simulation methods. Among the slanted, coated, interlayer, twin-pillar, U-shaped, and hybrid structure gratings, we exploit structural parameters such as grating slanted angle, grating depth, duty cycle, coating ratio, and interlayer thickness to construct the gratings. The multi-layer perceptron algorithm based on the Keras framework was used with a dataset comprised of 3000-14,000 samples. The training accuracy reached a coefficient of determination of more than 99.9% and an average absolute percentage error of 0.5%-2%. At the same time, the hybrid structure grating we built achieved a diffraction efficiency of 94.21% and a uniformity of 93.99%. This hybrid structure grating also achieved the best results in tolerance analysis. The high-efficiency artificial intelligence waveguide method proposed in this paper realizes the optimal design of a high-efficiency grating waveguide structure. It can provide theoretical guidance and technical reference for optical design based on artificial intelligence.

Positive Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation has driven poleward redistribution of the West Antarctic Peninsula biota through a food-chain mechanism

The West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) has recorded a significant poleward range shift in marine biota, including Adélie penguins, Antarctic krill and phytoplankton. The ecological changes have been widely attributed to Pacific/Southern Hemisphere variabilities. However, the teleconnection from the North Atlantic Ocean, which also could induce changes in the WAP physical environments, has been overlooked. Here we combine state-of-the-art observational/modelling databases to quantify the poleward redistribution since the 1980s of three key members of the WAP biota and explored their response to several climatic oscillations. The abundance of Adélie penguins, Antarctic krill and phytoplankton in the WAP all show a decrease in the north and an increase in the south, leading to a poleward shift of their distribution centers by ~0.8-2.3°. A more positive Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) has contributed to the poleward redistribution of phytoplankton/krill/penguin with a time lag of 0/1/5 yr, indicating a food-chain related mechanism. +AMO in spring resulted in reduced sea ice, earlier ice retreat and enhanced winds in the northern WAP, which constrained phytoplankton blooms and krill reproduction, thereby decreasing the krill recruitment 1 yr later and consequently the penguin recruitment 5 yr later. In the southern WAP, where the sea ice cover was nearly permanent in the 1980s, reduced sea ice and earlier ice retreat promoted phytoplankton growth and krill/penguin reproduction. Our results emphasize the global nature of climate-ecological coupling; the influence of the Northern Hemisphere climate system on Antarctic/Southern Ocean biota is a non-negligible factor for the ecosystem management.

Recent advances in gut microbiota-associated natural products: structures, bioactivities, and mechanisms

Covering: 2014 to June 2022The gut microbiota has attracted increasing attention from researchers due to its critical role in regulating human physiology and pathophysiology. Natural products (NPs) produced or transformed by gut microbes are key signalling mediators for a variety of physiological functions. On the other hand, NPs from ethnomedicines have also been found to generate health benefits through modulation of the gut microbiota. In this highlight, we review the most recent studies related to gut microbiota-derived NPs and bioactive NPs that regulate physiological and pathological processes via gut microbiota-associated mechanisms. We also outline the strategies for the discovery of gut microbiota-derived NPs and the methodologies of how to elucidate the crosstalk between bioactive NPs and the gut microbiota.

Effect of Multifactorial Risk Factor Interventions on Atrial Fibrillation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Evidence supports the benefit of managing atrial fibrillation (AF) specific risk factors in secondary prevention of AF. However, a comprehensive summary of the effect of multifactorial risk factor interventions on outcomes of patients with AF over long-term is lacking. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Cochrane CENTRAL databases from inception to October 2021 for both randomized controlled trials (RCT) and observational studies comparing multifactorial risk factor interventions to usual care in patients with AF. Fifteen studies (10 RCT, 5 observational) with 3786 patients were included (mean age 63.8 years, 64.0% males). Follow-up ranged from 3 to 42 months. We found no significant effects of multifactorial risk factor interventions on AF recurrence [pooled relative risk (RR): 0.93, 95% CI: 0.74-1.16, P = 0.51, I² = 54%], AF-related rehospitalization at 12 months (RR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.43-1.11, P= 0.13, I² = 0%), cardiovascular rehospitalization at 12 months (RR: 0.76, 95% CI: 0.53-1.09, P= 0.13, I² = 53%), or AF-related adverse events at 12 and 15 months. However, multifactorial interventions were associated with reduced AF-related symptoms and improved health-related quality of life (HRQoL) at all studied time points. Current evidence does not support consistent associations between multifactorial risk factor interventions and AF recurrence after rhythm control therapy or AF-related or cardiovascular hospitalization in patients with AF. However, these interventions are associated with clinically relevant improvement in AF-related symptoms and HRQoL. Additional randomized studies are required to evaluate the impact of multifactorial risk factor interventions on patient-centered health outcomes.

