Search Results (4,757)

The nucleoid-associated protein Fis functions as a global regulator that influences various cellular processes in Gram-negative bacteria. In this study, we examined the role of Fis in the transcriptional regulation of type 3 fimbriae in Klebsiella pneumoniae, a notable opportunistic pathogen associated with hospital-acquired infections. Our transcriptional analyses revealed that deleting the fis gene caused a significant upregulation of mrkA and mrkH, the genes responsible for the structure and regulation of type 3 fimbriae, respectively. Additionally, phenotypic assays demonstrated that the Δfis mutant exhibited enhanced biofilm formation and greater adherence to A549 lung epithelial cells compared to the wild-type strain. These effects were restored to wild-type levels in the cis-complemented strain. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays confirmed that Fis directly binds to the regulatory regions upstream of both mrkA and mrkH, indicating that repression occurs through direct interaction with the promoter. In summary, our findings show that Fis acts as a transcriptional repressor of mrkA and mrkH, thereby negatively regulating the expression of type 3 fimbriae, biofilm formation, and adherence. This study highlights Fis as a direct regulator of fimbrial expression and biofilm development in K. pneumoniae, deepening our understanding of its virulence regulatory network. Full article

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a prevalent and complex metabolic disorder characterized by insulin resistance, progressive β-cell dysfunction, and severe systemic complications. Advances in single-cell multi-omics—transcriptomics, chromatin accessibility profiling, and integrative analyses—have offered unprecedented insights into the cellular heterogeneity and regulatory networks of pancreatic islets. We highlight recent discoveries in islet cell heterogeneity and β-cell pathophysiology, with a particular focus on dysfunction and dedifferentiation. We further underscore the computational frameworks that enable these discoveries, spanning data preprocessing, multi-omics integration, and machine learning-driven analyses, which collectively enable the dissection of disease-relevant cell subpopulations and the reconstruction of developmental and regulatory trajectories. We also examine how impaired signaling within islets and chronic adipose inflammation contribute to T2DM pathogenesis. Finally, we discuss key challenges in clinical translation—including limited population diversity in single-cell atlases and the interpretability of computational models—and propose future directions toward precision diagnostics and therapeutic innovation in T2DM. Full article

Over the past two decades, the meat industry has faced increasing pressure to prevent foodborne outbreaks and reduce economic losses associated with delayed detection of spoilage. This demand has accelerated the development of on-site, real-time sensing tools capable of identifying early signs of contamination. Electrospun nanofiber (NF) platforms have emerged as particularly promising due to their large surface area, tunable porosity, and versatile chemistry, which make them ideal scaffolds for immobilizing enzymes, antibodies, or aptamers while preserving bioactivity under field conditions. These NFs have been integrated into optical, electrochemical, and resistive devices, each enhancing response time and sensitivity for key targets ranging from volatile organic compounds indicating early decay to specific bacterial markers and antibiotic residues. In practical applications, NF matrices enhance signal generation (SERS hotspots), facilitate analyte diffusion through three-dimensional networks, and stabilize delicate biorecognition elements for repeated use. This review summarizes major NF fabrication strategies, representative sensor designs for meat quality monitoring, and performance considerations relevant to industrial deployment, including reproducibility, shelf life, and regulatory compliance. The integration of such platforms with data networks and Internet of Things (IoT) nodes offers a path toward continuous, automated surveillance throughout processing and cold-chain logistics. By addressing current technical and regulatory challenges, NF-based biosensors have the potential to significantly reduce waste and safeguard public health through early detection of contamination before it escalates into costly recalls. Full article

This study systematically explored the regulatory mechanisms of uterine function across four reproductive stages: sexual maturity sow (SMS), low-yield sow (LYS), high-yield sow (HYS), and culled sow (CS) in Large White (LW) pigs through integrated transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic analyses. Twelve healthy LW sows were selected, and uterine tissues were collected for multi-omics detection. Combined with bioinformatics analysis, molecular regulatory networks were constructed. Results showed that transcriptomics identified 12 types of alternative splicing and 1243 novel genes, which were enriched in energy metabolism and signal transduction pathways. Proteomics revealed 430 differentially co-expressed proteins, indicating high protein synthesis activity in the SMS stage and extracellular inflammatory characteristics in the CS stage. Metabolomics detected numerous differential metabolites, among which XTP and DHA ethyl ester were associated with high fecundity and aging, respectively. Integrated multi-omics analysis identified hub genes such as PLA2G4A, which influence reproductive performance by regulating inflammatory and metabolic balance, and clarified stage-specific “gene–protein–metabolite” modules. This study provides a molecular map for understanding dynamic changes in uterine function in Large White pigs and offers a theoretical basis for optimizing reproductive lifespan and breeding strategies. Full article

