The global spread of Zika virus (ZIKV) and its unexpected association with congenital defects necessitates the rapid development of a safe and effective vaccine. Here we report the development and ...characterization of a recombinant chimeric ZIKV vaccine candidate (termed ChinZIKV) that expresses the prM-E proteins of ZIKV using the licensed Japanese encephalitis live-attenuated vaccine SA14-14-2 as the genetic backbone. ChinZIKV retains its replication activity and genetic stability in vitro, while exhibiting an attenuation phenotype in multiple animal models. Remarkably, immunization of mice and rhesus macaques with a single dose of ChinZIKV elicits robust and long-lasting immune responses, and confers complete protection against ZIKV challenge. Significantly, female mice immunized with ChinZIKV are protected against placental and fetal damage upon ZIKV challenge during pregnancy. Overall, our study provides an alternative vaccine platform in response to the ZIKV emergency, and the safety, immunogenicity, and protection profiles of ChinZIKV warrant further clinical development.
This study focuses on evaluating the carbonation potential of argon oxygen decarburization (AOD) slag and analyzing influence mechanism of carbonation on chromium leachability. Static thin-film ...accelerated carbonation and sequential leaching tests were carried out. Results show that the liquid to solid (L/S) ratio was the most influencing factor for AOD slag’s carbonation, and the maximum carbonation ratio of AOD slag was 50–52% (L/S = 0.4 mL/g, PCO2 = 7.5 bar, and t > 6 h). Dicalcium silicate’s carbonation resulted in the generation of amorphous calcium carbonate, crystalline calcite and silica gel. AOD slag’s smooth surface could be eroded by these products gradually with carbonation furthered. The mineral phase evolution clearly influenced the mineral phase hydrolysis and physical encapsulation, and thus affected the hydrolysis behavior of the primary phase and the generation behavior of the secondary phase in the carbonated slags. Chromium leachability (20 days) declined to its lowest value (1.7 mg/kg) as the carbonation ratio growing to 23% and then increased to its highest value (7.9 mg/kg) with the carbonation ratio increasing to 52%. Chromium leachability varies with the carbonation ratio. The optimal carbonation ratio that resulting in minimum chromium leaching risk must be taken full in mind before using AOD slag in carbonation-related production activities.
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•Static thin-film carbonation tests conducted on AOD Stainless Steel Slag.•Maximum carbonation ratio is 50–52% (L/S of 0.4 mL/g, PCO2 of 7.5 bar and time>6 h)•23% carbonated AOD slag holds minimum Cr leachability.•52% carbonated AOD slag holds a higher Cr leachability than original AOD slag.•Carbonation affects Cr leachability mainly by mineral phase hydrolysis and physical encapsulation.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Ataxin-2 (Atx2) is a polyglutamine (polyQ) protein, in which abnormal expansion of the polyQ tract can trigger protein aggregation and consequently cause spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2), but the ...mechanism underlying how Atx2 aggregation leads to proteinopathy remains elusive. Here, we investigate the molecular mechanism and cellular consequences of Atx2 aggregation by molecular cell biology approaches. We have revealed that either normal or polyQ-expanded Atx2 can sequester Raptor, a component of mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1), into aggregates based on their specific interaction. Further research indicates that the polyQ tract and the N-terminal region (residues 1-784) of Atx2 are responsible for the specific sequestration. Moreover, this sequestration leads to suppression of the mTORC1 activity as represented by down-regulation of phosphorylated P70S6K, which can be reversed by overexpression of Raptor. As mTORC1 is a key regulator of autophagy, Atx2 aggregation and sequestration also induces autophagy by upregulating LC3-II and reducing phosphorylated ULK1 levels. This study proposes that Atx2 sequesters Raptor into aggregates, thereby impairing cellular mTORC1 signaling and inducing autophagy, and will be beneficial for a better understanding of the pathogenesis of SCA2 and other polyQ diseases.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Aim
To examine the impact of both individual and cumulative social determinants of health (SDoH) on the likelihood of developing periodontitis, while also exploring any gender disparities in this ...relationship.
Materials and Methods
Data of self‐reported SDoH domains and sub‐items based on Healthy People 2030 were obtained from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys between 1999 and 2014. Logistic regression models, weighted by survey responses, were used to examine the relationship between SDoH (including eight sub‐items and the cumulative number of unfavourable SDoH) and periodontitis. The results were further analysed by gender.
Results
A total of 18,075 participants (8867 males and 9208 females) were included in the main analysis, of which 5814 (32.2%) had periodontitis. The study found that certain unfavourable SDoH were individually associated with higher odds of periodontitis, and the cumulative number of unfavourable SDoH was positively linked to the odds of developing periodontitis. Furthermore, males exposed to more unfavourable SDoH appeared to be more susceptible to developing periodontitis than females.
Conclusions
The findings suggest that unfavourable SDoH, especially when they accumulate, are associated with an increased odds of periodontitis and contribute to gender disparities within the U.S. population.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Stimuli‐responsive nanoporous materials represent a newly emerging category of functional materials, for which instant and significant response behavior is strongly demanded but still challenging. ...Herein, a new kind of conjugated poly(ionic liquid)s (PILs) synthesized via a simple one‐pot spontaneous nucleophilic substitution and polymerization between 4,4'‐vinylenedipyridine and propargyl bromide is reported. A nanoporous membrane actuator is further developed via ionic complexation between the current PIL and trimesic acid. The actuator carries a gradient density in the hydrophobicity content along the membrane cross‐section, which results in a fast response to moisture.
