Microplastics have received widespread attention as an emerging contaminant, but limited information was available during wetland restoration. The occurrence and characteristics of microplastics and ...their interaction with heavy metals in surface sediments from the Jinjiang Estuarine restored mangrove wetland were investigated. The abundance of microplastics ranged from 490 ± 127.3 to 1170 ± 99.0 items/500 g dry sediment, and the restored regions were much higher than mudflats, indicating mangrove restoration promoted its accumulation. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) were the main materials of microplastics after Raman spectroscopy identification. SEM-EDS images illustrated the mechanical erosion and chemical weathering on microplastics' surface, and Cr, Zn, Pb, and Cd were observed in elemental composition. The contents of Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb, As, and Cd accumulated in microplastics were not correlated with their total concentrations in sediments except for Hg, indicating that they might not be derived from sediments.
•Mangrove restoration could promote microplastics accumulation and planting patterns could also influence the distribution of microplastic•EDS images illustrated that heavy metals such as Cr, Zn, Pb, Cd were observed in elemental composition of microplastics•The relationship of accumulated heavy metals between microplastics and sediments indicating that they might not derive from sediments.
Gram-negative pathogens such as
,
, and
are the leading cause of nosocomial infections throughout the world. One commonality shared among these pathogens is their ubiquitous presence, robust ...host-colonization and most importantly, resistance to antibiotics. A significant number of two-component systems (TCSs) exist in these pathogens, which are involved in regulation of gene expression in response to environmental signals such as antibiotic exposure. While the development of antimicrobial resistance is a complex phenomenon, it has been shown that TCSs are involved in sensing antibiotics and regulating genes associated with antibiotic resistance. In this review, we aim to interpret current knowledge about the signaling mechanisms of TCSs in these three pathogenic bacteria. We further attempt to answer questions about the role of TCSs in antimicrobial resistance. We will also briefly discuss how specific two-component systems present in
,
, and
may serve as potential therapeutic targets.
Lithological mapping using dual-polarization synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data is limited by the low classification accuracy. In this study, we extract ten parameters (backscatter coefficients and ...polarization decomposition parameters) from the Sentinel-1 dual-pol SAR data. Using 94 mother wavelet functions (MF), a one-level two-dimensional discrete wavelet transform (DWT) is applied to all the parameters, and the suitable MF is screened by comparing the overall accuracy and F1 score. Finally, the lithological mapping of the study area is performed. According to the cross-validation results, DWT can improve the overall accuracy for all MF. Db13 improved the overall accuracy by 6.1% (from 49.5% to 55.6%). The F1 score of granitoids improved by 0.223. Among the five rock units, Grantoids and Quaternary alluvium and sediment with finer gravel can be better differentiated than the other three rock units. The overall accuracy of effusive rocks (marine basic volcanic rocks) is not improved by DWT, but this study confirms the great potential of DWT in lithology classification.
Human acellular amniotic membrane (HAAM) has emerged as a promising tool in the field of regenerative medicine, particularly for wound healing and tissue regeneration. HAAM provides a natural ...biological scaffold with low immunogenicity and good anti-infective and anti-scarring results. Despite its potential, the clinic application of HAAM faces challenges, particularly with respect to the preparation methods and its low mechanical strength. This review provides a comprehensive overview of HAAM, covering its preparation, sterilization, preclinical research, and clinical applications. This review also discusses promising decellularization and sterilization methods, such as Supercritical Carbon Dioxide (SC-CO2), and the need for further research into the regenerative mechanisms of HAAM. In addition, we discuss the potential of HAAM as a skin dressing and cell delivery system in preclinical research and clinical applications. Both the safety and effectiveness of HAAM have been validated by extensive research, which provides a robust foundation for its clinical application.
Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is known to arise through the pathogenic bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) by interacting with hematopoietic stem cells (HSC). However, due to the strong ...heterogeneity of MDS patients, it is difficult to find common targets in studies with limited sample sizes. This study aimed to describe sequential molecular changes and identify biomarkers in MSC of MDS transformation.
