Causal relationship between basal metabolic rate and intervertebral disc degeneration: a Mendelian randomization study.

BACKGROUND: The role of basal metabolic rate (BMR) in intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) is still uncertain. To address this gap, we conducted a Mendelian randomization (MR) study to comprehensively explore the causal relationship between BMR and IVDD. METHODS: BMR data were obtained from a large genome-wide association study (GWAS) database, while IVDD data were derived from the FinnGen project. The causal relationship between IVDD and BMR was investigated using MR, with inverse-variance weighting (IVW) as the primary estimate. MR-Egger weighed median and weighed mode were employed for robustness. Sensitivity analyses, including the Cochran Q test, leave-one-out analysis, and MR-Egger intercept analysis, were conducted. Furthermore, the study also identified causal relationships between IVDD and factors associated with BMR (hyperthyroidism, type 2 diabetes, standing height, weight, and body mass index). Multivariable MR was applied to further assess the direct effect of BMR on IVDD. RESULTS: Genetic predisposition to BMR (after removing outliers OR: 1.49; 95% CI: 1.37-1.63; P = 5.073e-21) were associated with an increased risk of IVDD. Additionally, IVDD risk increased with greater height, weight, and BMI. No causal relationship was observed between hy/thy and T2D and intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) (P > 0.05). In multivariable MR, a significant causal association between BMR and IVDD persisted, even after adjusting for BMI, height, and weight. CONCLUSION: In this study, we successfully identified that a higher BMR is independently and causally linked to IVDD, indicating an increased risk of developing IVDD. These findings suggest that managing BMR could potentially mitigate the risk of IVDD.

Case Report: Technical description and clinical evaluation of three cases of unilateral biportal endoscopic decompression for symptomatic spinal epidural lipomatosis.

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of three patients with symptomatic Spinal epidural lipomatosis (SEL) treated using Unilateral Biportal Endoscopic (UBE) surgery. Methods: This report retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of three patients with SEL admitted to our hospital. The analysis covers onset characteristics, clinical manifestations, and the most recent radiologic grading system of neural compression (Manjila classification). Furthermore, it details the decompression accomplished through the application of a minimally invasive UBE surgical technique, specifically targeting the removal of proliferated fat responsible for nerve and spinal cord compression. Results: This technique was performed successfully in 3 patients with SEL. Radiating pain was reduced, and the functional disability and radiologic compression were improved in all three patients. Postoperative spinal instability and surgical complications related to the procedure were not observed. Conclusions: For SEL, timely diagnosis and appropriate intervention can prevent the progression of neurological disability. UBE is a minimally invasive muscle-preserving technique that achieves neural decompression directly by the removal of excessive intraspinal adipose tissue buildup.

Rhodium(III)-catalyzed three-component C(sp2)-H activation for the synthesis of amines.

Rhodium-catalyzed three-component C-H bond activation of aromatics with amides and aldehydes to synthesize amines was established. The addition of copper was found to be essential to ensure the high reactivity. The mechanistic studies indicated that key intermediates formed by the transmetallization between rhodium and copper could further promote the addition between 2-(pyridin-2-yl)-phenyl-metal species and imines. A series of densely substituted amines could be conveniently prepared by this one-step, three-component procedure from commercially available substrates via C-H bond activation with water as the only by-product.

Nano-Coprecipitation Route Synthesis of Highly-Efficient Submicron (Sr,Ba)2SiO4:Eu2+ Phosphors with Enhanced Thermal Stability for MicroLED Color Conversion.

As the size of MicroLED chips shrinks below 50 µm, the emergence of quantum dots (QDs)-based color conversion with narrow-band emission and nanoscale size properties has become one of the powerful full-color solutions for MicroLED displays. However, the stability and toxicity of quantum dots limit their application in full-color MicroLEDs. The phosphor-based conversion has the prominent features of high thermal and chemical stability relative to those of QD-based conversion. Nevertheless, the particle size of phosphor prepared by a traditional high-temperature solid-state reaction (SSR) is equivalent to or even larger than that of the MicroLED chip. In this work, we propose a strategy to prepare (Sr,Ba)2SiO4:0.03Eu2+ (SBSO:0.03Eu2+) submicron phosphors via a nano-coprecipitation method (NCP) using nanoSi3N4 as the Si source materials, which enables the particle size to be reduced while maintaining the luminescence efficiency. The optimized SBSO:0.03Eu2+ has an average size of less than 2 µm, showing a narrow band green emission centered at 522 nm, with a full width at half-maximum of 60 nm and an external quantum efficiency of 40.2%. At 150 °C, its thermal stability is greatly enhanced to 80.2% of the emission at room temperature. Further, the mechanism for defect compensation thermal stability is investigated. By employing it as a green emitter, we fabricate a high-performance white LED device (WLED) with a wide color gamut of 86.7% NTSC. This work for the preparation of high-brightness and thermal stability enhancement SBSO:0.03Eu2+ phosphor not only provides a facile method but also helps to provide an alternative green fluorescent material for the realization of full color MicroLED.