Salinity is a long-standing global environmental stressor of terrestrial agroecosystems, with important implications for viticulture sustainability, especially in arid and semi-arid environments. Salt-induced physiological and biochemical disruptions to grapevines undermine yield and long-term vineyard sustainability. This review aims to integrate physiological, molecular, and omics-based insights to elucidate how grapevine rootstocks confer salinity tolerance and to identify future breeding directions for sustainable viticulture. This review critically assesses the ecological and molecular processes underlying salt stress adaptation in grapevine (Vitis spp.) rootstocks, with an emphasis on their contribution to modulating scion performance under saline conditions. Core adaptive mechanisms include morphological plasticity, ion compartmentalization, hormonal regulation, antioxidant defense, and activation of responsive genes to stress. Particular emphasis is given to recent integrative biotechnological developments—including transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and genomics—that reveal the intricate signaling and regulatory networks enabling rootstock-mediated tolerance. By integrating advances across eco-physiological, agronomic, and molecular realms, this review identifies rootstock selection as a promising strategy for bolstering resilience in grapevine production systems confronted by salinization, a phenomenon increasingly exacerbated by anthropogenic land use and climate change. The research highlights the value of stress ecology and adaptive root system strategies for alleviating the environmental consequences of soil salinity for perennial crop systems. Full article

Apple represents one of the most economically significant fruit crops worldwide, and the performance of its scion is largely determined by the physiological and genetic characteristics of the rootstock. Despite their superior ecological adaptability and growth-controlling attributes, many dwarfing apple rootstocks exhibit inherently poor rooting competence, which poses a critical limitation to their large-scale clonal propagation and commercial utilization. Adventitious root (AR) formation is a pivotal yet highly intricate developmental process that governs the success of asexual propagation. It is orchestrated by a complex network of hormonal signaling, transcriptional regulation, metabolic reprogramming, and environmental cues. Over the past decade, remarkable advances have elucidated the physiological, biochemical, and molecular frameworks underpinning AR formation in apple rootstocks. This review provides an integrative synthesis of current progress in vegetative propagation techniques—including cutting, layering, and tissue culture—and systematically dissects the endogenous and exogenous factors influencing AR development. Particular emphasis is placed on the regulatory interplay among phytohormones, carbohydrate and nitrogen metabolism, phenolic compounds, transcription factors (such as WUSCHEL-RELATED HOMEOBOX (WOX), LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARIES DOMAIN (LBD), and RESPONSE FACTOR (ARF families), and epigenetic modulators that collectively coordinate root induction and emergence. Furthermore, emerging insights into multi-omics integration and genotype-specific molecular regulation are discussed as strategic pathways toward enhancing propagation efficiency. Collectively, this review establishes a comprehensive theoretical framework for optimizing the asexual propagation of apple rootstocks and provides critical molecular guidance for breeding novel, easy-to-root genotypes that can drive the sustainable intensification of global apple production. Full article

Escherichia coli LS5218 is an attractive host for producing polyhydroxybutyrate. The strain, however, strongly requires heterologous gene expressions like phaC for efficient production. For enhancing the production, the whole gene expressions relating to end product-producing flow should be optimized so that not only heterologous induced-genes but also other relating genes are comprehensively analyzed on the transcription levels, resulting in normally time-consuming mutant-creation. Additionally, the explanation for each transcriptional relationship is likely to follow the relationships on known metabolic pathway map to limit the consideration. This study aimed to infer gene regulatory networks within glycolysis, a central metabolic pathway in LS5218, using machine learning-based causal discovery methods. To construct a directed acyclic graph representing the gene regulatory network, we employed the NOTEARS algorithm (Non-combinatorial Optimization via Trace Exponential and Augmented lagRangian for Structure learning). Using transcription data of 264 time-resolved sampling points, we inferred the gene regulatory network and identified several distal regulatory relationships. Notably, gapA, a key enzyme controlling the transition between the preparatory and rewarding phases in glycolysis, was found to influence pgi, the enzyme at the pathway’s entry point. These findings suggest that inferring such nonlocal regulatory interactions can provide valuable insights for guiding genetic engineering strategies. Full article

