Search Results (1,085)

Epidermal hyperinnervation is a major cause of intractable itch in barrier dysfunction conditions such as atopic dermatitis. Keratinocyte-derived semaphorin 3A (Sema3A) suppresses epidermal hyperinnervation, but its expression is markedly reduced in barrier-disrupted skin. Although konjac ceramide (kCer) has been reported to act as a Sema3A-like ligand, the mechanisms by which it regulates Sema3A expression in keratinocytes remain unclear. Normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEKs) were treated with kCer, konjac glucosylceramide (kGlcCer), or C24 ceramide. Sema3A mRNA and protein levels were assessed by quantitative real-time PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. The involvement of intracellular signaling was examined using mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitors, activator protein-1 (AP-1) inhibitors, retinoic acid-related orphan receptor alpha (RORα) inverse agonists, and siRNAs targeting c-Jun, c-Fos, and RORα. kCer induced Sema3A expression in NHEKs more potently than kGlcCer or C24 ceramide and promoted Sema3A protein secretion. Pharmacological inhibition or genetic knockdown of MEK1/2, JNK, AP-1 components, or RORα significantly attenuated kCer-induced Sema3A expression, indicating involvement of the MAPK/AP-1 signaling axis and RORα. kCer upregulates Sema3A expression in human keratinocytes through MAPK/AP-1 signaling and RORα, suggesting it may represent a promising antipruritic agent for epidermal hyperinnervation associated with skin barrier dysfunction. Full article

Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) is an important vegetable and medicinal crop in tropical/subtropical regions, but suffers severe yield losses (even total failure) from Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. momordicae (Fom). There is no specific detection system available to detect this pathogen, and the methods used for other pathogens exhibit cross-reactivity and require specialized equipment. Therefore, this study developed a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for early Fom diagnosis. Initially, five sets of LAMP primers targeting the conserved regions of Fom, located within the region amplified by the FOMM-SPF/SPR PCR primers, were tested for specificity and sensitivity. In this experiment, FoM-1-2 showed optimal specificity, identifying 44 Fom strains without cross-reactivity with 10 other non-Fom species after a 60 min incubation at 64 °C. A visual readout based on a fluorescent dye (green for positive, pale orange for negative) eliminated the need for gel electrophoresis and specialized instruments. The LAMP assay was 100-fold more sensitive than conventional PCR (detection limit: 5.6 pg/μL vs. 560 pg/μL). In inoculated seedlings, LAMP detected Fom in basal stems at four days post-inoculation and top leaves at six days, whereas conventional PCR yielded faint bands in the basal stem after eight days. Moreover, LAMP enabled non-destructive detection. Thus, the present study developed a rapid, specific, and sensitive visual LAMP assay, supporting early diagnosis of bitter gourd Fusarium wilt. Full article

Co-channel interference (CCI) remains a critical factor affecting link reliability in narrowband wireless systems, especially in scenarios with intensive frequency reuse, overlapping coverage, and dense terminal access. Existing interference detection methods are either computationally simple but insufficiently sensitive to short-term spectral variations, or highly accurate but dependent on labeled data and nontrivial inference resources. To address this issue, this paper proposes a lightweight CCI detection method in the FFT domain based on spectrum-jump analysis. The proposed method does not rely on absolute power growth as the primary interference indicator. Instead, it tracks the temporal inconsistency of dominant spectral-bin indices across consecutive FFT frames and converts recurrent peak-bin migration into an interference decision through a short-window counting mechanism. The method is computationally efficient, interpretable, and suitable for real-time deployment without offline model training. SDR-based measurements are combined with controlled repeated experiments to assess detector performance under varying signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), interference-to-signal ratio (ISR), carrier-frequency offset (CFO), multi-peak ambiguity, and two-path Rayleigh fading conditions. On the measured SDR record, the proposed method captures all interference-positive windows after the marked onset, while the controlled SNR/ISR experiments yield an overall detection probability of 96.0% over 250 CCI trials with no false alarms over 250 normal trials. ROC and precision–recall analyses further show that the selected threshold lies within a broad validation plateau. The results also reveal clear applicability boundaries: when the CFO approaches zero, when the interference is very weak, or when multiple stationary peaks have nearly equal power, dominant-bin migration may be weak or ambiguous. Therefore, the proposed approach is a low-complexity online detector for CCI cases that induce observable FFT-bin instability, and it can also serve as a front-end trigger for more advanced interference analysis modules. Full article

