Cooperative coloring of some graph families

Given a family of graphs $\{G_1,\ldots, G_m\}$ on the vertex set $V$, a cooperative coloring of it is a choice of independent sets $I_i$ in $G_i$ $(1\leq i\leq m)$ such that $\bigcup^m_{i=1}I_i=V$. For a graph class $\mathcal{G}$, let $m_{\mathcal{G}}(d)$ be the minimum $m$ such that every graph family $\{G_1,\ldots,G_m\}$ with $G_j\in\mathcal{G}$ and $\Delta(G_j)\leq d$ for $j\in [m]$, has a cooperative coloring. For $\mathcal{T}$ the class of trees and $\mathcal{W}$ the class of wheels, we get that $m_\mathcal{T}(3)=4$ and $m_\mathcal{W}(4)=5$. Also, we show that $m_{\mathcal{B}_{bc}}(d)=O(\log_2 d)$ and $m_{\mathcal{B}_k}(d)=O\big(\frac{\log d}{\log\log d}\big)$, where $\mathcal{B}_{bc}$ is the class of graphs whose components are balanced complete bipartite graphs, and $\mathcal{B}_k$ is the class of bipartite graphs with one part size at most $k$

IFNγ Inhibits the Cytosolic Replication of Shigella flexneri via the Cytoplasmic RNA Sensor RIG-I

The activation of host cells by interferon gamma (IFNγ) is essential for inhibiting the intracellular replication of most microbial pathogens. Although significant advances have been made in identifying IFNγ-dependent host factors that suppress intracellular bacteria, little is known about how IFNγ enables cells to recognize, or restrict, the growth of pathogens that replicate in the host cytoplasm. The replication of the cytosolic bacterial pathogen Shigella flexneri is significantly inhibited in IFNγ-stimulated cells, however the specific mechanisms that mediate this inhibition have remained elusive. We found that S. flexneri efficiently invades IFNγ-activated mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) and escapes from the vacuole, suggesting that IFNγ acts by blocking S. flexneri replication in the cytosol. This restriction on cytosolic growth was dependent on interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRF1), an IFNγ-inducible transcription factor capable of inducing IFNγ-mediated cell-autonomous immunity. To identify host factors that restrict S. flexneri growth, we used whole genome microarrays to identify mammalian genes whose expression in S. flexneri-infected cells is controlled by IFNγ and IRF1. Among the genes we identified was the pattern recognition receptor (PRR) retanoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I), a cytoplasmic sensor of foreign RNA that had not been previously known to play a role in S. flexneri infection. We found that RIG-I and its downstream signaling adaptor mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVS)—but not cytosolic Nod-like receptors (NLRs)—are critically important for IFNγ-mediated S. flexneri growth restriction. The recently described RNA polymerase III pathway, which transcribes foreign cytosolic DNA into the RIG-I ligand 5′-triphosphate RNA, appeared to be involved in this restriction. The finding that RIG-I responds to S. flexneri infection during the IFNγ response extends the range of PRRs that are capable of recognizing this bacterium. Additionally, these findings expand our understanding of how IFNγ recognizes, and ultimately restricts, bacterial pathogens within host cells

The O antigen is a critical antigen for the development of a protective immune response to Bordetella parapertussis

Despite excellent vaccine coverage in developed countries, whooping cough is a reemerging disease that can be caused by two closely related pathogens, Bordetella pertussis and B. parapertussis. The two are antigenically distinct, and current vaccines, containing only B. pertussis-derived antigens, confer efficient protection against B. pertussis but not against B. parapertussis. B. pertussis does not express the O antigen, while B. parapertussis retains it as a dominant surface antigen. Since the O antigen is a protective antigen for many pathogenic bacteria, we examined whether this factor is a potential protective antigen for B. parapertussis. In a mouse model of infection, immunization with wild-type B. parapertussis elicited a strong antibody response to the O antigen and conferred efficient protection against a subsequent B. parapertussis challenge. However, immunization with an isogenic mutant lacking the O antigen, B. parapertussis Δwbm, induced antibodies that recognized other antigens but did not efficiently mediate opsonophagocytosis of B. parapertussis. The passive transfer of sera raised against B. parapertussis, but not B. parapertussis Δwbm, reduced B. parapertussis loads in the lower respiratory tracts of mice. The addition of 10 μg of purified B. parapertussis lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which contains the O antigen, but not B. parapertussis Δwbm LPS drastically improved the efficacy of the acellular vaccine Adacel against B. parapertussis. These data suggest that the O antigen is a critical protective antigen of B. parapertussis and its inclusion can substantially improve whooping cough vaccine efficacy against this pathogen.Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriale

Genome-Wide Profiling of Circular RNAs in the Rapidly Growing Shoots of Moso Bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis).

