A 4-fold or greater decrease in TPPA titers may indicate effective BPG treatment in primary syphilis.

BACKGROUND: In the majority of clinical environments, the treponema pallidum particle agglutination (TPPA) test is known for its higher specificity compared to the rapid plasma reagin (RPR) test and is commonly employed for the diagnosis of syphilis, but their use for serological monitoring after syphilis therapy is controversial. OBJECTIVES: We aim to evaluate whether the TPPA titers is suitable for monitoring syphilis treatment efficacy. METHODS: At first, 232 patients with primary syphilis were recruited. Serological testing was performed at baseline (initial visit) and at 6 months (±1 month) after benzathine penicillin G (BPG) treatment. Second, New Zealand white male rabbits were infected with Treponema pallidum (T. pallidum) to evaluate the changes in TPPA titers after BPG therapy. Finally, we compared the TPPA titers in the culture supernatant of rabbit splenocytes stimulated with T. pallidum with or without BPG. RESULTS: After 6 months of treatment, 150 (64.7%) of 232 primary syphilis patients achieved serological cure, and 82 (35.3%) had adverse outcomes. Among 110 patients with TPPA titers decreased by more than fourfold, 109 of them were serological cure patients (≥4-fold decrease in RPR titers) (P ＜ 0.0001). In the rabbit model of syphilis, the TPPA titers was significantly decreased in the treatment subgroup (P = 0.016) and remained constant (±2-fold) or increased (≥4-fold) in the nontreatment subgroup. In addition, T. pallidum resulted in a positive TPPA titers in the culture supernatant of splenocytes (median titers was 1: 80), while BPG could directly reduce the TPPA titers in the culture supernatant (median titers was 1: 40) (P = 0.032). CONCLUSIONS: A 4-fold or greater decrease in TPPA titers may indicate effective treatment in primary syphilis. Combining TPPA titers with RPR titers results may potentially aid in the early diagnosis of syphilis.

Treponema pallidum promoted microglia apoptosis and prevented itself from clearing by human microglia via blocking autophagic flux.

Treponema pallidum (Tp) has a well-known ability to evade the immune system and can cause neurosyphilis by invading the central nervous system (CNS). Microglia are resident macrophages of the CNS that are essential for host defense against pathogens, this study aims to investigate the interaction between Tp and microglia and the potential mechanism. Here, we found that Tp can exert significant toxic effects on microglia in vivo in Tg (mpeg1: EGFP) transgenic zebrafish embryos. Single-cell RNA sequencing results showed that Tp downregulated autophagy-related genes in human HMC3 microglial cells, which is negatively associated with apoptotic gene expression. Biochemical and cell biology assays further established that Tp inhibits microglial autophagy by interfering with the autophagosome-lysosome fusion process. Transcription factor EB (TFEB) is a master regulator of lysosome biogenesis, Tp activates the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling to inhibit the nuclear translocation of TFEB, leading to decreased lysosomal biogenesis and accumulated autophagosome. Importantly, the inhibition of autophagosome formation reversed Tp-induced apoptosis and promoted microglial clearance of Tp. Taken together, these findings show that Tp blocks autophagic flux by inhibiting TFEB-mediated lysosomal biosynthesis in human microglia. Autophagosome accumulation was demonstrated to be a key mechanism underlying the effects of Tp in promoting apoptosis and preventing itself from clearing by human microglia. This study offers novel perspectives on the potential mechanism of immune evasion employed by Tp within CNS. The results not only establish the pivotal role of autophagy dysregulation in the detrimental effects of Tp on microglial cells but also bear considerable implications for the development of therapeutic strategies against Tp, specifically involving mTORC1 inhibitors and autophagosome formation inhibitors, in the context of neurosyphilis patients.

Unveiling the SO2 Resistance Mechanism of a Nanostructured SiO2(x)@Mn Catalyst for Low-Temperature NH3-SCR of NO.