Jiama is a significant porphyry system in Tibet’s Gangdese Metallogenic Belt, characterized by a typical composite system with multicenter mineralization. The North Zegulang Ore Block, a recently identified mineralization center in the Jiama mining area, has remained understudied, particularly regarding its ore-forming fluid evolution. This study integrates microscopic identification, EPMA, and LA-ICP-MS to investigate the mineral chemistry of widely developed chlorite in the North Zegulang Ore Block, aiming to elucidate fluid evolution and its implications for identifying the mineralization center. Chlorite in the North Zegulang Ore Block is genetically classified into retrograde (Chl-1) and hydrothermal (Chl-2) types. Both are Fe-rich varieties, indicating formation under reducing conditions. Element substitution is dominated by Fe²⁺-Mg²⁺ exchange, accompanied by Tschermak and di-trioctahedral substitutions. The chlorite geothermometer yields formation temperatures of 260–400 °C and log fO₂ values of −38 to −26 for Chl-1, while Chl-2 shows a wider temperature range of 220–400 °C and log fO₂ values of −42 to −20, reflecting a medium-temperature, low-oxygen-fugacity environment. Outward from the granodiorite porphyry, fluid temperature decreases and Cu-Mo grades gradually decrease, confirming the intrusion as the mineralization center. With increasing distance from the mineralization center, chlorite Mg/Sr, Ti/Sr, and Ti/Pb ratios progressively decrease, whereas Th/U ratios and Sr, Th, U, and B contents increase. These systematic variations demonstrate that chlorite serves as an effective exploration tool in collisional-type porphyry systems. Full article

Serotonin (5–HT) in the brain is involved in the regulation of various emotional states and behaviors. Most serotonergic neurons are located in the raphe nuclei. The raphe magnus (RMg) is one of the raphe nuclei and belongs to the caudal raphe complex. The primary goal of our research was to examine the effects of chronic, repeated electrical stimulation of the RMg on rats’ motility over a period of 15 days. During the research, 35 rats were used; 21 rats underwent electrical stimulation of the RMg (RMg-ST), while 14 rats were included in the control group (RMg-Sham). In addition, we aimed to evaluate the effects of electrical stimulation in the RMg-ST group as well as the naïve procedure in the RMg-Sham group on anxiety-related behaviors and spatial memory on selected days 30 min after the end of stimulation. We found that rats in the RMg-ST group were characterized by considerably higher locomotor activity than animals in the RMg-Sham group over a 15-day stimulation period. Stimulated animals were less anxious during the elevated plus maze on the 4th and 5th days of stimulation and demonstrated improved memory performance during the Morris water maze conducted between the 9th and 12th days of stimulation in comparison to the control animals. Furthermore, in both behavioral tests, rats’ motility when subjected to the RMg electrical stimulation was much higher than in control rats. On the last day of the 15-day stimulation period, rats were sacrificed, and their brains were collected. Brain immunofluorescent analysis revealed an increase in the number of 5–HT-positive cells in the RMg-ST group and altered activity of c-Fos-positive cells in selected brain structures connected with locomotion (secondary motor cortex), anxiety (arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus), and spatial memory (dentate gyrus) after stimulation in comparison to the results in the RMg-Sham group. These findings suggest that locomotion may be strictly dependent on the RMg neuronal projections, and electrical stimulation of the structure influences cognitive behaviors. Full article