Current power systems are facing noticeable power quality (PQ) performance deterioration, which has been attributed to nonlinear loads, distributed generation, and extensive renewable energy infiltration (REI). These conditions cause voltage sags, harmonic distortion, flicker, and disadvantageous power factors. The traditional PI/PID-based scheme of control, when applied to Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTSs), demonstrates low adaptability and low anticipatory functions, which are required to operate a grid in real-time and dynamic conditions. Artificial Intelligence (AI) opens proactive, reactive, or adaptive and self-optimizing control schemes, which reformulate FACTS to thoughtful, data-intensive power-system objects. This literature review systematically studies the convergence of AI and FACTS technology, with an emphasis on how AI can improve voltage stability, harmonic control, flicker control, and reactive power control in the grid formation of various types of grids. A new classification is proposed for the identification of AI methodologies, including deep learning, reinforcement learning, fuzzy logic, and graph neural networks, according to specific FQ goals and FACTS device categories. This study quantitatively compares AI-enhanced and traditional controllers and uses key performance indicators such as response time, total harmonic distortion (THD), precision of voltage regulation, and reactive power compensation effectiveness. In addition, the analysis discusses the main implementation obstacles, such as data shortages, computational time, readability, and regulatory limitations, and suggests mitigation measures for these issues. The conclusion outlines a clear future research direction towards physics-informed neural networks, federated learning, which facilitates decentralized control, digital twins, which facilitate real-time validation, and multi-agent reinforcement learning, which facilitates coordinated operation. Through the current research synthesis, this study provides researchers, engineers, and system planners with actionable information to create a next-generation AI-FACTS framework that can support resilient and high-quality power delivery. Full article

Türkiye’s forest governance exhibits a persistent policy–implementation gap rooted in a governance paradox: while the Ecosystem-Based Functional Planning (EBFP) system promotes ecological integrity and adaptive management, the foundational Forest Law No. 6831 (1956) still legitimizes extractive uses under a broad “public interest” doctrine. This contradiction has enabled 94,148 permits covering 654,833 ha of forest conversion, while marginalizing nearly seven million forest-dependent villagers from decision-making. The study applies a doctrinal and qualitative document-analysis approach, integrating legal, institutional, and socio-economic dimensions. It employs a comparative design with five EU transition countries—Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Czechia, and Greece—selected for their shared post-socialist administrative legacies and diverse pathways of forest-governance reform. The analysis synthesizes legal norms, policy instruments, and institutional practices to identify drivers of reform inertia and regulatory capture. Findings reveal three interlinked failures: (1) institutional and ministerial conflicts that entrench centralized decision-making and weaken environmental oversight—illustrated by the fact that only 0.97% of Environmental Impact Assessments receive negative opinions; (2) economic and ecological losses, with foregone ecosystem-service values exceeding EUR 200 million annually and limited access to carbon markets; and (3) participatory deficits and social contestation, exemplified by local forest conflicts such as the Akbelen case. A comparative SWOT analysis indicates that Poland’s confrontational policy reforms triggered EU infringement penalties, Romania’s fragmented legal restitution fostered illegal logging networks, and Greece’s recent modernization offers lessons for gradual legal harmonization. Drawing on these insights, the paper recommends comprehensive Forest Law reform that integrates ecosystem-service valuation, climate adaptation, and transparent participatory mechanisms. Alignment with the EU Nature Restoration Regulation (2024/1991) and Biodiversity Strategy 2030 is proposed as a phased transition pathway for Türkiye’s candidate-country obligations. The study concludes that partial reforms reproduce systemic contradictions: bridging the policy–law divide requires confronting entrenched political-economy dynamics where state actors and extractive-industry interests remain institutionally intertwined. Full article

Black soldier flies (Hermetia illucens) are widely used in organic waste bioconversion, and their adaptive capacity to region-specific food waste is critical for efficient application. This study aimed to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying the adaptation of black soldier fly larvae to long-term domestication on regional food waste from Kunming and Qujing. Integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses were performed to identify differences in gene expression and metabolite profiles between the two groups of larvae. The results showed significant divergence in gene expression networks, with key differences in cytochrome P450 detoxification pathways, TOR nutrient-sensing pathways, and zf-C2H2 zinc finger transcription factor families. Metabolomic analysis revealed region-specific metabolic reprogramming, including enhanced branched-chain amino acid degradation in one group and activated sphingolipid signaling pathways with accumulated indole derivatives in the other. Additionally, 13.86% of unannotated metabolites in the metabolome exhibited high connectivity in metabolic networks, suggesting potential roles as “bridge metabolites” in adaptation. These findings demonstrate that long-term domestication on regional food waste drives adaptive differentiation in black soldier fly larvae through regulatory network remodeling, metabolic reprogramming, and activation of hidden metabolic reserves. The study provides a theoretical basis for optimizing the application of black soldier flies in waste treatment and strain breeding and establishes a “substrate-gene-metabolism” multi-omics framework for understanding insect adaptive evolution. Full article