Circular RNAs, including circular exonic RNAs (circRNA), circular intronic RNAs (ciRNA) and exon-intron circRNAs (EIciRNAs), are a new type of noncoding RNAs. Growing shoots of moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) represent an excellent model of fast growth and their circular RNAs have not been studied yet. To understand the potential regulation of circular RNAs, we systematically characterized circular RNAs from eight different developmental stages of rapidly growing shoots. Here, we identified 895 circular RNAs including a subset of mutually inclusive circRNA. These circular RNAs were generated from 759 corresponding parental coding genes involved in cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin biosynthetic process. Gene co-expression analysis revealed that hub genes, such as DEFECTIVE IN RNA-DIRECTED DNA METHYLATION 1 (DRD1), MAINTENANCE OF METHYLATION (MOM), dicer-like 3 (DCL3) and ARGONAUTE 1 (AGO1), were significantly enriched giving rise to circular RNAs. The expression level of these circular RNAs presented correlation with its linear counterpart according to transcriptome sequencing. Further protoplast transformation experiments indicated that overexpressing circ-bHLH93 generating from transcription factor decreased its linear transcript. Finally, the expression profiles suggested that circular RNAs may have interplay with miRNAs to regulate their cognate linear mRNAs, which was further supported by overexpressing miRNA156 decreasing the transcript of circ-TRF-1 and linear transcripts of TRF-1. Taken together, the overall profile of circular RNAs provided new insight into an unexplored category of long noncoding RNA regulation in moso bamboo

O antigen allows <i>B. parapertussis</i> to evade <i>B. pertussis</i> vaccine-induced immunity by blocking binding and functions of cross-reactive antibodies

Although the prevalence of Bordetella parapertussis varies dramatically among studies in different populations with different vaccination regimens, there is broad agreement that whooping cough vaccines, composed only of B. pertussis antigens, provide little if any protection against B. parapertussis. In C57BL/6 mice, a B. pertussis whole-cell vaccine (wP) provided modest protection against B. parapertussis, which was dependent on IFN-γ. The wP was much more protective against an isogenic B. parapertussis strain lacking O-antigen than its wild-type counterpart. O-antigen inhibited binding of wP-induced antibodies to B. parapertussis, as well as antibody-mediated opsonophagocytosis in vitro and clearance in vivo. aP-induced antibodies also bound better in vitro to the O-antigen mutant than to wild-type B. parapertussis, but aP failed to confer protection against wild-type or O antigen-deficient B. parapertussis in mice. Interestingly, B. parapertussis-specific antibodies provided in addition to either wP or aP were sufficient to very rapidly reduce B. parapertussis numbers in mouse lungs. This study identifies a mechanism by which one pathogen escapes immunity induced by vaccination against a closely related pathogen and may explain why B. parapertussis prevalence varies substantially between populations with different vaccination strategies.Facultad de Ciencias Exacta

The enhancement of electrochemical capacitance of biomass-carbon by pyrolysis of extracted nanofibers

Biomass-derived carbons have been extensively researched as electrode material for energy storage and conversion recently. However, most of the previous works convert crude biomass directly into carbon and the electrochemical capacitances for the resultant carbons are quite often underestimated as well as large variations in capacitances exist in literatures due to the complex nature of biomass, which practically hinder their applications. In this work, polysaccharide nanofibers were extracted from an inexpensive natural fungus using a hydrothermal method and were converted to porous carbon nanofibers (CNFs) by potassium hydroxide activation. The porous carbons were assembled into symmetric supercapacitors using both potassium hydroxide and an ionic liquid (IL) as electrolytes. Solid state nuclear magnetic resonance characterization showed that the micropores of the as-prepared carbons are accessible to the IL electrolyte when uncharged and thus high capacitance is expected. It is found in both electrolytes the electrochemical capacitances of CNFs are significantly higher than those of the porous carbon derived directly from the crude fungus. Furthermore, the CNFs delivered an extraordinary energy density of 92.3 Wh kg−1 in the IL electrolyte, making it a promising candidate for electrode materials for supercapacitors.<br/

Sieve-Like CNT Film Coupled with TiO 2 Nanowire for High-Performance Continuous-Flow Photodegradation of Rhodamine B under Visible Light Irradiation