Long-term continuous cropping often leads to soil-borne pathogen enrichment, and reducing pathogen abundance in continuously cropped soils is an important control measure. In this study, three rotation crops—carrot (C), garlic (G), and bok choy (B)—were introduced into potato pathogen-infested soils. The effects of different systems on pathogen abundance, soil physicochemical properties, and soil microbial abundance were investigated to preliminarily clarify mechanisms by which crop rotation suppressed pathogen enrichment. The results showed that all rotation systems significantly reduced soil pathogen abundance (Fusarium oxysporum, Fo). Among the rotation systems, carrot rotation achieved the greatest Fo reduction and exhibited the strongest increase in soil pH, followed by garlic rotation, while bok choy rotation had the weakest effect. Carrot rotation significantly increased soil bacterial abundance over other treatments. Moreover, crop rotation effectively suppressed soil pathogen enrichment by increasing soil pH and bacterial abundance. Importantly, carrot rotation enhanced soil pathogen-suppressive enzyme activities and the abundance of antagonistic bacteria in the soil. In contrast, garlic root exudates directly inhibited the pathogen, while bok choy and carrot root exudates promoted pathogen growth. These findings demonstrated different rotation crops exhibit distinct pathogen suppression mechanisms. Carrot rotation may indirectly suppress soil pathogen enrichment by increasing the abundance of antagonistic bacteria and enhancing antifungal enzymes, whereas garlic rotation may directly inhibit the pathogen via root exudates. This study provides practical guidance for growers to select optimal rotation crops and design rational continuous cropping systems. Full article

A clinical strain of the opportunistic pathogen Serratia rubidaea, a known contaminant of healthcare environments and an emerging cause of invasive infections, is described. The studied isolate, recovered from a nurse’s hand skin swab during routine screening, exhibits a broad profile of antibiotic resistance combined with reduced susceptibility to several disinfectants. Phenotypic susceptibility testing using a tablet-based microdilution and disk diffusion method was employed to determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of antimicrobial agents from different classes, while broth microdilution assays with disinfectants revealed high-level tolerance to widely used agents, including 70% C₂H₅OH, 3% H₂O₂, 0.05% polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG) and others. Whole-genome sequencing identified multiple resistance-associated determinants, such as chromosome-encoded class C $\beta$-lactamase (ampC), several efflux systems (sdeXY, macAB, and emrAB) combined with multicopy tolC, and specific transferases (fos and arnT). Shotgun bottom-up HPLC-MS/MS proteomics confirmed baseline expression of these and other stress-tolerance-related proteins under non-inducing conditions. Taken together, these data underscore the importance of surveillance for Serratia spp. in healthcare facilities to detect strains that combine intrinsic or acquired multidrug resistance with robust survival traits such as disinfectant tolerance and biofilm formation. The present study provides a reference-level phenotypic, genomic, and proteomic characterization of a S. rubidaea clinical isolate, contributing to the understanding of the adaptive potential of this resilient opportunistic pathogen in clinical environments. Full article

Cell-free network architectures are a promising candidate for sixth-generation (6G) communications, as densely distributed access points (APs) flexibly accommodate traffic demands and mitigate inter-cell interference. In practical cell-free systems employing direct-conversion receivers, however, performance is severely degraded by analog front-end impairments such as in-phase/quadrature (IQ) imbalance and carrier frequency offset (CFO). Conventional orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)-based algorithms address these impairments separately, but their joint impact is insufficiently mitigated because IQ imbalance and CFO mutually interfere, leaving residual errors when either is estimated first. To overcome this, we extend our previously proposed adaptive compensation scheme based on time-frequency interferometry-OFDM (TFI-OFDM) by introducing a decision-feedback mechanism. Preliminary CFO estimation and compensation are first performed to suppress inter-symbol interference (ISI), followed by joint estimation and compensation of IQ imbalance and CFO via decision feedback, achieving accurate channel estimation with low pilot overhead. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme effectively mitigates the mutual interference of both impairments, achieving bit-error-rate (BER) performance close to an ideal impairment-free system. These results confirm that TFI-OFDM-based joint compensation with decision feedback is a promising approach for practical 6G cell-free deployments. Full article

OTFS, proposed for next-generation wireless communication systems such as 6G mobile networks, incorporates ISAC into DD-domain multiplexing, enabling simple detection of distance, velocity, and movement direction. This paper presents a SDR implementation of OTFS in an ARoF setup with wireless RF transmission. The main goal of this study is to validate and evaluate the implemented OTFS with static objects and to explore the quality of velocity and direction estimation in sensing scenarios involving moving objects. For the BER measurements, experiments were performed using a static object while varying the SDR transmitter power and introducing additional CFO. Experimental validation shows a minimum BER ≤ 5 × 10−⁷ with 0 errors per 2 × 10⁶ bits. Data transmission at fractional Doppler yielded a BER ≈ 0.09, which is attributed to the use of a LMMSE channel estimator, that is not optimal for channels with fractional Doppler. Estimation of the velocity of a mobile object with an absolute velocity of $\left|v\right|=0.15$ m/s yielded a RMSE = 0.0839 m/s. Full article

