Improving Fuel Cell Performance of FeN-Based Catalysts by Introducing Graphitic Microdomains in the Carbon Matrix.

Breaking the known activity-stability trade-off is essential for the broad implementation of Fe-N-C catalysts in fuel cells. Here, we report the development of an atomically dispersed Fe-N-C catalyst with highly active FeN sites on carbon support with dispersed graphitic microdomains (FeN-Gmd), which were generated during the FeC-catalyzed graphitization. The introduction of graphitic microdomain makes the FeN-Gmd exhibit outstanding oxygen reduction reaction activity when used as a cathode catalyst in practical fuel cells, with impressive peak power densities of 1.

Non-Thermal Atmospheric Plasma Enhances Biological Effects of Fluoride on Oral Biofilms.

The objective of this study was an assessment of the anti-biofilm properties of fluoride non-thermal atmospheric plasma (FNTAP) generated using argon and hydrocarbon fluoride gas 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (TFE). These properties were evaluated by measuring the destruction and recovery of in vitro dual-species biofilms of and exposed to FNTAP at 5 or 10 standard cubic centimeters per minute (sccm) or argon non-thermal atmospheric plasma (ArNTAP) for 1 or 2 min, using resazurin-based reagent viability assays, colony forming units (CFU), culture media pH and live/dead staining. Both ArNTAP and FNTAP resulted in significant immediate reductions in bacterial load as compared to the control.

Low leucine levels in the blood enhance the pathogenicity of neonatal meningitis-causing Escherichia coli.

Neonatal bacterial meningitis is associated with substantial mortality and morbidity worldwide. Neonatal meningitis-causing Escherichia coli (NMEC) is the most common gram-negative bacteria responsible for this disease. However, the interactions of NMEC with its environment within the host are poorly understood.

Two-component system GrpP/GrpQ promotes pathogenicity of uropathogenic Escherichia coli CFT073 by upregulating type 1 fimbria.

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) is a major cause of urinary tract infections (UTIs). Invasion into bladder epithelial cells (BECs) on the bladder luminal surface via type 1 fimbria is the first critical step in UPEC infection. Although type 1 fimbria expression increases during UPEC invasion of BECs, the underlying regulatory mechanisms remain poorly understood.

Genomic island-encoded LmiA regulates acid resistance and biofilm formation in enterohemorrhagic O157:H7.

Enterohemorrhagic (EHEC) O157:H7 is an important intestinal pathogen that causes severe foodborne diseases. We previously demonstrated that the genomic island-encoded regulator LmiA activates the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE) genes to promote EHEC O157:H7 adherence and colonization in the host intestine. However, whether LmiA is involved in the regulation of any other biological processes in EHEC O157:H7 remains largely unexplored.

Key roles of two-component systems in intestinal signal sensing and virulence regulation in enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli.

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) is a foodborne pathogen that infects humans by colonizing the large intestine. Upon reaching the large intestine, EHEC mediates local signal recognition and the transcriptional regulation of virulence genes to promote adherence and colonization in a highly site-specific manner. Two-component systems (TCSs) represent an important strategy used by EHEC to couple external stimuli with the regulation of gene expression, thereby allowing EHEC to rapidly adapt to changing environmental conditions.

Nucleoside-diphosphate kinase of uropathogenic Escherichia coli inhibits caspase-1-dependent pyroptosis facilitating urinary tract infection.

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) is the most common causative agent of urinary tract infection (UTI). UPEC invades bladder epithelial cells (BECs) via fusiform vesicles, escapes into the cytosol, and establishes biofilm-like intracellular bacterial communities (IBCs). Nucleoside-diphosphate kinase (NDK) is secreted by pathogenic bacteria to enhance virulence.

scMGCN: A Multi-View Graph Convolutional Network for Cell Type Identification in scRNA-seq Data.

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data reveal the complexity and diversity of cellular ecosystems and molecular interactions in various biomedical research. Hence, identifying cell types from large-scale scRNA-seq data using existing annotations is challenging and requires stable and interpretable methods. However, the current cell type identification methods have limited performance, mainly due to the intrinsic heterogeneity among cell populations and extrinsic differences between datasets.

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli Subverts Host Autophagic Defenses by Stalling Preautophagosomal Structures to Escape Lysosome Exocytosis.

Urinary tract infections are primarily caused by uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC). UPEC infects bladder epithelial cells (BECs) via fusiform vesicles and escapes into the cytosol by disrupting fusiform vesicle membrane using outer membrane phospholipase PldA, and establishes biofilm-like intracellular bacterial communities (IBCs) for protection from host immune clearance. Cytosolic UPEC is captured by autophagy to form autophagosomes, then transported to lysosomes, triggering the spontaneous exocytosis of lysosomes.

