Unnatural Direct Interspecies Electron Transfer Enabled by Living Cell-Cell Click Chemistry.

Direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) is essential for maintaining the function and stability of anaerobic microbial consortia. However, only limited natural DIET modes have been identified and DIET engineering remains highly challenging. In this study, an unnatural DIET between Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 (SO, electron donating partner) and Rhodopseudomonas palustris (RP, electron accepting partner) was artificially established by a facile living cell-cell click chemistry strategy. By introducing alkyne- or azide-modified monosaccharides onto the cell outer surface of the target species, precise covalent connections between different species in high proximity were realized through a fast click chemistry reaction. Remarkably, upon covalent connection, outer cell surface C-type cytochromes mediated DIET between SO and RP was achieved and identified, although this was never realized naturally. Moreover, this connection directly shifted the natural H2 mediated interspecies electron transfer (MIET) to DIET between SO and RP, which delivered superior interspecies electron exchange efficiency. Therefore, this work demonstrated a naturally unachievable DIET and an unprecedented MIET shift to DIET accomplished by cell-cell distance engineering, offering an efficient and versatile solution for DIET engineering, which extends our understanding of DIET and opens up new avenues for DIET exploration and applications.

Neutrophil extracellular traps in central nervous system (CNS) diseases.

Excessive induction of inflammatory and immune responses is widely considered as one of vital factors contributing to the pathogenesis and progression of central nervous system (CNS) diseases. Neutrophils are well-studied members of inflammatory and immune cell family, contributing to the innate and adaptive immunity. Neutrophil-released neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) play an important role in the regulation of various kinds of diseases, including CNS diseases. In this review, current knowledge on the biological features of NETs will be introduced. In addition, the role of NETs in several popular and well-studied CNS diseases including cerebral stroke, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and neurological cancers will be described and discussed through the reviewing of previous related studies.

Animal models of mpox virus infection and disease.

Mpox (monkeypox) virus (MPXV), which causes a mild smallpox-like disease, has been endemic in Africa for several decades, with sporadic cases occurring in other parts of the world. However, the most recent outbreak of mpox mainly among men that have sex with men has affected several continents, posing serious global public health concerns. The infections exhibit a wide spectrum of clinical presentation, ranging from asymptomatic infection to mild, severe disease, especially in immunocompromised individuals, young children, and pregnant women. Some therapeutics and vaccines developed for smallpox have partial protective and therapeutic effects against MPXV historic isolates in animal models. However, the continued evolution of MPXV has produced multiple lineages, leading to significant gaps in the knowledge of their pathogenesis that constrain the development of targeted antiviral therapies and vaccines. MPXV infections in various animal models have provided a central platform for identification and comparison of diseased pathogenesis between the contemporary and historic isolates. In this review, we discuss the susceptibility of various animals to MPXV, and describe the key pathologic features of rodent, rabbit and nonhuman primate models. We also provide application examples of animal models in elucidating viral pathogenesis and evaluating effectiveness of vaccine and antiviral drugs. These animal models are essential to understand the biology of MPXV contemporary isolates and to rapidly test potential countermeasures. Finally, we list some remaining scientific questions of MPXV that can be resolved by animal models.

Percolation transitions of confinement-induced layering and intralayer structural orders in three-dimensional Yukawa liquids.

The disorder-order transitions of layering and intralayer structural orders of three-dimensional Yukawa liquids, under the enhanced confinement effect with decreasing normal distance z to the confinement boundary, is investigated numerically. The liquid between the two flat boundaries is segmented into many slabs parallel to the boundary, with the same slab width as the layer width. In each slab, particle sites are binarized into sites with layering order (LOSs)/ layering disorder (LDSs) and with intralayer structural order (SOSs)/disorder (SDSs). It is found that with decreasing z, a small fraction of LOSs starts to heterogeneously emerge in the form of small clusters in the slab, followed by the emergence of the large percolating LOS clusters spanning over the system. The smooth rapid rise of the fraction of LOSs from small values followed by their gradual saturations, and the scaling behavior of multiscale LOS clustering, are similar to those of the nonequilibrium systems governed by the percolation theory. The disorder-order transition of intraslab structural ordering also exhibits a similar generic behavior as that of layering with the same transition slab number. The spatial fluctuations of local layering order and local intralayer structural order are uncorrelated in the bulk liquid and the outmost layer next to the boundary. Approaching the percolating transition slab, their correlation gradually increases to the maximum.

NLRP3 Inflammasome in Atherosclerosis: Putting Out the Fire of Inflammation.

