Molecular Analysis of Pathogenicity Differences of Avian Paramyxovirus 1 Genotypes VI and VII in Chickens

Background: Genotypes VI and VII of  (APMV-1) have different host range and pathogenicity in pigeons and chickens. However, the molecular determinants of these differences are still unclear. Methods: Here, we aligned the DNA sequences of 56 genotype VI and 33 genotype VII APMV-1 strains. Sequence alignment results revealed that there are 17 amino acids sites differed between APMV-1 strains of these two genotypes. We then constructed a plasmid based on the full-length genome of rSG10 APMV-1 strain, which belongs to genotype VII but was mutated with these 17 VI-genotype-specific amino acids, and rescued as rSG10-17 strain. The restriction digestion and ligation and overlapping PCR methods were used in the construction of plasmids with amino acids mutation. This virus was evaluated for its virulence and growth characteristics. Results and conclusion: The results indicated that the virulence and the growth characteristics have no obvious difference between the rSG10-17 virus and its parental strain rSG10. The simultaneous mutation of 17 genotype-specific amino acids did not affect the virulence of APMV-1 in chickens. Further analysis of these amino acids is required by taking into consideration of the functions of encoded proteins

Bridge the gap caused by public health crises: medical humanization and communication skills build a psychological bond that satisfies patients

Abstract Background Patient satisfaction is an important outcome domain of patient-centered care. Medical humanization follows the patient-centered principle and provides a more holistic view to treat patients. The COVID-19 pandemic posed significant barriers to maintaining medical humanization. However, empirical study on the relationship between medical humanization and patient satisfaction is clearly absent. Objectives We examined the mediation effects of communication on the relationship between medical humanization and patient satisfaction when faced with a huge public health crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic, and the moderation effect of medical institutional trust on the mediation models. Methods A cross-sectional survey study was performed. A final sample size of 1445 patients was surveyed on medical humanization, communication, patient satisfaction and medical institutional trust. Results All correlations were significantly positive across the main variables (r = 0.35–0.67, p < 0.001 for all) except for medical institutional trust, which was negatively correlated with the medical humanization (r=-0.14, p < 0.001). Moderated mediation analysis showed that the indirect effect of medical humanization on patient satisfaction through communication was significant (b = 0.22, 95% CI: 0.18 ~ 0.25). Medical institutional trust significantly moderated the effect of medical humanization on patient satisfaction (b=-0.09, p < 0.001) and the effect of medical humanization on communication (b= -0.14, p < 0.001). Conclusion Medical humanization positively influence patient satisfaction, communication mediated the association between medical humanization and patient satisfaction, and medical institutional trust negatively moderated the effects of medical humanization on patient satisfaction and communication. These findings suggest that humanistic communication contributes to patient satisfaction in the face of a huge public health crisis, and patients’ evaluation of satisfaction is also regulated by rational cognition

MOF-Derived Urchin-like Co₉S₈-Ni₃S₂ Composites on Ni Foam as Efficient Self-Supported Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Effective and inexpensive electrocatalysts are significant to improve the performance of oxygen evolution reaction. Facing the bottleneck of slow kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction, it is highly desirable to design the electrocatalyst with high activity, good conductivity, and satisfactory stability. In this work, nickel foam supported hierarchical Co9S8–Ni3S2 composite hollow microspheres were derived from in situ-generative MOF precursors and the subsequent sulfurization process by a simple two-step solvothermal method. The composite microspheres were directly grown on nickel foam without any binder, and nickel foam was used as the nickel source and support material. The morphology and constitution of the series self-supported electrodes were characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD, XPS, and Raman, respectively. The unique porous architecture enriched the electrode with sufficient active surface and helped to reactants and bubble evolved during electrochemical water oxidation. Through tuning the concentration of cobalt source and ligand, the content ratio of Co9S8 and Ni3S2 can be modulated. The heterostructures not only afford active interfaces between the phases but also allow electronic transfer between Co9S8 and Ni3S2. The optimized Co9S8-Ni3S2/NF-0.6 electrode with the highest electrochemical surface area and conductivity shows the best OER performance among the series electrodes in 1 M KOH solution. The overpotential of Co9S8-Ni3S2/NF-0.6 is only 233 mV when the current density is 10 mA cm−2, and corresponding Tafel slope is 116.75 mV dec−1. In addition, the current density of Co9S8-Ni3S2/NF-0.6 electrocatalyst hardly decreased during the 12 h stability measurement. Our approach in this work may provide the future rational design and synthesis of satisfactory OER electrocatalysts