Amide Skeletal Elongation via Amino Acid Insertion.

Amide derivatization is useful to access valuable organic compounds considering the ready availability of molecules containing amide functionality. Current methods to derivatize amide mainly focus on the synthesis of carbonyl-containing compounds and amines. Incorporating both parts of the initial amide into the new derivatives is rare. Herein, we describe a simple and practical amide derivatization through amino acid insertion to prepare more complex amides. This insertion is applicable to a wide range of amino acids and more importantly, the chiral information is completely conserved during the insertion. Comparison of this insertion strategy with conventional amide synthesis demonstrates the synthetic advantages of this new protocol.

Deaminative Addition of Alkylpyridinium Salt to Aldehyde.

Here we show that a primary amine can engage in the nucleophilic addition to an aldehyde to synthesize an alcohol following preactivation of the amine. The enabling reagent for this radical-polar crossover process is CrCl2. This reaction is selective for aldehydes and compatible with numerous functional groups, which are not tolerated under classical Grignard-type conditions. Complementary to the well-established imine synthesis, this deaminative alcohol synthesis can broadly expand the chemical space constructed by aldehydes and amines.

Tremendous Acceleration of Plant Growth by Applying a New Sunlight Converter Sr4 Al14- x Gax O25 :Mn4+ Breaking Parity Forbidden Transition.

Majority of Mn4+ activated oxide phosphors have the wavelength of excitation and emission suitable for acceleration of plant growth as light converter from sunlight to deep red. Here, it is observed that 60% increase of red emission of Sr4 Al14 O25 :0.01Mn4+ is found by substituting 0.1Ga3+ . It is clarified that the increase is originated from a unique mechanism of breaking parity forbidden transition under the substitution of cation in d-d transition by using the tool of special aberration corrected transmission electron microscope(AC-STEM), pre-edge peak (1s→3d) Mn K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES), extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), Rietveld analysis of X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, and reflection spectra. Further, a combination of substituted Ga, Mg, and special double flux H3 BO3 /AlF3 is found to tremendously increase the emission intensity (355% up). Actual growth of chlorella and rose is examined by a combination of the cheap Sr4 Al14 O25 :0.01Mn4+ ,0.007Mg2+ ,0.1Ga3+ and a unique reflection typed phosphor-film system as sunlight converting system. Optical density of chlorella and height of rose grass is increased by 36±14% and 174±80% compared with nonphosphor-film, respectively.

Sulfonylation of Propargyl Alcohols with Sulfinamides for the Synthesis of Allenyl Sulfones.

A regio- and chemoselective sulfonylation of propargyl alcohols with sulfinamides in 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) was developed. It provided straightforward and mild access to multi-substituted allenyl sulfones by using sulfinamides as the sulfonyl sources. This transformation was promoted by HFIP and did not require any catalysts or oxidants, which allowed for the successful conversion of various tertiary and secondary propargyl alcohols into allenyl sulfones in high yields.

Clinical Features and Outcomes of Spinal Tuberculosis in Central China.