Multidimensional data from three publicly available microarray and TCGA datasets were analyzed. MDS-MSC was further isolated and cultured in vitro to determine the potential diagnostic and prognostic value of the identified biomarkers.
We demonstrated that normal MSCs presented greater molecular homogeneity than MDS-MSC. Biological process (embryonic skeletal system morphogenesis and angiogenesis) and pathways (p53 and MAPK) were enriched according to the differential gene expression. Furthermore, we identified HOXB3 and HOXB7 as potential causative genes gradually upregulated during the normal-MDS-AML transition. Blocking the HOXB3 and HOXB7 in MSCs could enhance the cell proliferation and differentiation, inhibit cell apoptosis and restore the function that supports hematopoietic differentiation in HSCs.
Our comprehensive study of gene expression profiling has identified dysregulated genes and biological processes in MSCs during MDS. HOXB3 and HOXB7 are proposed as novel surrogate targets for therapeutic and diagnostic applications in MDS.
Fungal infections have emerged as a major concern among immunocompromised patients, causing approximately 2 million deaths each year worldwide. However, the regulatory mechanisms underlying ...antifungal immunity remain elusive and require further investigation. The E3 ligase Trim26 belongs to the tripartite motif (Trim) protein family, which is involved in various biological processes, including cell proliferation, antiviral innate immunity, and inflammatory responses. Herein, we report that Trim26 exerts protective antifungal immune functions after fungal infection. Trim26-deficient mice are more susceptible to fungemia than their wild-type counterparts. Mechanistically, Trim26 restricts inflammatory neutrophils infiltration and limits proinflammatory cytokine production, which can attenuate kidney fungal load and renal damage during Candida infection. Trim26-deficient neutrophils showed higher proinflammatory cytokine expression and impaired fungicidal activity. We further demonstrated that excessive neutrophils infiltration in the kidney was because of the increased production of chemokines CXCL1 and CXCL2, which are mainly synthesized in the macrophages or dendritic cells of Trim26-deficient mice after Candida albicans infections. Together, our study findings unraveled the vital role of Trim26 in regulating antifungal immunity through the regulation of inflammatory neutrophils infiltration and proinflammatory cytokine and chemokine expression during candidiasis.
Abstract Chemotherapy is a crucial treatment for colorectal tumors. However, its efficacy is restricted by chemoresistance. Recently, Golgi dispersal has been suggested to be a potential response to ...chemotherapy, particularly to drugs that induce DNA damage. However, the underlying mechanisms by which Golgi dispersal enhances the capacity to resist DNA-damaging agents remain unclear. Here, we demonstrated that DNA-damaging agents triggered Golgi dispersal in colorectal cancer (CRC), and cancer stem cells (CSCs) possessed a greater degree of Golgi dispersal compared with differentiated cancer cells (non-CSCs). We further revealed that Golgi dispersal conferred resistance against the lethal effects of DNA-damaging agents. Momentously, Golgi dispersal activated the Golgi stress response via the PKCα/GSK3α/TFE3 axis, resulting in enhanced protein and vesicle trafficking, which facilitated drug efflux through ABCG2. Identification of Golgi dispersal indicated an unexpected pathway regulating chemoresistance in CRC.
Maternal milk is often absent or in limited supply just after preterm birth. Many preterm infants are therefore fed infant formula as their first enteral feed despite an increased risk of feeding ...intolerance, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), and infection. Using preterm pigs as a model for preterm infants, we hypothesized that bovine colostrum given before or after formula feeding would alleviate formula-induced detrimental effects during the first days after preterm birth.
