Autophagy enhances NFκB activity in specific tissue macrophages by sequestering A20 to boost antifungal immunity.

Immune responses must be well restrained in a steady state to avoid excessive inflammation. However, such restraints are quickly removed to exert antimicrobial responses. Here we report a role of autophagy in an early host antifungal response by enhancing NFκB activity through A20 sequestration. Enhancement of NFκB activation is achieved by autophagic depletion of A20, an NFκB inhibitor, in F4/80(hi) macrophages in the spleen, peritoneum and kidney. We show that p62, an autophagic adaptor protein, captures A20 to sequester it in the autophagosome. This allows the macrophages to release chemokines to recruit neutrophils. Indeed, mice lacking autophagy in myeloid cells show higher susceptibility to Candida albicans infection due to impairment in neutrophil recruitment. Thus, at least in the specific aforementioned tissues, autophagy appears to break A20-dependent suppression in F4/80(hi) macrophages, which express abundant A20 and contribute to the initiation of efficient innate immune responses

Inference of Allelopathy about Spartina Alterniflora to Scirpus Mariqueter by Effects of Activated Carbon on Soil

AbstractSpartina alterniflora Loisel is an invasive species in Jiuduansha Islands and threatens the survival of native species Scirpus mariqueter. In this study, activated carbon (AC) was applied to study the allelochemicals remained in the soil. Seed germination and seedling growth bioassays were used to test the allelopathic effect, and GC-MS was used to identify the allelochemicals. Our results showed: due to the invasion of S. alterniflora, germination of S. mariqueter seeds and the growth of seedlings were significantly inhibited. When AC was added into S. mariqueter soil, the germination had not been affected while the seedling growth was promoted significantly. When AC was added into the soil of S. alterniflora, both the germination and the seedling growth had an obvious improvement. All indicated that S. alterniflora soil contained allelochemicals which would be absorbed by AC. The identified allelochemicals were hexadecanoic acid, octadecanoic acid, dibutyl phthalate, (adipic acid, isohexyl methyl ester) and (adipic acid, di (oct-4-yl ester))

Effectiveness and resource requirements of test, trace and isolate strategies for COVID in the UK

We use an individual-level transmission and contact simulation model to explore the effectiveness and resource requirements of various test-trace-isolate (TTI) strategies for reducing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the UK, in the context of different scenarios with varying levels of stringency of non-pharmaceutical interventions. Based on modelling results, we show that selfisolation of symptomatic individuals and quarantine of their household contacts has a substantial impact on the number of new infections generated by each primary case. We further show that adding contact tracing of non-household contacts of confirmed cases to this broader package of interventions reduces the number of new infections otherwise generated by 5–15%. We also explore impact of key factors, such as tracing application adoption and testing delay, on overall effectiveness of TTI

A hybrid model for molecular-dynamics simulations of semiflexible main-chain liquid-crystalline polymer melts

2005-2006 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

SO3 decomposition over CuO–CeO2 based catalysts in the sulfur–iodine cycle for hydrogen production

EPSR

A systematic review of methods to measure family co-participation in physical activity.

The family environment is key in influencing children's health behaviours. Encouraging family co-participation in physical activity may therefore be an effective approach to increasing children's physical activity levels. Yet, little is known about how to best assess family co-participation in physical activity. This review summarizes methods to measure family co-participation in physical activity, which was defined as joint physical activities including at least one healthy child (0-18 years) and one other family member. Methods were identified through a systematic literature search, cross-referencing pre-selected reviews and contacting research groups. Thirty-seven measurement methods were included. Questionnaires were the most common method used, with the majority assessing frequency of co-participation and few also assessing duration and type. Reliability and internal consistency of scales were often reported, but rarely specified for the item(s) relevant to co-participation. Other methods of measuring co-participation included diaries, event history calendars, direct observations and accelerometry combined with diary, ecological momentary assessment or global positioning systems (GPS). Whilst a large number of measurement methods of family co-participation in physical activity exist, few are comprehensive and/or report acceptable psychometric properties. Future work should focus on reaching consensus in defining family co-participation in physical activity, and subsequently developing reliable and valid measures