Risk Factors and Functional Outcomes with Early Neurological Deterioration after Mechanical Thrombectomy for Acute Large Vessel Occlusion Stroke

Early neurological deterioration (END) is associated with a poor survival after mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in acute ischemic stroke (AIS). To assess risk factors and functional outcomes of END after MT in patients, we analyzed data from 79 patients who received MT with large-vessel occlusion. END after MT in patients is defined as an increase of two points or more in the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, compared with the best neurological status within 7 days. The mechanism of END can be classified into: AIS progression, sICH, and encephaledema. A total of 32 AIS patients (40.5%) had END after MT. Risk factors for END after MT included: history of oral antiplatelet and/or anticoagulation drugs before MT (OR = 9.56,95% CI = 1.02-89.57), higher NIHSS score when admitted to hospital (OR = 1.24, 95% CI = 1.04-1.48), under the subtype of atherosclerotic stroke (OR = 17.36, 95% CI = 1.51-199.56), ASITN/SIR< 2 (OR = 15.78, 95% CI = 1.65-151.26), and prolonged period from AIS onset to the first revascularization (OR = 1.01, 95% CI = 1.00-1.02). AIS patients who had END at early stages were more likely to experience poor outcomes (Modified Rankin Scale [mRS] >2) at 90 days after MT (OR = 6.829, 95% CI = 1.573-29.655). Thus, AIS patients who had experienced END at early stages were more likely to have poor outcomes (mRS >2) at 90 days after MT, and the risk factors of END were connected to the mechanism of END.

CircHGS enhances the progression of bladder cancer by regulating the miR-513a-5p/VEGFC axis and activating the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway

Bladder cancer (BCa) is a malignant tumor that occurs in the bladder mucosa with high mortality. Circular RNAs (circRNAs), as newly discovered noncoding RNAs, are associated with the occurrence and development of BCa. However, the effects of circRNAs in BCa have not been fully elucidated. Through the GEO (Gene Expression Omnibus) database, an abnormally expressed circular RNA, circHGS (hsa_circ_0004721), was first identified in BCa. qRT - PCR was performed to measure the expression of circHGS in BCa tissues and cells. The intracellular localization of circHGS was detected by nucleocytoplasmic separation experiment and fluorescence in situ hybridization assay. In vitro experiments were conducted to detect the effects of circHGS on cell cycle, proliferation, migration and invasion. The correlations between miR-513a-5p and circHGS or VEGFC were confirmed by dual-luciferase reporter assay, qRT - PCR and western blot. The role of circHGS in vivo was verified by xenograft tumor mice model. In this study, we clarified the roles and potential mechanism of circHGS in BCa. CircHGS, originating from the HGS gene, is upregulated in BCa tissues compared to normal tissues. Moreover, the expression of circHGS in BCa was positively associated with tumor grade and pathological T stage. Functionally, silencing of circHGS apparently suppressed cell cycle, proliferation, migration and invasion, but circHGS overexpression showed the opposite result. In vivo experiments also suggested that knockdown of circHGS suppressed tumor growth. Mechanistically, circHGS functions as a sponge of miR-513a-5p to elevate VEGFC expression and activate the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, ultimately promoting BCa progression. Our findings indicated that circHGS promotes BCa progression via the miR-513a-5p/VEGFC/AKT/mTOR pathway and can be a promising therapeutic target of BCa.