A total of 74 preterm pigs received gradually increasing volumes of formula (F) or bovine colostrum (C) until day 5, when they were euthanized or transitioned to either C or F for another 4 days, resulting in six groups: C or F until day 5 (C5, F5,
= 11 each), C or F until day 9 (CC, FF
= 12-13 each), C followed by F (CF,
= 14), and F followed by C (FC,
= 13).
Systemically, colostrum feeding stimulated circulating neutrophil recruitment on day 5 (C5 vs. F5,
< 0.05). Relative to initial formula feeding, initial colostrum feeding promoted the development of systemic immune protection as indicated by a decreased T-helper cell population and an increased regulatory T-cell population (CC + CF vs. FC + FF,
< 0.01). In the gut, colostrum feeding improved intestinal parameters such as villus heights, enzymes, hexose absorption, colonic goblet cell density, and decreased the incidence of severe NEC (27 vs. 64%), diarrhea (16 vs. 49%), and gut permeability on day 5, coupled with lowered expression of
, and
(C5 vs. F5, all
< 0.05). On day 9, the incidence of severe NEC was similarly low across groups (15-21%), but diarrhea resistance and intestinal parameters were further improved by colostrum feeding, relative to exclusive formula feeding (CC, CF, or FC vs. FF, respectively, all
< 0.05). The expression of
and
remained downregulated by exclusive colostrum feeding (CC vs. FF,
< 0.01) and colostrum before or after formula feeding down regulated
and
expression marginally.
Colostrum feeding ameliorated detrimental effects of formula feeding on systemic immunity and gut health in preterm newborns, especially when given immediately after birth.
Body size judgements are frequently biased, or inaccurate, and these errors are further exaggerated for individuals with eating disorders. Within the eating disorder literature, it has been suggested ...that exaggerated errors in body size judgements are due to difficulties with integration. Across two experiments, we developed a novel integration task, named the Ebbinghaus Illusion for Bodies in Virtual Reality (VR), to assess whether nearby bodies influence the perceived size of a single body. VR was used to simulate the appearance of a small crowd around a central target body.
In Experiment 1 (
= 412), participants were required to judge the size of a central female target within a crowd. Experiment 1 revealed an Ebbinghaus Illusion, in which a central female appeared larger when surrounded by small distractors, but comparatively smaller when surrounded by large distractors. In other words, the findings of Experiment 1 demonstrate that surrounding crowd information is integrated when judging an individual's body size; a novel measure of spatial integration (i.e., an Ebbinghaus Illusion for Bodies in VR). In Experiment 2 (
= 96), female participants were selected based on high (
= 43) and low (
= 53) eating disorder symptomatology. We examined whether the magnitude of this illusion would differ amongst those with elevated versus low eating disorder symptomatology, in accordance with weak central coherence theory, with the high symptomatology group displaying less spatial integration relative to the low group. The results of Experiment 2 similarly found an Ebbinghaus Illusion for Bodies in VR. However, illusion magnitude did not vary across high and low symptomatology groups.
Overall, these findings demonstrate that surrounding crowd information is integrated when judging individual body size; however, those with elevated eating disorder symptomatology did not show any integration deficit on this broader measure of spatial integration.
CARD9 is an essential adaptor protein in antifungal innate immunity mediated by C-type lectin receptors. The activity of CARD9 is critically regulated by ubiquitination; however, the deubiquitinases ...involved in CARD9 regulation remain incompletely understood. In this study, we identified ovarian tumor deubiquitinase 1 (OTUD1) as an essential regulator of CARD9. OTUD1 directly interacted with CARD9 and cleaved polyubiquitin chains from CARD9, leading to the activation of the canonical NF-κB and MAPK pathway. OTUD1 deficiency impaired CARD9-mediated signaling and inhibited the proinflammatory cytokine production following fungal stimulation. Importantly,
mice were more susceptible to fungal infection than wild-type mice in vivo. Collectively, our results identify OTUD1 as an essential regulatory component for the CARD9 signaling pathway and antifungal innate immunity through deubiquitinating CARD9.
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