Purpose: The appropriate management of spinal tuberculosis (TB) is challenging for clinicians and the key to treat spinal TB. Surgery and long course anti-TB chemotherapy may not be necessary to all situations. This study aimed to characterize the clinical features and factors affecting treatment outcomes. Patients and Methods: A retrospective study of patients with spinal TB over a 5-year period at a teaching hospital in central China was conducted. Features of patients with spinal TB who received different treatment modalities and factors associated with patient outcomes at the end of chemotherapy were analyzed. Results: Forty-five patients (21 men and 24 women) with spinal TB were available for analysis. The mean age was 55.39 ± 14.94 years. The most common vertebral area involved was the lumbar (42.2%). The mean number of vertebrae involved was 2.20 ± 0.59. 27 patients (60.0%) received surgical treatment, of which 21 (77.8%) received radical surgical treatment. Thirty-five patients (77.8%) had achieved a favorable status. Statistically, there was no significant correlation between favorable status and surgery, but among 27 surgical patients with spinal tuberculosis, patients receiving radical surgery tended to achieve good prognosis (P = 0.010; odds ratio = 0.053; 95% confidence interval 0.006-0.493). Moreover, there was no significant difference between long course and short course of anti-TB chemotherapy in prognosis in different treatment modalities. Conclusion: Although the patients with spinal TB who needed surgical treatment often got a better prognosis when they had radical surgery, surgery was not actually a factor for the favorable outcomes of patients with spinal TB. In different treatment modalities, there was no additional benefit in longer anti-TB chemotherapy periods.

Ruthenium-Catalyzed 1,3-Aryl Redox Isomerization of Allylic Alcohols.

The isomerization of allylic alcohols to the corresponding carbonyl compounds is a well-established reaction in organic synthesis. However, 1,3-carbon migration is a quite challenging field, and thus transformation has remained elusive until now. Herein, we present the ruthenium-catalyzed intramolecular 1,3-aryl migrative isomerization, which provides a mild and environmentally friendly method to synthesize various ketones with high step- and atom-economy and broad substrate scope. Meanwhile, the Ru(III)-catalyzed C(sp3)-C(aryl) bond cleavage of unactivated allylic alcohols may serve as a heuristic paradigm for transition-metal-catalyzed C-C activation.

Cp*CoIII-catalyzed formal [4 + 2] cycloaddition of 2-phenyl-1H-imidazoles to afford imidazo[1,2-c]quinazoline derivatives.

A synthetic protocol based on Cp*CoIII-catalyzed C-H amidation/annulation of 2-aryl-1H-imidazoles with 1,4,2-dioxazol-5-ones was developed to give imidazo[1,2-c]quinazoline derivatives with broad substrate scope in moderate to good yields. The method has good prospects of application in the synthesis of imidazo[1,2-c]quinazoline drugs.

1,1,1,3,3,3-Hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFIP)-Assisted Catalyst-Free Sulfonation of Allylic Alcohols with Sulfinyl Amides.

A highly regioselective and catalyst-free sulfonation of allylic alcohols with sulfinyl amides has been realized. Such a mix-and-go procedure provides a convenient approach to synthetically various allylic sulfones under mild reaction conditions. Furthermore, this novel reaction shows ample substrate scope and outstanding functional group tolerance and could also be scaled-up. Meanwhile, it is the first example that sulfinyl amides act as a powerful sulfur nucleophile in the reactions. 1,1,1,3,3,3-Hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFIP) as a solvent plays a critical role in allylic sulfonation.

Numerical simulation research of catenary tip-insulator-metal structure for nano-lithography.

Catenary optics has attracted much interest due to its unique properties in wave-front manipulation, field enhancement, and dispersion engineering. In this paper, the applications of catenary optics in the near-field lithography are studied. The catenary shaped nanostructures and tip-insulator-metal (TIM) structures are simultaneously utilized to increase the contrast ratio of the focal plane and to give rise to a sharp focusing focal spot with high intensity. Moreover, the full width at half-maximum of the focal spot maintains well below the diffraction limit. The proposed catenary TIM structure may improve the quality of near-field lithography and find applications in super-resolution near-field direct writing nano-lithography.

"Cre/loxP plus BAC": a strategy for direct cloning of large DNA fragment and its applications in Photorhabdus luminescens and Agrobacterium tumefaciens.

Heterologous expression has been proven to be a valid strategy for elucidating the natural products produced by gene clusters uncovered by genome sequencing projects. Efforts have been made to efficiently clone gene clusters directly from genomic DNA and several approaches have been developed. Here, we present an alternative strategy based on the site-specific recombinase system Cre/loxP for direct cloning gene clusters. A type three secretion system (T3SS) gene cluster (~32 kb) from Photorhabdus luminescens TT01 and DNA fragment (~78 kb) containing the siderophore biosynthetic gene cluster from Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58 have been successfully cloned into pBeloBAC11 with "Cre/loxP plus BAC" strategy. Based on the fact that Cre/loxP system has successfully used for genomic engineering in a wide range of organisms, we believe that this strategy could be widely used for direct cloning of large DNA fragment.