Atomic-scale combination of germanium-zinc nanofibers for structural and electrochemical evolution

Alloys are recently receiving considerable attention in the community of rechargeable batteries as possible alternatives to carbonaceous negative electrodes; however, challenges remain for the practical utilization of these materials. Herein, we report the synthesis of germanium-zinc alloy nanofibers through electrospinning and a subsequent calcination step. Evidenced by in situ transmission electron microscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy characterizations, this one-dimensional design possesses unique structures. Both germanium and zinc atoms are homogenously distributed allowing for outstanding electronic conductivity and high available capacity for lithium storage. The as-prepared materials present high rate capability (capacity of similar to 50% at 20 C compared to that at 0.2 C-rate) and cycle retention (73% at 3.0 C-rate) with a retaining capacity of 546 mAh g(-1) even after 1000 cycles. When assembled in a full cell, high energy density can be maintained during 400 cycles, which indicates that the current material has the potential to be used in a large-scale energy storage system

Nuclear receptors in vascular biology

Nuclear receptors sense a wide range of steroids and hormones (estrogens, progesterone, androgens, glucocorticoid, and mineralocorticoid), vitamins (A and D), lipid metabolites, carbohydrates, and xenobiotics. In response to these diverse but critically important mediators, nuclear receptors regulate the homeostatic control of lipids, carbohydrate, cholesterol, and xenobiotic drug metabolism, inflammation, cell differentiation and development, including vascular development. The nuclear receptor family is one of the most important groups of signaling molecules in the body and as such represent some of the most important established and emerging clinical and therapeutic targets. This review will highlight some of the recent trends in nuclear receptor biology related to vascular biology

Counter-current chromatography for the separation of terpenoids: A comprehensive review with respect to the solvent systems employed

Copyright @ 2014 The Authors.This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited.Natural products extracts are commonly highly complex mixtures of active compounds and consequently their purification becomes a particularly challenging task. The development of a purification protocol to extract a single active component from the many hundreds that are often present in the mixture is something that can take months or even years to achieve, thus it is important for the natural product chemist to have, at their disposal, a broad range of diverse purification techniques. Counter-current chromatography (CCC) is one such separation technique utilising two immiscible phases, one as the stationary phase (retained in a spinning coil by centrifugal forces) and the second as the mobile phase. The method benefits from a number of advantages when compared with the more traditional liquid-solid separation methods, such as no irreversible adsorption, total recovery of the injected sample, minimal tailing of peaks, low risk of sample denaturation, the ability to accept particulates, and a low solvent consumption. The selection of an appropriate two-phase solvent system is critical to the running of CCC since this is both the mobile and the stationary phase of the system. However, this is also by far the most time consuming aspect of the technique and the one that most inhibits its general take-up. In recent years, numerous natural product purifications have been published using CCC from almost every country across the globe. Many of these papers are devoted to terpenoids-one of the most diverse groups. Naturally occurring terpenoids provide opportunities to discover new drugs but many of them are available at very low levels in nature and a huge number of them still remain unexplored. The collective knowledge on performing successful CCC separations of terpenoids has been gathered and reviewed by the authors, in order to create a comprehensive document that will be of great assistance in performing future purifications. © 2014 The Author(s)

The Reform of Employee Compensation in China’s Industrial Enterprises

Although employee compensation reform in Chinese industrial sector has been discussed in the literature, the real changes in compensation system and pay practices have received insufficient attention and warrant further examination. This paper briefly reviews the pre- and post-reform compensation system, and reports the results of a survey of pay practices in the four major types of industrial enterprises in China. The research findings indicate that the type of enterprise ownership has little influence on general compensation practices, adoption of profit-sharing plans, and subsidy and allowance packages. In general, pay is linked more to individual performance and has become an important incentive to Chinese employees. However, differences are found across the enterprise types with regard to performance-related pay. Current pay practices are positively correlated to overall effectiveness of the enterprise