Indoor air particles in research vessel from Shanghai to Antarctic: Characteristics, influencing factors, and potential controlling pathway

Despite millions of seafarers and passengers staying on ships each year, few studies have been conducted on the indoor air quality inside ship hulls. In this study, we investigated the levels and size distribution of indoor particulate matter during two cruises of the research vessel "Xuelong" from Shanghai to Antarctica. The results showed that the particle size less than 2.5 µm (PM_2.5), and particle size less than 10 µm (PM₁₀) concentrations in different rooms of the ship widely varied. We observed high particulate matter (PM) levels in some of the rooms. The mass concentration distribution was dominated by 1-4 µm particles, which may have been caused by the hygroscopic growth of fine particles. The dominant factors influencing PM concentrations were indoor temperature, relative humidity, and human activity. We quantified contributions of these factors to the levels of indoor particles using a generalized additive model. In clean rooms, the levels of indoor particles were controlled by temperature and relative humidity, whereas in polluted rooms, the levels of indoor particles were mainly influenced by temperature and human activity, which implied that controlling temperature and human activity would efficiently reduce the levels of indoor particles.

Hippo/YAP1 inhibition by verteporfin attenuates osteophyte formation in a mouse surgical osteoarthritis model

Osteophyte is an outgrowth of cartilage formed at the margins of the affected joint through endochondral ossification-like processes, and is one of the most common radiographic features of osteoarthritis (OA) that has been used to define the stage of disease. Osteophyte has been regarded to adapt the joint to the altered biomechanics of OA patients, limits joint movement and represent a source of joint pain, however, the mechanism of osteophyte formation, the morphology characteristics and biomechanical properties of osteophyte cells are remained unclear. In the present study, we isolated osteophyte cells and chondrocytes from late-stage OA patients who underwent total knee replacement surgeries, by applying Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), we identified osteophyte cells were in irregular shape with dendrites, shrunk cell body, smooth surface and high elastic modulus (23.3 ± 5.4 kPa) when compared with chondrocytes (6.5 ± 1.8 kPa). In addition, osteophyte cells showed higher proliferation ability and colony formation capacity than chondrocytes. Mechanistically, we identified YAP1, the core transcriptional factor of Hippo signaling pathway, was highly expressed in osteophyte cell both at protein and RNA levels. Inactivation of Hippo/YAP1 signaling pathway by Verteporfin is sufficient to inhibit osteophyte cell proliferation in vitro and attenuate osteophyte formation in vivo. In conclusion, the morphology characteristic and biomechanical property of osteophyte cells at single cell level are quite different from chondrocytes, although we could not exclude other regulatory mechanisms, our findings suggested that Hippo/YAP1 is of great importance for osteophyte formation.

Emerging Pathways for Engineering the Rhizosphere Microbiome for Optimal Plant Health

The increasing impacts of global climate change on crop performance pose a significant threat to global food security. The rhizosphere microbiomes intimately interact with the plant and can largely facilitate plants in growth promotion and stress resistance via multiple mechanisms. This review focuses on approaches for harnessing the rhizosphere microbiomes to produce beneficial effects toward enhanced crop productivity, including the use of organic and inorganic amendments, and microbial inoculants. Emerging methods, such as the utilization of synthetic microbial consortia, host-mediated microbiome engineering, prebiotics made from specific plant root exudates, and crop breeding to promote beneficial plant-microbiome interactions, are highlighted. Updating our knowledge in this field is critical for understanding and improving plant-microbiome interactions, thereby enhancing plant adaptiveness to changing environmental conditions.

Tunable Polymer Nanoreactors from RAFT Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly: Fabrication of Nanostructured Carbon-Coated Anatase as Battery Anode Materials with Variable Morphology and Porosity

We demonstrate a modular synthesis approach to yield mesoporous carbon-coated anatase (denoted as TiO₂/C) nanostructures. Combining polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) and reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) dispersion polymerization enabled the fabrication of uniform core-shell polymeric nanoreactors with tunable morphologies. The nanoreactors comprised of a poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) shell and a poly(benzyl methacrylate) (PBzMA) core. We selected worm-like and vesicular morphologies to guide the nanostructuring of a TiO₂ precursor, namely, titanium(IV) bis(ammonium lactato)dihydroxide (TALH). Subsequent carbonization yielded nanocrystalline anatase and simultaneously introduced a porous carbon framework, which also suppressed the crystal growth (∼5 nm crystallites). The as-prepared TiO₂/C materials comprised of a porous structure, with large specific surface areas (>85 m²/g) and various carbon contents (20-30 wt %). As anode components in lithium-ion batteries, our TiO₂/C nanomaterials improved the cycling stability, facilitated high overall capacities, and minimized the capacity loss compared to both their sans carbon and commercial anatase analogues.