Conjugated poly(ionic liquid)s with a polyacetylene backbone is synthesized simply by mixing 4,4'‐vinylenedipyridine and propargyl bromide under mild conditions. The as‐prepared polymer A‐TFSI exhibits reversible solid‐to‐gel conversion with an increase in temperature. Furthermore, the A‐TFSI‐based nanoporous membrane exhibits a fast response to moisture and large‐scale displacement, which shows great capability for biomimetic movements and interfacing with biological environments.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Biotic resistance may influence invasion success; however, the relative roles of species richness, functional or phylogenetic distance in predicting invasion success are not fully understood. We used ...biomass fraction of Chromolaena odorata, an invasive species in tropical and subtropical areas, as a measure of ‘invasion success’ in a series of artificial communities varying in species richness. Communities were constructed using species from Mexico (native range) or China (non‐native range). We found strong evidence of biotic resistance: species richness and community biomass were negatively related with invasion success; invader biomass was greater in plant communities from China than from Mexico. Harvesting time had a greater effect on invasion success in plant communities from China than on those from Mexico. Functional and phylogenetic distances both correlated with invasion success and more functionally distant communities were more easily invaded. The effects of plant‐soil fungi and plant allelochemical interactions on invasion success were species‐specific.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Renewable energy is an effective solution to alleviate the energy crisis and achieve sustainable development, and is gradually growing into an important energy source to support economic and social ...development. Different renewable energy technical plans have different characteristics under multiple criteria. Therefore, before the further exploitation of renewable energy sources, it is of great significance to evaluate the comprehensive performance of different plans and then determine the best renewable energy sources. Given this background, this paper proposes a novel evaluation method for renewable energy technical plans based on improved rough set theory and grey cloud model. Firstly, based on the normalized evaluation data, self-organizing map (SOM) clustering algorithm and system clustering analysis are adopted to discretize the evaluation attributes indexes and decision attributes indexes, respectively. Next, the improved rough set conditional information entropy method is used to calculate the index weights. Finally, the grey cloud model is employed to determine the grade classification of each evaluated plan. At the same time, each grade is quantified by assigning a corresponding score, and the comprehensive performances of renewable energy plans can be calculated, and then the ranking of different plans is achieved. Based on the actual renewable energy development data from a province in China, experiments were carried out to evaluate the performance of the proposed method. The results show that the proposed method performs better than some evaluation methods for renewable energy technical plans.
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•Propose a novel evaluation method for renewable energy technical plans.•Use self-organizing map clustering algorithm to discretize the attributes indexes.•Apply improved rough set theory to determine the index weights.•Achieve the complete ranking of plans, and classify the plans into different levels.•Compared with the existing evaluation method, the proposed method performs better.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Objective:
To investigate the effects of surgical versus non-operative treatment on the physical function and safety of patients with lumbar disc herniation.
Data sources:
PubMed, Cochrane Library, ...Embase, EBSCO, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database were searched from initiation to 15 May 2017.
Methods:
Randomized controlled trials that evaluated surgical versus non-operative treatment for patients with lumbar disc herniation were selected. The primary outcomes were pain and side-effects. Secondary outcomes were function and health-related quality of life. A random effects model was used to calculate the pooled mean difference with 95% confidence interval.
Results:
A total of 19 articles that involved 2272 participants met the inclusion criteria. Compared with non-operative treatment, surgical treatment was more effective in lowering pain (short term: mean difference = −0.94, 95% confidence interval = −1.87 to −0.00; midterm: mean difference = −1.59, 95% confidence interval = −2.24 to −9.94), improving function (midterm: mean difference = −7.84, 95% confidence interval = −14.00 to −1.68; long term: mean difference = −12.21, 95% confidence interval = −23.90 to −0.52) and quality of life. The 36-item Short-Form Health Survey for physical functions (short term: mean difference = 6.25, 95% confidence interval = 0.43 to 12.08) and bodily pain (short term: mean difference = 5.42, 95% confidence interval = 0.40 to 10.45) was also utilized. No significant difference was observed in adverse events (mean difference = 0.82, 95% confidence interval = 0.28 to 2.38).
Conclusion:
Low-quality evidence suggested that surgical treatment is more effective than non-operative treatment in improving physical functions; no significant difference was observed in adverse events. No firm recommendation can be made due to instability of the summarized data.
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NUK, OILJ, SAZU, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
•Thermophilic and mature phases of composting had important roles in reducing ARGs.•Sufficiently high temperature led to greater decreases in 5/10 ARGs and integrons.•Both bacterial succession and ...HGT play important roles in the variation of ARGs.•Variation in different ARGs involved diverse mechanisms.•CTC performed better at reducing ARGs, integrons, and HPB.
This study explored the effects of composting using three temperature regimes, namely, insufficient thermophilic composting (ITC), normal thermophilic composting (NTC), and continuous thermophilic composting (CTC), on antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), integrons, and human pathogenic bacteria (HPB), as well as the mechanisms involved. The NTC and CTC treatments led to greater decreases in 5/10 ARGs and two integrons than ITC, and the abundances of ARGs (tetC, tetG, and tetQ) and int1 only declined in the NTC and CTC treatments. The abundances of HPB decreased by 82.8%, 76.9%, and 96.9% under ITC, NTC, CTC, respectively. Redundancy analysis showed that both bacterial succession and horizontal gene transfer play important roles in the variation of ARGs, and the changes in different ARGs were due to diverse mechanisms. CTC performed significantly better at reducing ARGs, integrons, and HPB, thus it may be used to manage the public health risks of ARGs in animal manure.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
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