Phosphate (Pi) Transporter PIT1 Induces Pi Starvation in -Containing Vacuole in HeLa Cells.

serovar Typhimurium (. Typhimurium), an important foodborne pathogen, causes diarrheal illness and gastrointestinal diseases. .

A novel approach to expedite wound healing with plasma brush of cold flame.

Excessive or persistent infection is a major contributing factor in impeding chronic wound healing. Wound bed preparations using antiseptics do not necessarily target the entire bacterial spectrum, and the highly proliferating granulation tissue may be sensitive to the cytotoxic effects, impairing tissue repair. Non-thermal gas atmospheric pressure plasmas are partially ionized gases that contain highly reactive particles while the gas phase remains near room temperature, thus having the capability of accessing small irregular cavities and fissures and killing bacteria because of the diffusive nature of gas phase plasma species that are chemically reactive, providing an ideal approach to topical wound disinfection.

Expanding structural diversity of 5'-aminouridine moiety of sansanmycin via mutational biosynthesis.

Sansanmycins represent a family of uridyl peptide antibiotics with antimicrobial activity specifically against (including drug-resistant ) and . They target translocase I (MraY) to inhibit bacterial cell wall assembly. Given the unique mechanism of action, sansanmycin has emerged as a potential lead compound for developing new anti-tuberculosis drugs, while the 5'-aminouridine moiety plays a crucial role in the pharmacophore of sansanmycin.

Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli utilizes host- and microbiota-derived L-malate as a signaling molecule for intestinal colonization.

The mammalian gastrointestinal tract is a complex environment that hosts a diverse microbial community. To establish infection, bacterial pathogens must be able to compete with the indigenous microbiota for nutrients, as well as sense the host environment and modulate the expression of genes essential for colonization and virulence. Here, we found that enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 imports host- and microbiota-derived L-malate using the DcuABC transporters and converts these substrates into fumarate to fuel anaerobic fumarate respiration during infection, thereby promoting its colonization of the host intestine.

Physiological and transcriptomic insights into sugar stress resistance in osmophilic yeast Zygosaccharomyces rouxii.

The osmophilic yeast Zygosaccharomyces rouxii has attracted increasing attention for its ability to survive and grow in extremely high sugar environments. This trait determines its role in fermentation process and results in contamination in the food industry. However, the behavior of Z.

Pathogenic bacteria exploit transferrin receptor transcytosis to penetrate the blood-brain barrier.

The human blood-brain barrier (BBB) comprises a single layer of brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMECs) protecting the brain from bloodborne pathogens. Meningitis is among the most serious diseases, but the mechanisms by which major meningitis-causing bacterial pathogens cross the BBB to reach the brain remain poorly understood. We found that , group B , and neonatal meningitis commonly exploit a unique vesicle fusion mechanism to hitchhike on transferrin receptor (TfR) transcytosis to cross the BBB and illustrated the details of this process in human BBB model in vitro and mouse model.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of hepatitis E vaccination strategies among patients with chronic hepatitis B in China.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of hepatitis E vaccination strategies in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients.

Methods: Based on the societal perspective, the cost-effectiveness of three hepatitis E vaccination strategies-vaccination without screening, screening-based vaccination, and no vaccination-among CHB patients was evaluated using a decision tree-Markov model, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were calculated. Values for treatment costs and health utilities were estimated from a prior investigation on disease burden, and values for transition probabilities and vaccination-related costs were obtained from previous studies and government agencies.

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli senses microbiota-derived nicotinamide to increase its virulence and colonization in the large intestine.

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 is a foodborne pathogen that specifically colonizes and infects the human large intestine. EHEC O157:H7 engages intricate regulatory pathways to detect host intestinal signals and regulate virulence-related gene expression during colonization and infection. However, the overall EHEC O157:H7 virulence regulatory network in the human large intestine remains incompletely understood.

Omicsynin B4 potently blocks coronavirus infection by inhibiting host proteases cathepsin L and TMPRSS2.

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants represents a major threat to public health and requires identification of novel therapeutic agents to address the unmet medical needs. Small molecules impeding viral entry through inhibition of spike protein priming proteases could have potent antiviral effects against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Omicsynin B4, a pseudo-tetrapeptides identified from Streptomyces sp.

Y-Net: Identification of Typical Diseases of Corn Leaves Using a 3D-2D Hybrid CNN Model Combined with a Hyperspectral Image Band Selection Module.

Corn diseases are one of the significant constraints to high-quality corn production, and accurate identification of corn diseases is of great importance for precise disease control. Corn anthracnose and brown spot are typical diseases of corn, and the early symptoms of the two diseases are similar, which can be easily misidentified by the naked eye. In this paper, to address the above problems, a three-dimensional-two-dimensional (3D-2D) hybrid convolutional neural network (CNN) model combining a band selection module is proposed based on hyperspectral image data, which combines band selection, attention mechanism, spatial-spectral feature extraction, and classification into a unified optimization process.