Atherosclerosis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease with thickening or hardening of the arteries, which led to the built-up of plaques in the inner lining of an artery. Among all the clarified pathogenesis, the over-activation of inflammatory reaction is one of the most acknowledged one. The nucleotide-binding domain leucine-rich repeat (NLR) and pyrin domain containing receptor 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, as a vital and special form of inflammation and innate immunity, has been widely revealed to participate in the onset and development of AS. This review will introduce the process of the pathogenesis and progression of AS, and will describe the biological features of the NLRP3 inflammasome. Furthermore, the role of the NLRP3 inflammasome in AS and the possible mechanisms will be discussed. In addition, several kinds of agents with the effect of anti-atherosclerotic taking advantage of the NLRP3 inflammasome intervention will be described and discussed in detail, including natural compounds (baicalin, dihydromyricetin, luteolin, 5-deoxy-rutaecarpine (R3) and Salvianolic acid A, etc.), microRNAs (microRNA-30c-5p, microRNA-9, microRNA-146a-5p, microRNA-16-5p and microRNA-181a, etc.), and autophagy regulators (melatonin, dietary PUFA and arglabin, etc.). We aim to provide novel insights in the exploration of the specific mechanisms of AS and the development of new treatments of AS.

Quantification of light-enhanced ionic transport in lead iodide perovskite thin films and its solar cell applications.

Ionic transport in organometal halide perovskites is of vital importance because it dominates anomalous phenomena in perovskite solar cells, from hysteresis to switchable photovoltaic effects. However, excited state ionic transport under illumination has remained elusive, although it is essential for understanding the unusual light-induced effects (light-induced self-poling, photo-induced halide segregation and slow photoconductivity response) in organometal halide perovskites for optoelectronic applications. Here, we quantitatively demonstrate light-enhanced ionic transport in CH3NH3PbI3 over a wide temperature range of 17-295 K, which reveals a reduction in ionic transport activation energy by approximately a factor of five (from 0.82 to 0.15 eV) under illumination. The pure ionic conductance is obtained by separating it from the electronic contribution in cryogenic galvanostatic and voltage-current measurements. On the basis of these findings, we design a novel light-assisted method of catalyzing ionic interdiffusion between CH3NH3I and PbI2 stacking layers in sequential deposition perovskite synthesis. X-ray diffraction patterns indicate a significant reduction of PbI2 residue in the optimized CH3NH3PbI3 thin film produced via light-assisted sequential deposition, and the resulting solar cell efficiency is increased by over 100% (7.5%-15.7%) with little PbI2 residue. This new method enables fine control of the reaction depth in perovskite synthesis and, in turn, supports light-enhanced ionic transport.

Early lethality of shRNA-transgenic pigs due to saturation of microRNA pathways.

RNA interference (RNAi) is considered as a potential modality for clinical treatment and anti-virus animal breeding. Here, we investigate the feasibility of inhibiting classical swine fever virus (CSFV) replication by short hairpin RNA (shRNA) in vitro and in vivo. We generate four different shRNA-positive clonal cells and two types of shRNA-transgenic pigs. CSFV could be effectively inhibited in shRNA-positive clonal cells and tail tip fibroblasts of shRNA-transgenic pigs. Unexpectedly, an early lethality due to shRNA is observed in these shRNA-transgenic pigs. With further research on shRNA-positive clonal cells and transgenic pigs, we report a great induction of interferon (IFN)-responsive genes in shRNA-positive clonal cells, altered levels of endogenous microRNAs (miRNA), and their processing enzymes in shRNA-positive cells. What is more, abnormal expressions of miRNAs and their processing enzymes are also observed in the livers of shRNA-transgenic pigs, indicating saturation of miRNA/shRNA pathways induced by shRNA. In addition, we investigate the effects of shRNAs on the development of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos. These results show that shRNA causes adverse effects in vitro and in vivo and shRNA-induced disruption of the endogenous miRNA pathway may lead to the early lethality of shRNA-transgenic pigs. We firstly report abnormalities of the miRNA pathway in shRNA-transgenic animals, which may explain the early lethality of shRNA-transgenic pigs and has important implications for shRNA-transgenic animal preparation.

[Analysis of distribution and pathological characteristics of 9 fatal trichinosis cases in Yunnan].

OBJECTIVE: To explore forensic pathology features of the fatal trichinosis cases and to summarize the population distribution characteristics of trichinosis in Yunnan. METHODS: Nine recent fatal trichinosis cases were collected from the Forensic Science Identification Center of Kunming Forensic Hospital. Pathological and epidemiological characteristics of trichinosis were analyzed. RESULTS: The nine cases were all died in heart failure due to myocarditis. Among them, 1 case was complicated by encephalitis and 3 cases were complicated by pneumonia. The population mainly involved Bai and Dai nationalities. The geographic distribution was concentrated in Dali, Dehong, Lincang, Xishuangbanna, etc. The cases commonly appeared in winter and spring. CONCLUSION: The cause of trichinosis is closely due to the habit of eating raw pork. It can be diagnosis through the pathological changes of the muscle system in the death cases.

[The development and changes of pressure of putrefactive gas in cadaveric enterocelia in spring and its forensic application].

OBJECTIVE: To study the development and changes of pressure of putrefactive gas (PPG) in cadaveric enterocelia in spring, and to explore its application in estimation of postmortem interval (EPI). METHODS: 57 goats were divided into 2 groups according to means of death, on land or in water. Celiac PPG were observed timely and systematically. RESULTS: The development of PPG in cadaveric enterocelia, which can be divided into raising phase, peak phase, and declining phase was observed, and a model to estimate postmortern interval by changes of PPG was founded. CONCLUSION: Measuring PPG in cadaveric enterocelia could be used in forensic EPI.