Potential role of CXCL10/CXCR3 signaling in the development of morphine tolerance in periaqueductal gray

Tolerance to morphine antinociception hinders its long-term use in clinical practice. Interaction between neuron and microglia has been proved to play critical role in the mechanism of morphine tolerance, while CXCL10/CXCR3 signaling has been implicated in neuron-glia signaling and morphine analgesia. This study aims to investigate whether CXCL10/CXCR3 signaling in periaqueductal gray (PAG) contributes to the development of morphine tolerance by modulating neuron-microglia interaction. The results showed that the expressions of CXCR3 and CXCL10 were gradually increased in parallel with repeated morphine administration and activation of microglia. CXCR3 was co-localized with neuronal marker NeuN, while CXCL10 was derived from microglia. Microglia inhibitor minocycline significantly attenuated the expression of CXCL10, besides, both minocycline and CXCR3 inhibitor alleviated the development of morphine tolerance. Taken together, our study provided the evidence that CXCL10/CXCR3 signaling in PAG is involved in the development of morphine analgesic tolerance via neuron-microglia interaction

Genome-wide identification of genes critical for in vivo fitness of multi-drug resistant porcine extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli by transposon-directed insertion site sequencing using a mouse infection model

ABSTRACTExtraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) is an important zoonotic pathogen. Recently, ExPEC has been reported to be an emerging problem in pig farming. However, the mechanism of pathogenicity of porcine ExPEC remains to be revealed. In this study, we constructed a transposon (Tn) mutagenesis library covering Tn insertion in over 72% of the chromosome-encoded genes of a virulent and multi-drug resistant porcine ExPEC strain PCN033. By using a mouse infection model, a transposon-directed insertion site sequencing (TraDIS) assay was performed to identify in vivo fitness factors. By comparing the Tn insertion frequencies between the input Tn library and the recovered library from different organs, 64 genes were identified to be involved in fitness during systemic infection. 15 genes were selected and individual gene deletion mutants were constructed. The in vivo fitness was evaluated by using a competitive infection assay. Among them, ΔfimG was significantly outcompeted by the WT strain in vivo and showed defective adhesion to host cells. rfa which was involved in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis was shown to be critical for in vivo fitness which may have resulted from its role in the resistance to serum killing. In addition, several metabolic genes including fepB, sdhC, fepG, gltS, dcuA, ccmH, ddpD, narU, glpD, malM, and yabL and two regulatory genes metJ and baeS were shown as important determinants of in vivo fitness of porcine ExPEC. Collectively, this study performed a genome-wide screening for in vivo fitness factors which will be important for understanding the pathogenicity of porcine ExPEC

Insights from multi-omics integration into seed germination of Taxus chinensis var mairei

Abstract The transition from deep dormancy to seed germination is essential for the life cycle of plants, but how this process occurs in the gymnosperm Chinese yew (Taxus chinensis var mairei), the natural source of the anticancer drug paclitaxel, remains unclear. Herein, we analyse the transcriptome, proteome, spatial metabolome, and spatial lipidome of the Chinese yew and present the multi-omics profiles of dormant and germinating seeds. Our results show that abscisic acid and gibberellic acid 12 homoeostasis is closely associated with gene transcription and protein translation, and the balance between these phytohormones thereby determines if seeds remain dormant or germinate. We find that an energy supply of carbohydrates from glycolysis and the TCA cycle feed into the pentose phosphate pathway during seed germination, and energy supplied from lipids are mainly derived from the lipolysis of triacylglycerols. Using mass spectrometry imaging, we demonstrate that the spatial distribution of plant hormones and phospholipids has a remarkable influence on embryo development. We also provide an atlas of the spatial distribution of paclitaxel C in Chinese yew seeds for the first time. The data from this study enable exploration of the germination mechanism of Chinese yew seeds across several omics levels