Microbial diversity in stingless bee gut is linked to host wing size and influenced by the environment

Stingless bees are important social corbiculate bees, fulfilling critical pollination roles in many ecosystems. However, their gut microbiota, particularly the fungal communities associated with them, remains inadequately characterised. This knowledge gap hinders our understanding of bee gut microbiomes and their impacts on the host fitness. We collected 121 samples from two species, Tetragonula carbonaria and Austroplebeia australis across 1200 km of eastern Australia. We characterised their gut microbiomes and investigated potential correlations between bee gut microbiomes and various geographical and morphological factors. We found their core microbiomes consisted of the abundant bacterial taxa Snodgrassella, Lactobacillus and Acetobacteraceae, and the fungal taxa Didymellaceae, Monocilium mucidum and Aureobasidium pullulans, but variances of their abundances among samples were large. Furthermore, gut bacterial richness of T. carbonaria was positively correlated to host forewing length, an established correlate to body size and fitness indicator in insects relating to flight capacity. This result indicates that larger body size/longer foraging distance of bees could associate with greater microbial diversity in gut. Additionally, both host species identity and management approach significantly influenced gut microbial diversity and composition, and similarity between colonies for both species decreased as the geographic distance between them increased. We also quantified the total bacterial and fungal abundance of the samples using qPCR analyses and found that bacterial abundance was higher in T. carbonaria compared to A. australis, and fungi were either lowly abundant or below the threshold of detection for both species. Overall, our study provides novel understanding of stingless bee gut microbiomes over a large geographic span and reveals that gut fungal communities likely not play an important role in host functions due to their low abundances.

27-gauge microincision vitrectomy surgery compared with 25-gauge microincision vitrectomy surgery on wound closure and need for wound suture and other postoperative parameters in the treatment of vitreoretinal disease: A meta-analysis

We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of 27-gauge microincision vitrectomy surgery compared with 25-gauge microincision vitrectomy surgery on wound closure and the need for wound suture and other postoperative parameters in the treatment of vitreoretinal disease. A systematic literature search up to June 2022 was performed and 1264 subjects with the vitreoretinal disease at the baseline of the studies; 562 of them were using the 27-gauge microincision vitrectomy surgery, and 722 were using 25-gauge microincision vitrectomy surgery. Odds ratio (OR), and mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to assess the effect of 27-gauge microincision vitrectomy surgery compared with 25-gauge microincision vitrectomy surgery on wound closure and the need for wound suture and other postoperative parameters in the treatment of vitreoretinal disease using the dichotomous, and contentious methods with a random or fixed-effect model. The 27-gauge microincision vitrectomy surgery subjects had a significantly lower intraoperative and postoperative wound complication (OR, 6.66; 95% CI, 0.46-0.95, P = .02), and wound suture number (OR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.20-0.71, P = .002), and best corrected visual acuity (MD, -0.03; 95% CI, -0.05 to -0.001, P = .02) compared with 25-gauge microincision vitrectomy surgery in subjects with vitreoretinal disease. However, 27-gauge microincision vitrectomy surgery subjects had no significant difference in the wound closure time (MD, -8.45; 95% CI, -23.44 to 6.55, P = .27), operation time (MD, 0.85; 95% CI, -1.17 to 2.86, P = .41), intraocular pressure at postoperative day 1 (MD, 0.42; 95% CI, -1.45-2.28, P = .66), primary anatomical success rate (OR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.42-1.63, P = .58), and central macular thickness (MD, 1.81; 95% CI, -21.76 to 25.37, P = .88) compared to 25-gauge microincision vitrectomy surgery in subjects with vitreoretinal disease. The 27-gauge microincision vitrectomy surgery subjects had a significantly lower intraoperative and postoperative wound complication, wound suture number, and best corrected visual acuity, and no significant difference in the wound closure time, operation time, intraocular pressure at postoperative day 1, primary anatomical success rate, and central macular thickness compared to 25-gauge microincision vitrectomy surgery in subjects with vitreoretinal disease. The analysis of outcomes should be with caution because of the low sample size of 12 out of 15 studies in the meta-analysis and a low number of studies in certain comparisons.