Low N2 selectivity and SO2 resistance of Mn-based catalysts for removal of NOx at low temperatures by NH3-SCR (selective catalytic reduction) technology are the two main intractable problems. Herein, a novel core-shell-structured SiO2@Mn catalyst with greatly improved N2 selectivity and SO2 resistance was synthesized by using manganese carbonate tailings as raw materials. The specific surface area of the SiO2@Mn catalyst increased from 30.7 to 428.2 m2/g, resulting in a significant enhancement in NH3 adsorption capacity due to the interaction between Mn and Si. Moreover, the N2O formation mechanism, the anti-SO2 poisoning mechanism, and the SCR reaction mechanism were proposed. N2O originated from the reaction of NH3 with O2 and the SCR reaction, as well as from the reaction of NH3 with the chemical oxygen of the catalyst. Regarding improving the SO2 resistance, DFT calculations showed that SO2 was observed to preferentially adsorb onto the surface of SiO2, thus preventing the erosion of active sites. Adding amorphous SiO2 can transform the reaction mechanism from Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) to Eley-Rideal (E-R) by adjusting the formation of nitrate species to produce gaseous NO2. This strategy is expected to assist in designing an effective Mn-based catalyst for low-temperature NH3-SCR of NO.

Graphene/MoS2-xOx/graphene photomemristor with tunable non-volatile responsivities for neuromorphic vision processing.

Conventional artificial intelligence (AI) machine vision technology, based on the von Neumann architecture, uses separate sensing, computing, and storage units to process huge amounts of vision data generated in sensory terminals. The frequent movement of redundant data between sensors, processors and memory, however, results in high-power consumption and latency. A more efficient approach is to offload some of the memory and computational tasks to sensor elements that can perceive and process the optical signal simultaneously. Here, we proposed a non-volatile photomemristor, in which the reconfigurable responsivity can be modulated by the charge and/or photon flux through it and further stored in the device. The non-volatile photomemristor has a simple two-terminal architecture, in which photoexcited carriers and oxygen-related ions are coupled, leading to a displaced and pinched hysteresis in the current-voltage characteristics. For the first time, non-volatile photomemristors implement computationally complete logic with photoresponse-stateful operations, for which the same photomemristor serves as both a logic gate and memory, using photoresponse as a physical state variable instead of light, voltage and memresistance. The polarity reversal of photomemristors shows great potential for in-memory sensing and computing with feature extraction and image recognition for neuromorphic vision.

Structural Basis of a Novel Agonistic Anti-OX40 Antibody.

Agonistic antibodies targeting co-stimulating receptor OX40 on T cells are considered as important as (or complementary to) the immune checkpoint blockers in cancer treatment. However, none of these agonistic antibodies have reached the late stage of clinical development partially due to the lack of intrinsic potency with the correlation between binding epitope and activity of the antibody not well understood. Here, we identified a novel anti-OX40 agonistic antibody DF004, which stimulated the proliferation of human CD4+ T cells in vitro and inhibited tumor growth in a mouse model. Our crystallography structural studies showed that DF004 binds to the CRD2 region of OX40 while RG7888, an OX40 agonist antibody developed by Roche, binds to CRD3 of OX40 to the diametrically opposite position of DF004. This suggests that the agonistic activities of the antibodies are not necessarily epitope dependent. As their agonistic activities critically depend on clustering or cross-linking, our structural modeling indicates that the agonistic activity requires the optimal positioning of three Fc receptor/antibody/OX40 complexes on the cell membrane to facilitate the formation of one intracellular hexameric TRAF complex for downstream signal transduction, which is relatively inefficient. This may explain the lack of sufficient potency of these OX40 antibodies in a therapeutic setting and sheds light on the development of cross-linking-independent agonistic antibodies.

[Psychological Status and Influencing Factors of Staff at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Sichuan Province during the Outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019].