Photosynthesis, the main energy source for life on Earth, confronts escalating challenges of high-light–high-temperature stress (HLHT). Our previous study identified a mutation in ATP synthase, F₁-α-C252Y, that significantly enhances the HLHT tolerance of Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 (Sye7942), although the underlying mechanism remains obscure. In this study, we found that this mutation led to elevated levels of the b subunit of F_o, F₁ subunits, and the ATP synthase within cells, without affecting ATP synthetic activity, indicating improved intracellular ATP synthesis activity. Additionally, the mutation altered the transcriptome of Sye7942, impacting the expression of genes involved in crucial processes, such as the electron transport chain, carbon fixation, and regulatory factors, which are crucial for cyanobacteria’s adaptation to stresses. Correspondingly, the mutant exhibited enhanced photosynthesis, accelerated growth, and increased glycogen under HLHT conditions, showing improved adaptation. The higher intracellular ATP synthesis activity, along with enhanced photosynthetic activity, suggests increased ATP production in the mutant under HLHT. Enhancing ATP production and remodeling the cellular transcriptome appear to be key strategies employed by the C252Y mutation for Sye7942 acclimating to HLHT. These findings provide valuable insights for enhancing photosynthetic efficiency and stress resilience in cyanobacteria and other photosynthetic organisms facing HLHT challenges. Full article

This study uses a bismuth ferrite (BiFeO₃) and MXene (Ti₃C₂Tx) to design a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor for the sensitivity enhancement at a 633 nm wavelength. Here, MXene serves as a biorecognition element (BRE) layer to ensure stable and reliable biomolecule adsorption. The MXene is a family of two-dimensional (2D) materials with metallic-like conductivity, a large surface area that can attach biomolecules, and improve biocompatibility. The addition of a conductive 2D MXene layer and a high-index BiFeO₃ dielectric layer greatly improves light–matter interaction and evanescent field penetration at the sensing interface. Strong plasmonic coupling is indicated by the reflectance analysis, which shows a distinct and consistent shift in the resonance angle as analyte RI increases. This study examined the sensitivity at optimized Ag and BiFeO₃ layer thickness. At an Ag of 39 nm and BiFeO₃ of 3 nm thickness, the maximal sensitivity of 340.68°/RIU with a remarkable figure of merit (FoM) of 47.38/RIU is obtained. The overall detection accuracy (DA) and FoM are significantly improved by the large sensitivity enhancement, despite a slight increase in full width at half maximum (FWHM). Furthermore, the penetration depth (PD) of 198.50 nm (at RI:1.330) and 199.52 nm (at RI:1.335) is attained with the proposed structure. Due to its high sensitivity, reusability, and reproducibility, the SPR biosensor has the potential to be used in biochemical, environmental, and medical detection. Full article

Background: Liver fibrosis arises from chronic liver injury and remains a major clinical challenge due to its progression toward cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, as well as the absence of approved antifibrotic therapies. This study aimed to characterize the transcriptomic behavior of the EGR1-FOS axis in liver fibrosis and its evolution into hepatocellular carcinoma, and to identify genes shared between liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. Methods: An integrated bioinformatics approach was applied to GEO transcriptomic datasets. Differentially expressed genes in hepatic fibrosis were identified using GSE139602, GSE84044, and GSE49541, with GSE62232 as control when needed, while GSE14323 and GSE89377 were used to detect genes common with cirrhosis. GEPIA, TIMER, and TISCH2 were used to assess the involvement of the EGR1-FOS axis in hepatocellular carcinoma. External validation of EGR1 expression dynamics and its coregulation with FOS was performed using the GSE135251 dataset. Results: Eleven hub genes were identified, with emphasis on the EGR1-FOS axis. EGR1 expression fluctuated across liver fibrosis etiologies, whereas FOS was predominantly downregulated. A strong correlation between EGR1 and FOS (r = 0.77) was observed, remaining stable across fibrosis stages (all p < 0.001) and in hepatocellular carcinoma (r = 0.698, p = 1.81 × 10⁻⁵⁵). Despite overall downregulation, both genes increased progressively with advancing fibrosis (EGR1: p = 0.0008–0.0035; FOS: p = 0.0001–0.0188). Four genes were shared between fibrosis and cirrhosis (SOX9, CD24, CXCR4, and CYP2C19). Conclusions: The EGR1-FOS axis acts as a dynamic regulator of liver fibrosis and its progression, and both this axis and the four shared genes identified may serve as valuable biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets. Full article

