Hesperidin (HD) is a common flavanone glycoside isolated from citrus fruits and possesses great potential for cardiovascular protection. Hesperetin (HT) is an aglycone metabolite of HD with high ...bioavailability. Through the docking simulation, HD and HT have shown their potential to bind to two cellular proteins: transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which are required for the cellular entry of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Our results further found that HT and HD suppressed the infection of VeroE6 cells using lentiviral-based pseudo-particles with wild types and variants of SARS-CoV-2 with spike (S) proteins, by blocking the interaction between the S protein and cellular receptor ACE2 and reducing ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression. In summary, hesperidin is a potential TMPRSS2 inhibitor for the reduction of the SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Lumpy skin disease is an arthropod-borne bovine disease caused by lumpy skin disease virus. A suspect lumpy skin disease case in a breeding cattle farm on Kinmen Island, Taiwan was reported on July ...8, 2020 and later confirmed the first occurrence of lumpy skin disease in the country by molecular biological detections, electron microscopy, and sequence comparison. Implementation of control measures including blanket vaccination on the island effectively ceased the outbreaks. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the virus discovered in the outbreaks was most similar to those identified in China in 2019. Identifying this virus in the coastal areas in East Asia indicated the rapid eastward spread of lumpy skin disease in Asia.
Epitaxial growth is of significant importance over the past decades, given it has been the key process of modern technology for delivering high-quality thin films. For conventional heteroepitaxy, the ...selection of proper single crystal substrates not only facilitates the integration of different materials but also fulfills interface and strain engineering upon a wide spectrum of functionalities. Nevertheless, the lattice structure, regularity and crystalline orientation are determined once a specific substrate is chosen. Here, we reveal the growth of twisted oxide lateral homostructure with controllable in-plane conjunctions. The twisted lateral homostructures with atomically sharp interfaces can be composed of epitaxial "blocks" with different crystalline orientations, ferroic orders and phases. We further demonstrate that this approach is universal for fabricating various complex systems, in which the unconventional physical properties can be artificially manipulated. Our results establish an efficient pathway towards twisted lateral homostructures, adding additional degrees of freedom to design epitaxial films.
A putative new lyssavirus was found in 2 Japanese pipistrelles (Pipistrellus abramus) in Taiwan in 2016 and 2017. The concatenated coding regions of the virus showed 62.9%-75.1% nucleotide identities ...to the other 16 species of lyssavirus, suggesting that it may be representative of a new species of this virus.
Multiple phosphorylation sites of Drp1 have been characterized for their functional importance. However, the functional consequence of GSK3beta-mediated phosphorylation of Drp1 remains unclear. In ...this report, we pinpointed 11 Serine/Threonine sites spanning from residue 634~736 of the GED domain and robustly confirmed Drp1 Ser693 as a novel GSK3beta phosphorylation site. Our results suggest that GSK3beta-mediated phosphorylation at Ser693 does cause a dramatic decrease of GTPase activity; in contrast, GSK3beta-mediated phosphorylation at Ser693 appears not to affect Drp1 inter-/intra-molecular interactions. After identifying Ser693 as a GSK3beta phosphorylation site, we also determined that K679 is crucial for GSK3beta-binding, which strongly suggests that Drp1 is a novel substrate for GSK3beta. Thereafter, we found that overexpressed S693D, but not S693A mutant, caused an elongated mitochondrial morphology which is similar to that of K38A, S637D and K679A mutants. Interestedly, using H89 and LiCl to inhibit PKA and GSK3beta signaling, respectively, it appears that a portion of the elongated mitochondria switched to a fragmented phenotype. In investigating the biofunctionality of phosphorylation sites within the GED domain, cells overexpressing Drp1 S693D and S637D, but not S693A, showed an acquired resistance to H(2)O(2)-induced mitochondrial fragmentation and ensuing apoptosis, which affected cytochrome c, capase-3, -7, and PARP, but not LC3B, Atg-5, Beclin-1 and Bcl2 expressions. These results also showed that the S693D group is more effective in protecting both non-neuronal and neuronal cells from apoptotic death than the S637D group. Altogether, our data suggest that GSK3beta-mediated phosphorylation at Ser693 of Drp1 may be associated with mitochondrial elongation via down-regulating apoptosis, but not autophagy upon H(2)O(2) insult.
Bat lyssaviruses were identified in Taiwan’s bat population during 2016–2017. The lyssavirus surveillance system was continuously conducted to understand the epidemiology. Through this system, the ...found dead bats were collected for lyssavirus detection by direct fluorescent antibody test and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Three bats were identified as positive during 2018–2021. A novel lyssavirus, designated as Taiwan bat lyssavirus 2, was detected in a Nyctalus plancyi velutinus. This lyssavirus had less than 80% nucleotide identity in the nucleoprotein (N) gene with other lyssavirus species, forming a separate branch in the phylogenetic analysis. The other two cases were identified in Pipistrellus abramus (Japanese pipistrelles); they were identified to be similar to the former lyssavirus identified in 2016–2017, which was renominated as Taiwan bat lyssavirus 1 (TWBLV-1) in this study. Even though one of the TWBLV-1 isolates showed high genetic diversity in the N gene compared with other TWBLV-1 isolates, it may be a TWBLV-1 variant but not a new species based on its high amino acid identities in the nucleoprotein, same host species, and same geographic location as the other TWBLV-1.