Objective To assess the psychological status of staff at the centers for disease control and prevention(CDC) in Sichuan during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) and explore the influencing factors. Methods The staff at Sichuan provincial,municipal,and county(district)-level CDC were selected by convenience sampling.Their basic information,work status,training status,work difficulties,and support from the work group were collected from the self-filled questionnaires online.The Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale and the 9-question Patient Health Questionnaire were respectively employed to measure the anxiety and depression of the staff.The stepwise Logistic regression was carried out to analyze the influencing factors of anxiety and depression in CDC staff. Results Among the 653 staff,58.35% and 50.06% presented anxiety and depression,respectively.The regression results showed that age(OR=0.95,95%CI=0.92-0.97) and mental support from the work group(OR=0.61,95%CI=0.45-0.82) were the protective factors while physical fatigue(OR=1.82,95%CI=1.20-2.74),work pressure(OR=1.61,95%CI=1.21-2.12),and insufficient protective equipment(OR=1.92,95%CI=1.06-3.49) were the risk factors for depression of CDC staff.Age(OR=0.97,95%CI=0.94-0.99),length of sleep per day(OR=0.74,95%CI=0.56-0.96),and participation in technical training(OR=0.33,95%CI=0.12-0.95) were the protective factors while mental fatigue(OR=1.68,95%CI=1.18-2.41),work pressure(OR=2.94,95%CI=2.08-4.17),and unclear incentive system for overtime(OR=1.99,95%CI=1.23-3.23) were the risk factors for the anxiety of CDC staff. Conclusion The anxiety and depression status of CDC staff during the COVID-19 outbreak were worrying,which were mainly affected by age,sleep,supply of protective equipment,incentive system,fatigue,and work pressure.

LncRNA-ENST00000421645 Upregulates Kank1 to Inhibit IFN-γ Expression and Promote T Cell Apoptosis in Neurosyphilis.

Long non-coding RNAs are involved in many infectious diseases. Our previous studies showed that lncRNA-ENST00000421645 expression is increased in T lymphocytes of neurosyphilis patients compared to healthy controls. However, whether lncRNA-ENST00000421645 has biological functions remains unclear. The current study was undertaken to understand the mechanism of lncRNA-ENST00000421645 in T lymphocyte function in neurosyphilis patients. The lncRNA-ENST00000421645 pull-down assay showed that lncRNA-ENST00000421645 acted on the acetylase NAT10. The chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-PCR results showed that lncRNA-ENST00000421645 promoted the acetylation of histone H3K27 adjacent to the Kank1 promoter, thereby promoting Kank1 protein expression. Kank1 promotes 14-3-3 protein expression, inhibits NF-kB activation, inhibits IFN-γ secretion by T lymphocytes, and promotes T lymphocyte apoptosis. Taken together, our findings suggest a novel mechanism that LncRNA-ENST00000421645 upregulates Kank1 to inhibit IFN-γ expression and promote T cell apoptosis in neurosyphilis.

Analysis of Factors That Influenced the Mental Health Status of Public Health Workers During the COVID-19 Epidemic Based on Bayesian Networks: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Public health workers are essential to responding to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, but research on anxiety and stress among public health workers during the epidemic is limited. This study aimed to evaluate related factors affecting mental health among public health workers during the epidemic. Methods: Between February 19 and 25, 2020, an online, cross-sectional study was conducted among public health workers in a city in China. Mental health status was assessed using the Chinese versions of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), both with a cutoff score of 5. Work-related variables, workloads and sacrifices, and personal perceptions were also assessed. Results: The prevalence of anxiety and depression were 49.2% and 45.7%, respectively, among public health workers. Three risk factors and one protective factor, namely, overcommitment (OR = 1.10∼1.20, p < 0.001), perceived troubles at work (OR = 1.14∼1.18, p < 0.001), perceived tension (OR = 1.11, p < 0.001) and the capability to persist for more than 1 month at the current work intensity (OR = 0.41∼0.42, p < 0.001) were found to be independently associated with anxiety and depression in the multivariable logistic regression analyses after propensity score matching. But the Bayesian networks analysis found that the last three factors directly affect anxiety and depression. Conclusion: Psychological responses to COVID-19 were dramatic among public health workers during the severe phase of the outbreak. To minimize the impact of the epidemic, working conditions should be improved, and easily accessible psychological support services should be implemented.

A novel SERPINE1-FOSB fusion gene in pseudomyogenic hemangioendothelioma results in activation of intact FOSB and the PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling pathway and responsiveness to sirolimus.

Pseudomyogenic hemangioendothelioma (PHE) is an extremely rare disease that affects mainly the young and more men than women. PHE are multicentric, locally aggressive, have low metastatic potential, and affect multiple tissue planes. Genetic aberrations are frequently detected in PHE and may play important roles in the occurrence, development, and treatment of this disease. In this study, we report a case of PHE with a novel SERPINE1-FOSB fusion gene. The fusion introduced a strong promoter near the coding region of FOSB, resulting in overexpression of intact FOSB. Immunohistochemical analysis showed overexpression of pAKT and mTOR in tumor cells, suggesting activation of the PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling pathway. The patient responded well to targeted therapy with sirolimus, an mTOR inhibitor. Our study correlated dysregulation of a specific signaling pathway and the effectiveness of a targeted therapy to a specific genetic aberration. This information may be useful for future investigations of targeted therapeutics and provide a potential predictive biomarker for therapeutic effectiveness in PHE cases.