A rifampicin-resistant (rpoB) mutation in Pseudomonas protegens Pf-5 strain leads to improved antifungal activity and elevated production of secondary metabolites.

Ribosome engineering has proven to be a practical method for increasing antibiotic production, and is extensively applied to strain improvement in antibiotic production and activation of silent genes in several prokaryotes. In this study, ribosome engineering was used to improve production of bioactive secondary metabolites produced by Pseudomonas protegens Pf-5. Rifampicin-resistant mutants that bear the H531N in the ß-subunit of RNA polymerase showed improved antifungal activity and morphological changes. The production of several secondary metabolites in R55 mutant was significantly improved using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. Two antibiotics with antifungal activity, 2, 4-diacetylphloroglucinol (Phl) and pyoluteorin (Plt), which may contribute to the improved antifungal activity of the R55 mutant, were identified by mass spectrometer (MS) analysis.

Efficient Construction of Large Genomic Deletion in Agrobacterium tumefaciens by Combination of Cre/loxP System and Triple Recombineering.

In order to develop an efficient system for deleting genomic segment in Agrobacterium tumefaciens to analyze gene functions and construct marker gene-free recombinant strains, a Cre recombinase expression plasmid was constructed by placing its encoding gene under the control of Ptet promoter and cloning into the plasmid replicable in both A. tumefaciens and E. coli. Triple recombineering was applied to efficiently construct integrative vectors which were used to introduce loxP sites and selection markers into the chromosome of A. tumefaciens. Cre recombinase could be properly induced by anhydrotetracycline in A. tumefaciens, which was revealed by the fact that kanamycin resistance gene flanked by two parallel loxP sites was excised from the genome of A. tumefaciens with virtually 100% efficiency. And what is more, an A. tumefaciens mutant carrying large-deletion (~85 kb) in genome was successfully constructed by Cre/loxP system. Here, we described the application of combination of Cre/loxP system and triple recombineering to efficiently excise genomic segment in A. tumefaciens, which also would facilitate efficient construction of multiple gene disruptions in A. tumefaciens.

PirB-Cry2Aa hybrid protein exhibits enhanced insecticidal activity against Spodoptera exigua larvae.

Previous study revealed that the N-terminal region of PirB toxin from Photorhabdus luminescens showed 20.5% identity and 41.5% similarity to the domain I of Cry2A toxin of Bacillus thuringiensis. The encoding sequence of the domain I of Cry2Aa protein was replaced by the encoding gene of corresponding domain of PirB protein. Expression of pirB-cry2Aa chimeric gene in B. thuringiensis acrystalliferous strain Cry(-)B leads to the formation of crystals with irregular shape. Bioassay showed that PirB-Cry2Aa hybrid protein displayed toxicity against Spodoptera exigua and Helicoverpa armigera larvae. Our data implied that PirB protein might possess pore-forming activity and PirB-Cry2Aa hybrid protein could be used as biological control agent.

Photorhabdus luminescens PirAB-fusion protein exhibits both cytotoxicity and insecticidal activity.

The binary toxin 'Photorhabdus insect-related' proteins (PirAB) produced by Photorhabdus luminescens have been reported to possess both injectable and oral activities against a range of insects. Here, PirAB-fusion protein was constructed by linking pirA and pirB genes with the flexible linker (Gly4 Ser)3 DNA encoding sequence and then efficiently expressed in Escherichia coli. To better understand the role of PirAB toxin played in the process of invasion, its cytotoxicity against insect midgut CF-203 cells was investigated. Application of purified PirAB-fusion protein as well as PirA/PirB mixture caused loss of viability of CF-203 cells after 24 h incubation. CF-203 cells treated by PirAB-fusion protein displayed morphological changes typical of apoptosis, such as cell shrinkage, cell membrane blebbing, nuclear condensation and DNA fragmentation. Moreover, PirAB-fusion protein also exhibited injectable insecticidal activity against Spodoptera exigua larvae. The bodies of S. exigua fourth-instar larvae injected with PirAB-fusion protein turned completely black. Thus, we concluded that PirAB-fusion protein possessed similar biological activity (cytotoxicity and insecticidal activity) to PirA/PirB mixture, which would enable it to be used as an efficient agent for pest control.