Charge density waves (CDWs) involved with electronic and phononic subsystems simultaneously are a common quantum state in solid-state physics, especially in low-dimensional materials. However, CDW ...phase dynamics in various dimensions are yet to be studied, and their phase transition mechanism is currently moot. Here we show that using the distinct temperature evolution of orientation-dependent ultrafast electron and phonon dynamics, different dimensional CDW phases are verified in CuTe. When the temperature decreases, the shrinking of c-axis length accompanied with the appearance of interchain and interlayer interactions causes the quantum fluctuations (QF) of the CDW phase until 220 K. At T < 220 K, the CDWs on the different ab-planes are finally locked with each other in anti-phase to form a CDW phase along the c-axis. This study shows the dimension evolution of CDW phases in one CDW system and their stabilized mechanisms in different temperature regimes.
Among domestic animals, melioidosis is one of the most common diseases reported in goat, sheep, and swine. To evaluate the specific antibodies in goats with melioidosis, we developed a serology test ...using recombinant outer membrane protein A (OmpA) and flagellin (FliC) of Burkholderia pseudomallei as antigens. DNA corresponding to each antigen was cloned into a pET32a vector and expressed in Escherichia coli. Essentially, the recombinant OmpA and FliC were expressed in a soluble form that could be isolated with 95% homogeneity. Both recombinants could be recognized by rabbit antibodies prepared against heat-inactivated B. pseudomallei (1:1,000) on a Western blot. Subsequently, we demonstrated that both recombinants could capture the antibodies present in goat with naturally occurring melioidosis (optimized titer 1:40) while not cross-reacting with the serum samples of goats naturally infected by Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis or Staphylococcus aureus. Finally, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using 20 goat serum samples without melioidosis and 10 goat serum samples with melioidosis demonstrated that the infected group has significantly higher antibody titer levels than the normal group (P<0.001) when using either OmpA or FliC as an antigen. However, the sensitivity (100%) of the assay using OmpA was superior to that (90%) from using FliC. Serological tests that are commonly used often rely on antigens from crude cell extracts, which pose risks for laboratory-acquired infections and inconsistency in their preparation; however, use of recombinant OmpA is safe; it can potentially be used as a reagent in testing for goat melioidosis.
Researches in the several decades have shown that the dynamics of gravity is closely related to thermodynamics of the horizon. In this paper, we derive the Friedmann acceleration equation based on ...the idea of “emergence of space” and thermodynamics of the Hubble horizon whose temperature is obtained from the unified first law of thermodynamics. Then we derive another evolution equation of the universe based on the energy balance relation ρVH=TS. Combining the two evolution equations and the equation of state of the cosmic matter, we obtain the evolution solutions of the FRW universe. We find that the solutions obtained by us include the solutions obtained in the standard general relativity (GR) theory. Therefore, it is more general to describe the evolution of the universe in the thermodynamic way.
Carnivore protoparvovirus 1 includes feline parvovirus (FPV), variants of canine parvovirus‐2 (CPV‐2), mink enteritis virus, and raccoon parvovirus, important pathogens affecting both wild and ...domestic carnivores. In this report, we described a fatal CPV‐2 infection in a rescued Taiwanese pangolin, which provides the first evidence of CPV‐2 infection in a non‐carnivore. Post‐rescue, the Taiwanese pangolin died from complications resulting from a severe panleucocytopenia and bloody diarrhoea. A full autopsy was performed and microscopic examination of the tissues revealed ulcerative, necrotizing, and haemorrhagic glossitis, esophagitis and enteritis. The results of transmission electronic microscopy, polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridization provided confirmatory evidence that the lesions in the tongue, oesophagus and intestine were associated with a protoparvovirus. Phylogenetic comparison of the whole VP2 gene from the current pangolin protoparvovirus strain showed close clustering with the CPV‐2c strains from domestic dogs in Taiwan, China and Singapore. The amino acid sequence of the pangolin protoparvovirus showed 100% identity to the CPV‐2c strains from domestic dogs in China, Italy, and Singapore. The current findings highlight that pangolins are susceptible to protoparvoviruses. The potential of cross‐species transmission of protoparvoviruses between Carnivora and Pholidota should be considered when housing pangolins in close proximity to carnivores and adopting strict biosecurity measures to avoid cross‐species transmission in rescue facilities and zoos.
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