Treponemapallidum Dysregulates Monocytes and Promotes the Expression of IL-1ß and Migration in Monocytes Through the mTOR Signaling Pathway.

Monocytes are widely involved in the body's defense response, and abnormally regulated monocyte subsets are closely related to the pathogenesis of various diseases. It is unclear whether Treponema pallidum (Tp) dysregulates monocyte subsets and impacts the functions of monocytes. This study aims to analyze the distribution of monocyte subsets in syphilis patients and the effect of Tp on monocyte functions to explore the pathogenesis of syphilis. Flow cytometry was employed to detect monocyte subsets. With or without pre-treatment with rapamycin, THP-1 cell migration stimulated by Tp was investigated by a Transwell migration assay, and THP-1 cell phagocytosis was studied using fluorescent microspheres. IL-1ß and TNF-α expression was quantified by PCR and flow cytometry, while LC3 and mTOR were investigated in Tp-exposed THP-1 cells using western blotting. Tp infection led to an increase in the proportion of CD14++CD16+ monocytes and a decrease in the proportion of CD14++CD16- monocytes. In addition, Tp promoted monocyte (THP-1) CD14 and CD16 expression in vitro, induced the expression of IL-1ß and TNF-α in a dose-dependent manner and promoted the migration and autophagy of monocytes. Furthermore, mTOR phosphorylation on monocytes was stimulated by Tp, and the levels peaked at 30 min. Pre-treatment with rapamycin (mTOR inhibitor) attenuated the expression of IL-1ß and migration in Tp-exposed THP-1 cells. Tp abnormally regulates monocyte subsets and promotes migration, autophagy, and the expression of IL-1ß and TNF-α in THP-1 cells. Meanwhile, the mTOR affected the expression of IL-1ß and migration in Tp-exposed THP-1 cells. This study is important as it sheds light on the mechanism by which monocytes interact with Tp during infection.

Tp47 induces cell death involving autophagy and mTOR in human microglial HMO6 cells.

BACKGROUND: Tp47 can induce immune cells to produce numerous inflammatory factors, some of which can trigger autophagy. Increased autophagy has a dual effect on cell survival. However, whether Tp47 induces autophagy in microglia is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the potential role of Tp47 in microglia. METHODS: After treatment with Tp47, autophagy-related proteins were assessed in HMO6 human microglial cells by flow cytometry, Western blotting and immunofluorescence. Cell death was assessed by flow cytometry and trypan blue staining. Changes in mTOR pathway proteins were explored by using Western blotting. RESULTS: After treatment with Tp47, a gradual increase in total LC3 expression was observed as a dose- and time-dependent accumulation of its active form, LC3-II (P < 0.05), but P62 expression was downregulated (P < 0.05). Moreover, microglial mortality gradually increased in a dose- and time-dependent manner. 3-Methyladenine (3-MA), a specific inhibitor of PI3KC3, reversed autophagy and cell death. The mortality rate of HMO6 microglial cells treated with Tp47 was approximately 13.7 ±â€¯2%, and the basal expression of p-mTOR, p-p70s6k and p-S6 in these cells was significantly downregulated by Tp47. Moreover, the mortality rate of microglia was significantly reduced after mTOR agonist intervention. CONCLUSION: In human microglial HMO6 cells, Tp47 induces autophagy- and mTOR pathway-dependent cell death.

Changes of T lymphocyte subsets in patients with HIV-negative symptomatic neurosyphilis.

