Trained immunity: a cutting edge approach for designing novel vaccines against parasitic diseases?

The preventive situation of parasitosis, a global public health burden especially for developing countries, is not looking that good. Similar to other infections, vaccines would be the best choice for preventing and controlling parasitic infection. However, ideal antigenic molecules for vaccine development have not been identified so far, resulting from the complicated life history and enormous genomes of the parasites. Furthermore, the suppression or down-regulation of anti-infectious immunity mediated by the parasites or their derived molecules can compromise the effect of parasitic vaccines. Comparing the early immune profiles of several parasites in the permissive and non-permissive hosts, a robust innate immune response is proposed to be a critical event to eliminate the parasites. Therefore, enhancing innate immunity may be essential for designing novel and effective parasitic vaccines. The newly emerging trained immunity (also termed innate immune memory) has been increasingly recognized to provide a novel perspective for vaccine development targeting innate immunity. This article reviews the current status of parasitic vaccines and anti-infectious immunity, as well as the conception, characteristics, and mechanisms of trained immunity and its research progress in Parasitology, highlighting the possible consideration of trained immunity in designing novel vaccines against parasitic diseases

A Lightweight Neighbor-Info-Based Routing Protocol for No-Base-Station Taxi-Call System

Since the quick topology change and short connection duration, the VANET has had unstable routing and wireless signal quality. This paper proposes a kind of lightweight routing protocol-LNIB for call system without base station, which is applicable to the urban taxis. LNIB maintains and predicts neighbor information dynamically, thus finding the reliable path between the source and the target. This paper describes the protocol in detail and evaluates the performance of this protocol by simulating under different nodes density and speed. The result of evaluation shows that the performance of LNIB is better than AODV which is a classic protocol in taxi-call scene

Aberrantly hydroxymethylated differentially expressed genes and the associated protein pathways in osteoarthritis

Background The elderly population is at risk of osteoarthritis (OA), a common, multifactorial, degenerative joint disease. Environmental, genetic, and epigenetic (such as DNA hydroxymethylation) factors may be involved in the etiology, development, and pathogenesis of OA. Here, comprehensive bioinformatic analyses were used to identify aberrantly hydroxymethylated differentially expressed genes and pathways in osteoarthritis to determine the underlying molecular mechanisms of osteoarthritis and susceptibility-related genes for osteoarthritis inheritance. Methods Gene expression microarray data, mRNA expression profile data, and a whole genome 5hmC dataset were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus repository. Differentially expressed genes with abnormal hydroxymethylation were identified by MATCH function. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses of the genes differentially expressed in OA were performed using Metascape and the KOBAS online tool, respectively. The protein–protein interaction network was built using STRING and visualized in Cytoscape, and the modular analysis of the network was performed using the Molecular Complex Detection app. Results In total, 104 hyperhydroxymethylated highly expressed genes and 14 hypohydroxymethylated genes with low expression were identified. Gene ontology analyses indicated that the biological functions of hyperhydroxymethylated highly expressed genes included skeletal system development, ossification, and bone development; KEGG pathway analysis showed enrichment in protein digestion and absorption, extracellular matrix–receptor interaction, and focal adhesion. The top 10 hub genes in the protein–protein interaction network were COL1A1, COL1A2, COL2A1, COL3A1, COL5A1, COL5A2, COL6A1, COL8A1, COL11A1, and COL24A1. All the aforementioned results are consistent with changes observed in OA. Conclusion After comprehensive bioinformatics analysis, we found aberrantly hydroxymethylated differentially expressed genes and pathways in OA. The top 10 hub genes may be useful hydroxymethylation analysis biomarkers to provide more accurate OA diagnoses and target genes for treatment of OA

Resource: A multi‐species multi‐timepoint transcriptome database and webpage for the pineal gland and retina

The website and database https://snengs.nichd.nih.gov provides RNA sequencing data from multi-species analysis of the pineal glands from zebrafish (Danio rerio), chicken (White Leghorn), rat (Rattus novegicus), mouse (Mus musculus), rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), and human (Homo sapiens); in most cases, retinal data are also included along with results of the analysis of a mixture of RNA from tissues. Studies cover day and night conditions; in addition, a time series over multiple hours, a developmental time series and pharmacological experiments on rats are included. The data have been uniformly re-processed using the latest methods and assemblies to allow for comparisons between experiments and to reduce processing differences. The website presents search functionality, graphical representations, Excel tables, and track hubs of all data for detailed visualization in the UCSC Genome Browser. As more data are collected from investigators and improved genomes become available in the future, the website will be updated. This database is in the public domain and elements can be reproduced by citing the URL and this report. This effort makes the results of 21st century transcriptome profiling widely available in a user-friendly format that is expected to broadly influence pineal research.Fil: Chang, Eric. National Instituto of Child Health & Human Development; Estados UnidosFil: Fu, Cong. National Instituto of Child Health & Human Development; Estados UnidosFil: Coon, Steven L.. National Instituto of Child Health & Human Development; Estados UnidosFil: Alon, Shahar. No especifíca;Fil: Bozinoski, Marjan. No especifíca;Fil: Breymaier, Matthew. National Instituto of Child Health & Human Development; Estados UnidosFil: Bustos, Diego Martin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza Dr. Mario H. Burgos. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza Dr. Mario H. Burgos; ArgentinaFil: Clokie, Samuel J.. National Instituto of Child Health & Human Development; Estados UnidosFil: Gothilf, Yoav. No especifíca;Fil: Esnault, Caroline. National Instituto of Child Health & Human Development; Estados UnidosFil: Iuvone, P. Michael. Emory University School of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Mason, Christopher E.. No especifíca;Fil: Ochocinska, Margaret J.. National Instituto of Child Health & Human Development; Estados UnidosFil: Tovin, Adi. No especifíca;Fil: Wang, Charles. Loma Linda University; Estados UnidosFil: Xu, Pinxian. No especifíca;Fil: Zhu, Jinhang. No especifíca;Fil: Dale, Ryan. National Instituto of Child Health & Human Development; Estados UnidosFil: Klein, David C.. National Instituto of Child Health & Human Development; Estados Unido