Anxiety, a common mental disorder, is epidemiologically linked to high dietary sugar intake. However, the underlying neural mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, using male C57BL/6 mice (n ≥ 10 per group), we show that two-week consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks reliably induced anxiety-like behavior, characterized by reduced center time in the open field test and less open arm exploration in the elevated plus maze. Notably, consumption of sucrose, glucose, or the non-metabolizable glucose analog methyl-α-D-glucopyranoside induced anxiety-like behavior, whereas intake of the artificial sweetener acesulfame potassium (Ace-K) did not. Moreover, after two weeks of exposure to sucrose or glucose but not to Ace-K, c-Fos expression was elevated in glutamatergic neurons of the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS). Mechanistically, high glucose activated intrinsic excitability and the amplitude of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents in NTS glutamatergic neurons; congruently, selective activation of NTS glutamatergic neurons mimicked anxiety-like behavior in mice, while chemogenetic silencing of these neurons abolished glucose-induced anxiety. Together, our findings demonstrate that NTS glutamatergic neurons activation mediates sugar-induced anxiety. These results suggest that this anxiogenic effect is driven by glucose-related signaling rather than artificial sweet taste perception alone, shedding light on a novel clinical therapy against anxiety. Full article

A low-overhead joint synchronization and channel estimation method for conventional CP-OFDM systems is developed to mitigate the error accumulation of stage-wise processing under multipath fading and carrier frequency offset (CFO). The joint estimation of symbol timing offset (STO), CFO, and channel parameters is formulated in a least-squares framework, and the analytical elimination of the channel vector reduces the original three-dimensional optimization to a two-dimensional search. In addition, reusable common terms and a precomputable pseudoinverse-related operator are exploited to reduce redundant online computations. Simulation results show that, under different signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and normalized CFO conditions, the method achieves higher perfect synchronization probability and lower root-mean-square error (RMSE) for STO, CFO, and channel estimation than conventional CP-based baselines, while providing a favorable trade-off between estimation accuracy and computational complexity. Full article

With the rapid development of cancer treatment, immunotherapy has revolutionized renal cell carcinoma (RCC) treatment, yet patient responses remain heterogeneous. Here, a computational pipeline was constructed by integrating single-cell and bulk RNA sequencing data to identify immune-related candidate driver genes and characterize their impact on RCC immunotherapy. Based on gene regulatory networks (GRN), 25 immune-related candidate driver genes were identified, leading to the stratification of patients into three clusters (C1–C3). Compared to the C2/C3 cluster, the C1 cluster exhibited elevated immune infiltration, tumor mutation burden and checkpoint expression, which may represent immunotherapy responders. Dynamic analysis of GRNs revealed the critical role of candidate driver genes in predicting the efficacy of immunotherapy. IRF1, IRF9 and STAT1 in lymphoid cells of C1 participated in anti-tumor immune response by impacting target genes CD8A, HLA-A/E, TAP1 and PD-1. JUN, FOS, STAT3, JUND and NR2F1 were up-regulated in clusters C2 and C3, leading to tumor progression and immune evasion by influencing target genes HSPA1A, CXCL9 and PDGFR. In conclusion, integration of the transcriptome with molecular networks provided a network-based framework to uncover immune-related candidate driver genes for stratifying RCC patients, thereby serving as potential therapeutic targets to improve the outcome of RCC immunotherapy. Full article