Diagnostic performance of metagenomics sequencing for pulmonary fungal infections: a clinical evaluation using the Nanopore platform.

Background: Pulmonary fungal infections are becoming increasingly prevalent, particularly among immunocompromised patients. Traditional culture-based and serological diagnostic methods exhibit low sensitivity and prolonged turnaround times (TATs), highlighting the need for more efficient diagnostic approaches. This study aims to evaluate the diagnostic performance of metagenomic third-generation sequencing (mTGS) using the Oxford Nanopore platform (Oxford Nanopore Technologies) for the detection of fungal pathogens in lower respiratory tract infections, and to compare its effectiveness with conventional diagnostic methods.

Van Maldergem syndrome-1 in a patient with central precocious puberty: A case report.

Rationale: Van Maldergem syndrome-1 (VMS-1; OMIM #601390) is a multisystem genetic disease characterized by intellectual disability, craniofacial deformities, skeletal anomalies, and/or other variable malformations. Few cases have been reported to date, posing challenges to the diagnosis and management of this condition.

Patient Concerns: A 7-year-old female Chinese patient presented with a series of developmental defects, including precocious puberty, mild intellectual disability, unusual craniofacial features, mild shortening of the fourth metacarpal bone, and clumsy movements with poor coordination.

Machine learning-based prediction of antimicrobial resistance and identification of AMR-related SNPs in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Background: Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is a human-specific pathogen that primarily infects humans, causing tuberculosis (TB). Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in MTB presents a formidable challenge to global health. The employment of machine learning on whole-genome sequencing data (WGS) presents significant potential for uncovering the genomic mechanisms underlying drug resistance in MTB.

Tongue swab-based molecular diagnostics for pulmonary tuberculosis and drug resistance in adults: A prospective multicenter diagnostic accuracy study.

Background: Tongue swabs have emerged as a promising non-invasive alternative for TB diagnosis. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of tongue swab-based assays for detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and anti-TB drug resistance.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter study in five TB-designated hospitals in China from May to August 2024.

Molecular epidemiology of hepatitis C virus genotypes in different geographical regions of Chinese mainland and a phylogenetic analysis.

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains a major public health problem in Chinese mainland. Investigation of the distribution of genotypes contributed to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of HCV infection. Therefore, we conducted a study on the distribution of HCV genotypes and phylogenetic analysis to provide an up-to-date understanding of the molecular epidemiology of genotypes in Chinese mainland.

Efficient electrotransformation of Rhodococcus ruber YYL with abundant extracellular polymeric substances via a cell wall-weakening strategy.

Rhodococcus spp. have broad potential applications related to the degradation of organic contaminants and the transformation or synthesis of useful compounds. However, some Gram-positive bacteria are difficult to manipulate genetically due to low transformation efficiency.

Enrichment and characterization of a highly efficient tetrahydrofuran-degrading bacterial culture.

Tetrahydrofuran (THF) is a ubiquitous toxic and carcinogenic pollutant. Screening for pure or mixed-culture microorganisms that can efficiently degrade THF is difficult due to its chemical stability. In this study, an enrichment culture, H-1, with a stable THF-degrading ability and microbial community structure was enriched from activated sludge and could efficiently degrade 95% of 40 mM THF within 6 days.

Metabolite Cross-Feeding between Rhodococcus ruber YYL and Bacillus cereus MLY1 in the Biodegradation of Tetrahydrofuran under pH Stress.

Bacterial consortia are among the most basic units in the biodegradation of environmental pollutants. Pollutant-degrading strains frequently encounter different types of environmental stresses and must be able to survive with other bacteria present in the polluted environments. In this study, we proposed a noncontact interaction mode between a tetrahydrofuran (THF)-degrading strain, YYL, and a non-THF-degrading strain, MLY1.

pH Stress-Induced Cooperation between YYL and MLY1 in Biodegradation of Tetrahydrofuran.

Microbial consortia consisting of cooperational strains exhibit biodegradation performance superior to that of single microbial strains and improved remediation efficiency by relieving the environmental stress. Tetrahydrofuran (THF), a universal solvent widely used in chemical and pharmaceutical synthesis, significantly affects the environment. As a refractory pollutant, THF can be degraded by some microbial strains under suitable conditions.

Selection and evaluation of reference genes for expression analysis of Cassi.

Cassia obtusifolia, belonging to legume family, is important in many fields with high pharmaceutical, economic, and ecological values. These interests of C. obtusifolia triggered in-depth and fundamental genetic and molecular research.

Isolation, structure modeling and function characterization of a trypsin inhibitor from Cassia obtusifolia.

A trypsin inhibitor gene (CoTI1) from Cassia obtusifolia was isolated and the deduced amino acid sequence was attributed to the Kunitz-type trypsin inhibitor. The recombined CoTI1, expressed in E. coli, exhibited strong inhibitory effect on bovine trypsin and trypsin-like proteases from Helicoverpa armigera, Spodoptera exigua, and Spodoptera litura.

De novo assembly and analysis of Cassia obtusifolia seed transcriptome to identify genes involved in the biosynthesis of active metabolites.

A cDNA library generated from seeds of Cassia obtusifolia was sequenced using Illumina/Solexa platform. More than 12,968,231 high quality reads were generated, and have been deposited in NCBI SRA (SRR 1012912). A total of 40,102 unigenes (>200 bp) were obtained with an average sequence length of 681 bp by de novo assembly.

In silico analysis on structure and DNA binding mode of AtNAC1, a NAC transcription factor from Arabidopsis thaliana.

NAC (NAM/ATAF/CUC) transcription factors regulate the expression of the target genes by formation of NAC-DNA complex, which are involved in development, stress responses and nutrient distribution in many metaphyta plants. AtNAC1, a NAC transcription factor from Arabidopsis thaliana, plays an important role in auxin signaling and root development. In order to understand the structure and DNA binding model of AtNAC1, the 3D structure model of AtNAC1 was constructed and docked with its target DNA.