OBJECTIVES: The host immune response could be an imperative factor in the pathogenesis of neurosyphilis, but the role of T lymphocyte subsets remains unclear. In the present study, we assessed the CD4+ T and CD8+ T cell subsets in the peripheral blood of patients with HIV-negative symptomatic neurosyphilis and then explored the clinical application value of neurosyphilis. METHODS: In total, 24 patients with HIV-negative symptomatic neurosyphilis and 22 patients with syphilis/non-neurosyphilis were included in this study and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood samples were obtained. Th1, Th2, Th17, Th9, CD8+IFN-γ+, CD8+IL-4+, CD8+IL-9+, and CD8+IL-17 + cells were identified by flow cytometry. RESULTS: The levels of CD8+IFN-γ+ were significantly increased in the peripheral blood of neurosyphilis patients compared to that in syphilis/non-neurosyphilis patients, but it was opposite to Th2, Th9, CD8+IL-4+, CD8+IL-9+, and CD8+IL-17 + cells. Dendritic cells (DCs) of neurosyphilis matured by T. pallidum induced the development of a combination of IFN-γ-producing Th1 cells. The number of CD8+IL-17 + cells was significantly correlated with the CSF RPR and CSF TPPA levels. ROC curve analysis revealed that the number of CD8+IFN-γ+ cells could be a potential biomarker for neurosyphilis from non-neurosyphilis/syphilis. CONCLUSIONS: High expression of CD8+IFN-γ+ cells and low expression of CD8+IL-17 + cells in patients with symptomatic neurosyphilis, which explains the pathogenesis of symptomatic neurosyphilis, meanwhile CD8+IFN-γ+ cells may be a better indicator in classifying symptomatic neurosyphilis from non-neurosyphilis/syphilis among patients without HIV infection.

LncRNA Expression in CD4+ T Cells in Neurosyphilis Patients.

Recent studies have shown that several long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in regulating the immune response to cope with pathogenic invasion. To date, the roles of lncRNAs in the CD4+ T cell response to Treponema pallidum (T. pallidum) infection in neurosyphilis patients remain unknown. The mRNA and lncRNA expression profiles of CD4+ T cells that were isolated from neurosyphilis patients and healthy controls were analyzed by microarray. A total of 2258 lncRNAs and 1728 mRNAs were identified as over-expressed or under-expressed, respectively (fold change > 1.5) in the CD4+ T cells of neurosyphilis patients compared to the healthy controls. The lncRNA-mRNA co-expression network showed that 59 lncRNAs showed significant differences along with significantly different mRNAs. Among the 59 gene pairs, the LOC79999 mRNA was positively correlated with the RP11-160E2.16, RP11-160E2.11, and RP11-160E2.19 lncRNAs, and the NKX1-1 mRNA was positively correlated with the RP11-1398P2.1, RP11-160E2.19, and XLOC_003422 lncRNAs. The following five mRNAs were correlated with two differential lncRNAs: DUSP16, AP000349.1, FAM115C, TIMM8A, and SMCHD1. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis revealed that the differentially expressed coding genes were mainly involved in biological processes and the top 4 terms that associated with above-mentioned differentially expressed coding genes were as follows: defense response to fungus, defense response to bacterium, killing of cells of other organism and disruption of cells of another organism. A subsequent pathway analysis was also conducted, and several pathways, including the T cell receptor, MAPK, and TGF-beta signaling pathways, were associated with the differentially expressed mRNAs. This study reveals the differential expression profiles of lncRNAs in the CD4+ T cell response to the T. pallidum infection in neurosyphilis patients. LncRNAs are involved in key biological processes that comprise the CD4+ T cell response to the T. pallidum infection.

Kinetic and thermodynamic studies reveal chemokine homologues CC11 and CC24 with an almost identical tertiary structure have different folding pathways.

BACKGROUND: Proteins with low sequence identity but almost identical tertiary structure and function have been valuable to uncover the relationship between sequence, tertiary structure, folding mechanism and functions. Two homologous chemokines, CCL11 and CCL24, with low sequence identity but similar tertiary structure and function, provide an excellent model system for respective studies. RESULTS: The kinetics and thermodynamics of the two homologous chemokines were systematically characterized. Despite their similar tertiary structures, CCL11 and CCL24 show different thermodynamic stability in guanidine hydrochloride titration, with D50% = 2.20 M and 4.96 M, respectively. The kinetics curves clearly show two phases in the folding/unfolding processes of both CCL11 and CCL24, which suggests the existence of an intermediate state in their folding/unfolding processes. The folding pathway of both CCL11 and CCL24 could be well described using a folding model with an on-pathway folding intermediate. However, the folding kinetics and stability of the intermediate state of CCL11 and CCL24 are obviously different. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest homologous proteins with low sequence identity can display almost identical tertiary structure, but very different folding mechanisms, which applies to homologues in the chemokine protein family, extending the general applicability of the above observation.