From MDPI via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: accepted 2021-05-14, pub-electronic 2021-05-19Publication status: PublishedFunder: National Key Research and Development Program of China; Grant(s): 2016YFA0203301Funder: National Natural Science Foundation of China; Grant(s): 51862035, 52062048Funder: the Science and Technology Project of Jiangxi Province; Grant(s): 20192BCD40017, 20192ACB80002, S2018LQCQ0016, 2017-SJSYS-008Continuous-flow photoreactors hold great promise for the highly efficient photodegradation of pollutants due to their continuity and sustainability. However, how to enable a continuous-flow photoreactor with the combined features of high photodegradation efficiency and durability as well as broad-wavelength light absorption and large-scale processing remains a significant challenge. Herein, we demonstrate a facile and effective strategy to construct a sieve-like carbon nanotube (CNT)/TiO2 nanowire film (SCTF) with superior flexibility (180° bending), high tensile strength (75–82 MPa), good surface wettability, essential light penetration and convenient visible light absorption. Significantly, the unique architecture, featuring abundant, well-ordered and uniform mesopores with ca. 70 µm in diameter, as well as a homogenous distribution of TiO2 nanowires with an average diameter of ca. 500 nm, could act as a “waterway” for efficient solution infiltration through the SCTF, thereby, enabling the photocatalytic degradation of polluted water in a continuous-flow mode. The optimized SCTF-2.5 displayed favorable photocatalytic behavior with 96% degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) within 80 min and a rate constant of 0.0394 min−1. The continuous-flow photodegradation device made using SCTF-2.5 featured exceptional photocatalytic behavior for the continuous degradation of RhB under simulated solar irradiation with a high degradation ratio (99.6%) and long-term stability (99.2% retention after working continuously for 72 h). This work sheds light on new strategies for designing and fabricating high-performance continuous-flow photoreactors toward future uses

The O antigen is a critical antigen for the development of a protective immune response to<i> Bordetella parapertussis</i>

Despite excellent vaccine coverage in developed countries, whooping cough is a reemerging disease that can be caused by two closely related pathogens, Bordetella pertussis and B. parapertussis. The two are antigenically distinct, and current vaccines, containing only B. pertussis-derived antigens, confer efficient protection against B. pertussis but not against B. parapertussis. B. pertussis does not express the O antigen, while B. parapertussis retains it as a dominant surface antigen. Since the O antigen is a protective antigen for many pathogenic bacteria, we examined whether this factor is a potential protective antigen for B. parapertussis. In a mouse model of infection, immunization with wild-type B. parapertussis elicited a strong antibody response to the O antigen and conferred efficient protection against a subsequent B. parapertussis challenge. However, immunization with an isogenic mutant lacking the O antigen, B. parapertussis Δwbm, induced antibodies that recognized other antigens but did not efficiently mediate opsonophagocytosis of B. parapertussis. The passive transfer of sera raised against B. parapertussis, but not B. parapertussis Δwbm, reduced B. parapertussis loads in the lower respiratory tracts of mice. The addition of 10 μg of purified B. parapertussis lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which contains the O antigen, but not B. parapertussis Δwbm LPS drastically improved the efficacy of the acellular vaccine Adacel against B. parapertussis. These data suggest that the O antigen is a critical protective antigen of B. parapertussis and its inclusion can substantially improve whooping cough vaccine efficacy against this pathogen.Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriale

The O antigen is a critical antigen for the development of a protective immune response to Bordetella parapertussis

Despite excellent vaccine coverage in developed countries, whooping cough is a reemerging disease that can be caused by two closely related pathogens, Bordetella pertussis and B. parapertussis. The two are antigenically distinct, and current vaccines, containing only B. pertussis-derived antigens, confer efficient protection against B. pertussis but not against B. parapertussis. B. pertussis does not express the O antigen, while B. parapertussis retains it as a dominant surface antigen. Since the O antigen is a protective antigen for many pathogenic bacteria, we examined whether this factor is a potential protective antigen for B. parapertussis. In a mouse model of infection, immunization with wild-type B. parapertussis elicited a strong antibody response to the O antigen and conferred efficient protection against a subsequent B. parapertussis challenge. However, immunization with an isogenic mutant lacking the O antigen, B. parapertussis Δwbm, induced antibodies that recognized other antigens but did not efficiently mediate opsonophagocytosis of B. parapertussis. The passive transfer of sera raised against B. parapertussis, but not B. parapertussis Δwbm, reduced B. parapertussis loads in the lower respiratory tracts of mice. The addition of 10 μg of purified B. parapertussis lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which contains the O antigen, but not B. parapertussis Δwbm LPS drastically improved the efficacy of the acellular vaccine Adacel against B. parapertussis. These data suggest that the O antigen is a critical protective antigen of B. parapertussis and its inclusion can substantially improve whooping cough vaccine efficacy against this pathogen.Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriale