Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus infection triggers HMGB1 release to promote inflammatory cytokine production

AbstractThe high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) protein is an endogenous damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP) molecule involved in the pathogenesis of various infectious agents. Based on meta-analysis of all publicly available microarray datasets, HMGB1 has recently been proposed as the most significant immune modulator during the porcine response to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) infection. However, the function of HMGB1 in PRRSV pathogenesis is unclear. In this study, we found that PRRSV infection triggers the translocation of HMGB1 from the nucleus to the extracellular milieu in MARC-145 cells and porcine alveolar macrophages. Although HMGB1 has no effect on PRRSV replication, HMGB1 promotes PRRSV-induced NF-κB activation and subsequent expression of inflammatory cytokines through receptors RAGE, TLR2 and TLR4. Our findings show that HMGB1 release, triggered by PRRSV infection, enhances the efficiency of virus-induced inflammatory responses, thereby providing new insights into the pathogenesis of PRRSV infection

Use of Next Generation Sequencing and Synergy Susceptibility Testing in Diagnosis and Treatment of Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae Blood Stream Infection

Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment for carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-Kp) infection is a big challenge for clinicians due to its high mortality. Every effort has been made to improve its clinical outcomes. However, treatment according to synergy susceptibility testing has never been reported in the literature. We reported a 29-year-old systemic lupus erythematosus female with CR-Kp blood stream infection. We highlighted the identification by next generation sequencing and treatment according to synergy susceptibility testing in the case

Model of structural and functional adaptation of small conductance vessels to arterial hypotension

Vascular networks adapt structurally in response to local pressure and flow and functionally in response to the changing needs of tissue. Whereas most research has either focused on adaptation of the macrocirculation, which primarily transports blood, or the microcirculation, which primarily controls flow, the present work addresses adaptation of the small conductance vessels in between, which both conduct blood and resist flow. A simple hemodynamic model is introduced consisting of three parts: 1) bifurcating arterial and venous trees, 2) an empirical description of the microvasculature, and 3) a target shear stress depending on pressure. This simple model has the minimum requirements to explain qualitatively the observed structure in normotensive conditions. It illustrates that flow regulation in the microvasculature makes adaptation in the larger conductance vessels stable. Furthermore, it suggests that structural changes in response to hypotension can account for the observed decrease in the lower limit of autoregulation in chronically hypotensive vasculature. Independent adaptation to local conditions thus yields a coordinated set of structural changes that ultimately adapts supply to demand

Multifunctional Bicontinuous Composite Foams with Ultralow Percolation Thresholds

Integrating ultralight weight and strong mechanical performance into cellular monolith is a challenge unresolved yet. Here, we propose a skeleton-assisted self-assembly method to design ultralight bicontinuous composite foams (BCCFs) with high mechanical robustness and ultralow percolation thresholds. Polymer foam was employed as the skeleton to support assembled graphene networks, forming BCCFs with a high tensile strength (∼80 kPa) and breakage elongation (>22.2%). The paraffin and poly­(dimethylsiloxane) infiltrated BCCFs show a record low percolation threshold of 0.006 vol % and a relatively high electrical conductivity of 0.81 S m^–1 at a low graphene content of 0.216 vol %. The BCCFs demonstrate high and adjustable microwave-absorbing (MA) properties. The effective absorption bandwidth (reflection loss ≤ −10 dB) for BCCFs with a low graphene loading of 3.4 mg cm^–3 achieves 9.0 GHz at a thickness of 4 mm, and it further covers 13.6 GHz considering the adjustability of preferred absorption band. The BCCFs with an extremely low graphene load of 0.14 mg cm^–3 were further used for durable and efficient oil adsorption, which can adsorb >60 times their own weight. The facile fabrication of bicontinuous composite foams opens the avenue for practical applications of high-strength, multifunctional, and productive graphene-based foams

Multifunctional Bicontinuous Composite Foams with Ultralow Percolation Thresholds

Integrating ultralight weight and strong mechanical performance into cellular monolith is a challenge unresolved yet. Here, we propose a skeleton-assisted self-assembly method to design ultralight bicontinuous composite foams (BCCFs) with high mechanical robustness and ultralow percolation thresholds. Polymer foam was employed as the skeleton to support assembled graphene networks, forming BCCFs with a high tensile strength (∼80 kPa) and breakage elongation (>22.2%). The paraffin and poly­(dimethylsiloxane) infiltrated BCCFs show a record low percolation threshold of 0.006 vol % and a relatively high electrical conductivity of 0.81 S m^–1 at a low graphene content of 0.216 vol %. The BCCFs demonstrate high and adjustable microwave-absorbing (MA) properties. The effective absorption bandwidth (reflection loss ≤ −10 dB) for BCCFs with a low graphene loading of 3.4 mg cm^–3 achieves 9.0 GHz at a thickness of 4 mm, and it further covers 13.6 GHz considering the adjustability of preferred absorption band. The BCCFs with an extremely low graphene load of 0.14 mg cm^–3 were further used for durable and efficient oil adsorption, which can adsorb >60 times their own weight. The facile fabrication of bicontinuous composite foams opens the avenue for practical applications of high-strength, multifunctional, and productive graphene-based foams