Structural basis of a novel PD-L1 nanobody for immune checkpoint blockade.

The use of antibodies to target immune checkpoints, particularly PD-1/PD-L1, has made a profound impact in the field of cancer immunotherapy. Here, we identified KN035, an anti-PD-L1 nanobody that can strongly induce T-cell responses and inhibit tumor growth. The crystal structures of KN035 complexed with PD-L1 and free PD-L1, solved here at 1.7 and 2.7 Å resolution, respectively, show that KN035 competes with PD-1 (programmed death protein 1) for the same flat surface on PD-L1, mainly through a single surface loop of 21 amino acids. This loop forms two short helices and develops key hydrophobic and ionic interactions with PD-L1 residues, such as Ile54, Tyr56 and Arg113, which are also involved in PD-1 binding. The detailed mutagenesis study identified the hotspot residues of the PD-L1 surface and provides an explanation for the stronger (~1 000-fold) binding of KN035 to PD-L1 than PD-1 and its lack of binding to PD-L2. Overall, this study reveals how a single immunoglobulin-variable scaffold of KN035 or PD-1 can bind to a flat protein surface through either a single surface loop or beta-sheet strands; and provides a basis for designing new immune checkpoint blockers and generating bi-specific antibodies for combination therapy.

Proteomic Analysis of eIF5B Silencing-Modulated Proteostasis.

Protein translational machinery is an important component of the proteostasis network that maintains cellular proteostasis and regulates aging and other cellular processes. Ample evidence indicates that inhibition of translation initiation factor activities enhances stress resistance in model organisms. Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5B (eIF5B) acts by joining the pre-40S subunit with the 60S ribosomal unit to form an 80S-like complex during protein translational initiation. Reduced eIF5B expression may disrupt proteostasis and trigger cellular processes associated with stress responses. In this study, the physiological effects of altered eIF5B expression were examined in 293T and HepG2 cells. Cells with eIF5B-knockdown (eIF5B-KN) grew more slowly than control cells, and had a lower level of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), increased resistance to oxidative stress and enhanced autophagy. Proteomic analysis showed that eIF5B knockdown resulted in upregulation of 88 proteins and downregulation of 130 proteins compared with control cells. The differentially expressed proteins were associated with diverse cellular processes including amino acid metabolism, RNA processing and protein metabolism, and DNA synthesis. Autonomous downregulation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway was identified as confirmed by western blotting and qPCR. We proposed that deactivation of MAPK pathway modulated proteostasis and induced prolonged S-phase of the cell-cycle, contributing to the slow growth of eIF5B-KN cells. eIF5B silencing also inactivated the mTOR pathway, downregulated glutamine transporters, enhanced autophagy, and decreased 28S rRNA and 5.8S rRNA expression levels which were reversed by restoration of eIF5B expression. Taken together, these results suggest that eIF5B silencing provides a negative feedback to deactivate MAPK signaling, leading to reduced cell growth. These findings provide a useful resource to further biological exploration of the functions of protein synthesis in regulation of proteostasis and stress responses.

The mechanical influences of the graded distribution in the cross-sectional shape, the stiffness and Poisson׳s ratio of palm branches.

The branching system plays an important role in maintaining the survival of palm trees. Due to the nature of monocots, no additional vascular bundles can be added in the palm tree tissue as it ages. Therefore, the changing of the cross-sectional area in the palm branch creates a graded distribution in the mechanical properties of the tissue. In the present work, this graded distribution in the tissue mechanical properties from sheath to petiole were studied with a multi-scale modeling approach. Then, the entire palm branch was reconstructed and analyzed using finite element methods. The variation of the elastic modulus can lower the level of mechanical stress in the sheath and also allow the branch to have smaller values of pressure on the other branches. Under impact loading, the enhanced frictional dissipation at the surfaces of adjacent branches benefits from the large Poisson׳s ratio of the sheath tissue. These findings can help to link the wind resistance ability of palm trees to their graded materials distribution in the branching system.

Stable folding intermediates prevent fast interconversion between the closed and open states of Mad2 through its denatured state.