Rapid Estimation of Stomatal Density and Stomatal Area of Plant Leaves Based on Object-Oriented Classification and Its Ecological Trade-Off Strategy Analysis

Leaf stomata are important structures used for exchanging matter between plants and the environment, and they are very sensitive to environmental changes. The method of efficiently extracting stomata, as well as measuring stomatal density and area, still lacks established techniques. This study focused on the leaves of Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marshall, Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle, and Sophora japonica (L.) Schott grown on different underlying surfaces and carried out an analysis of stomatal information using multiscale segmentation and classification recognition as well as microscopy images of leaf stomata via eCognition Developer 64 software (Munich, Germany). Using this method, we further analyzed the ecological significance of stomata. The results were as follows: (1) The best parameters of stomatal division and automatic extraction rules were scale parameter 120–125 + shape parameter 0.7 + compactness parameter 0.9 + brightness value 160–220 + red light band >95 + shape–density index 1.5–2.2; the accuracy of stomatal density and stomatal area using this method were 98.2% and 95.4%, respectively. (2) There was a very significant correlation among stomatal density, stomatal area, and stomatal shape index under different growing environments. When the stomatal density increased, the stomatal area lowered remarkably and the stomatal shape tended to be flat, suggesting that the plants had adopted some regulatory behavior at the stomatal level that might be an ecological trade-off strategy for plants to adapt to a particular growing environment. These findings provide a new approach and applicable parameters for stomata extraction, which can further calculate the stomatal density and stomatal area and deepen our understanding of the relationship between stomata and the environment. The study provides useful information for urban planners on the breeding and introduction of high-temperature-resistant urban plants

One-Pot Synthesis of 2,5-Diformylfuran from Fructose by Bifunctional Polyaniline-Supported Heteropolyacid Hybrid Catalysts

We report the preparation of bifunctional hybrid catalysts by supporting H3PMo12O40 (PMo12) heteropolyacid (HPA) on polyaniline (PAN) or formyl-functionalized PAN (F-PAN) for the “one-pot„ and “one-step„ synthesis of 2,5-diformylfuran (DFF) from fructose via 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) intermediate. We show that the PMo12 HPA is the main active species for both fructose dehydration and HMF oxidation owing to its Brønsted acidic and redox characters. However, the anchoring of PMo12 on PAN reduces the Brønsted acidity by acid–base interaction between protons in HPA and quinoid diimine structure in PAN, thereby reducing the dehydration performance. We demonstrate that the catalytic dehydration performance of the hybrid catalyst could be strengthened by grafting formyl groups on PAN before HPA anchoring. The highest DFF yield of 76.7% is obtained by conducting the “one-pot„ reaction over the 40-PMo12/F3-PAN catalyst at 413 K for 7 h in air, wherein the side-reactions of fructose or HMF degradation and HMF rehydration have been significantly reduced. This hybrid catalyst is reusable without significant activity loss, highlighting the designing of stable inorganic–organic hybrid catalysts for producing valuable hexose-derived platform chemicals

Highly selective single and multiple deuteration of unactivated C(sp3)-H bonds

Deuteration of unactivated C(sp3)̵̵̵̵̵̵̵̵–H bonds is a simple route to deuterated compounds, of use in pharmaceutical chemistry, material science, and synthetic chemistry. Here, the authors describe a hydrogen/deuterium (H/D) exchange of remote unactivated C(sp3)̵̵̵̵̵̵̵̵–H bonds via photocatalysis, proceeding through hydrogen atom transfer

A Review on Superhydrophobic Surface with Anti-Icing Properties in Overhead Transmission Lines

The icing on overhead transmission lines is one of the largest threats to the safe operation of electric power systems. Compared with other security accidents in the electric industry, a sudden ice disaster could cause the most serious losses to electric power grids. Among the numerous de-icing and anti-icing techniques for application, direct current ice-melting and mechanical de-icing schemes require power cuts and other restrictive conditions. Superhydrophobic coating technology has been widely focused for good anti-icing properties, low cost and wide application range. However, the special structure of curved transmission lines, complicated service environments, and variated electric performance could significantly limit the application of superhydrophobic anti-icing coatings on overhead transmission lines. In particular, superhydrophobic surfaces can be achieved by combining the rough micro-nano structure and modification agents with low surface energy. Compared with superhydrophobic coatings, superhydrophobic surfaces will not increase the weight of the substrate and have good durability and stability in maintaining the robust structure to repeatedly resist aging, abrasion, corrosion and corona damages, etc. Therefore, this review summarizes the theoretical basis of anti-icing behavior and mechanisms, influencing factors of anti-icing properties, potential techniques of superhydrophobic surfaces on transmission lines, and, finally, presents future development challenges and prospects of superhydrophobic surfaces in the anti-icing protection of overhead transmission lines