Different states of metamorphic proteins can interconvert under physiological conditions to realize corresponding functions. The mechanism behind the conversion is critical for understanding how these proteins work. We report a combined thermodynamic and kinetic study on the folding/unfolding process of the open and closed conformers of mitotic arrest deficient protein 2 (Mad2), a metamorphic protein. It has been observed that open Mad2 (O-Mad2) can convert to closed Mad2 (C-Mad2). Our results show that O-Mad2 and C-Mad2 have similar thermodynamic stability, which explains the presence of metamorphosis. The folding/unfolding kinetics suggest that the conversion between O-Mad2 and C-Mad2 would be much faster than that reported previously if this conversion goes through the denatured state (U) directly, i.e. through an O-Mad2-denatured state (U)-C-Mad2 (O-U-C) pathway. This inconsistency implies that there exist stable intermediates in between the native and denatured states of Mad2, which would either slow down the O-U-C interconversion or prevent it going through the denatured state.

Down-regulation of Ras-related protein Rab 5C-dependent endocytosis and glycolysis in cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cell lines.

Drug resistance poses a major challenge to ovarian cancer treatment. Understanding mechanisms of drug resistance is important for finding new therapeutic targets. In the present work, a cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cell line A2780-DR was established with a resistance index of 6.64. The cellular accumulation of cisplatin was significantly reduced in A2780-DR cells as compared with A2780 cells consistent with the general character of drug resistance. Quantitative proteomic analysis identified 340 differentially expressed proteins between A2780 and A2780-DR cells, which involve in diverse cellular processes, including metabolic process, cellular component biogenesis, cellular processes, and stress responses. Expression levels of Ras-related proteins Rab 5C and Rab 11B in A2780-DR cells were lower than those in A2780 cells as confirmed by real-time quantitative PCR and Western blotting. The short hairpin (sh)RNA-mediated knockdown of Rab 5C in A2780 cells resulted in markedly increased resistance to cisplatin whereas overexpression of Rab 5C in A2780-DR cells increases sensitivity to cisplatin, demonstrating that Rab 5C-dependent endocytosis plays an important role in cisplatin resistance. Our results also showed that expressions of glycolytic enzymes pyruvate kinase, glucose-6-phosphate isomerase, fructose-bisphosphate aldolase, lactate dehydrogenase, and phosphoglycerate kinase 1 were down-regulated in drug resistant cells, indicating drug resistance in ovarian cancer is directly associated with a decrease in glycolysis. Furthermore, it was found that glutathione reductase were up-regulated in A2780-DR, whereas vimentin, HSP90, and Annexin A1 and A2 were down-regulated. Taken together, our results suggest that drug resistance in ovarian cancer cell line A2780 is caused by multifactorial traits, including the down-regulation of Rab 5C-dependent endocytosis of cisplatin, glycolytic enzymes, and vimentin, and up-regulation of antioxidant proteins, suggesting Rab 5C is a potential target for treatment of drug-resistant ovarian cancer. This constitutes a further step toward a comprehensive understanding of drug resistance in ovarian cancer.

[The pulmonary CT manifestations of acute moderate or severe hydrogen sulphide poisoning fishermen].

OBJECTIVE: To discuss the clinical manifestations and CT features of acute moderate or severe hydrogen sulphide poisoning fishermen. METHODS: The clinic and CT datas of 8 acute moderate or severe hydrogen sulphide poisoning cases were retrospectively analysed. RESULTS: The lesions located at two pulmonary each leaf in 3 cases, located at both lower lungs in 3 cases and asymmetry leaves in 2 cases. Lesions form: little patchy shadow in 8 cases (8/8), fibrous band shadow in 4 cases (4/8), ground glass shadow in 3 cases (3/8), peripheral fuzzy interlobular nodule in 4 cases (4/8); 5 cases complicated with pleural effusion; After treatment 6 ∼ 10 days, the pulmonary shadows were absorbed obviously; Fibrous band shadow was residual in a case after a follow-up of 2 months. CONCLUSION: With definite history of hydrogen sulphide inhalation and the corresponding clinical manifestations, and if fishermen contacted for a long time, who would be made chemical pulmonary damage; Combined with the imaging manifestations, the diagnosis as well as the severity of pulmonary damage could be made.