As a critical raw material in the semiconductor and new energy sectors, antimony is a strategic mineral resource for nations to safeguard industrial chain security. However, the scarcity of its resources and the complexity of its trade pattern underscore the urgency of antimony-related research. This study aims to reveal the structural characteristics of the global antimony trade network and explore the external factors influencing trade. Based on global antimony trade data from 2007 to 2022, the characteristics of the antimony trade network were analyzed using the complex network analysis method, and the influencing factors of antimony trade were examined via the fixed effects model. The results show that the global antimony trade network maintains a density of 0.05–0.06, with an average path length of 2.4–2.7 and a network diameter that mainly fluctuates between 5 and 6. The average clustering coefficient fluctuates within the range of 0.35–0.45. Overall, the network exhibits the characteristics of stable transmission efficiency, loose overall connectivity, and local agglomeration without a consistent upward or downward trend. Countries such as Germany, China, and the United States occupy core positions in the network. The fixed effects model indicates that GDP and LOGISTICS development are key factors promoting trade, while TARIFFS and REGULATORY policies have a significant inhibitory effect on trade. Therefore, ① Focus on the High-End Development of the Antimony Industry Chain and Promote the In-Depth Integration of Antimony Trade with the Semiconductor and New Energy Industries; ② Improve the Cross-Border Logistics and Warehousing System for Antimony Trade to Ensure the Efficient Circulation of Strategic Resources; ③ Promote; Promote Tariff Liberalization in Antimony Trade and Eliminate Market Access Barriers; ④ Strengthen the Government’s Strategic Support for the Antimony Industry to Enhance Global Discourse Power in Antimony Trade; Trade; ⑤ Maintain Macroeconomic Stability and Flexibly Manage Exchange Rates to Safeguard the Resilience of Antimony Trade. Full article

Human airways maintain homeostasis through intricate cellular interactomes combining secretome-mediated signalling and mechanotransduction feedback loops. This review presents the first unified map of bidirectional mechanobiology–secretome interactions between airway epithelial cells (AECs), smooth muscle cells (ASMCs), and chondrocytes. We unify a novel three-component regulatory architecture: epithelium functioning as environmental activators, smooth muscle as mechanical actuators, and cartilage as calcium-dependent regulators. Critical mechanotransduction pathways, particularly YAP/TAZ signalling and TRPV4 channels, directly couple matrix stiffness to cytokine release, creating a closed-loop feedback system. During development, ASM-driven FGF-10 signalling and peristaltic contractions orchestrate cartilage formation and epithelial differentiation through mechanically guided morphogenesis. In disease states, these homeostatic circuits become pathologically dysregulated; asthma and COPD exhibit feed-forward stiffness traps where increased matrix rigidity triggers YAP/TAZ-mediated hypercontractility, perpetuating further remodelling. Aberrant mechanotransduction drives smooth muscle hyperplasia, cartilage degradation, and epithelial dysfunction through sustained inflammatory cascades. This system-level understanding of airway cellular networks provides mechanistic frameworks for targeted therapeutic interventions and tissue engineering strategies that incorporate essential mechanobiological signalling requirements. Full article

Policies rarely act on simple circles around project sites. We develop a policy-semantics-to-geometry workflow that converts clause-level rules in ordinances into auditable Policy Spatial Footprints (PSFs) with explicit boundaries, timing markers, and intensity tiers, and we measure exposure in network time on road–rail graphs. Using 1.10 million arm’s-length parcel transactions from five Yangtze River Delta cities (2012–2024) and a catalog of 64 policies across regulatory, transport, and industrial/functional families, we estimate dynamic capitalization under staggered roll-outs while separating direct footprint effects from adjacency diffusion. Direct exposures are associated with policy-relevant uplifts that build over several years and then stabilize; spillovers attenuate within a few minutes of network travel time. Effects are systematically larger in thicker markets and where pre-policy regulatory headroom is greater. The PSF framework yields estimator-consistent maps with provenance and uncertainty tiers, providing a transparent basis for land-value-capture scheduling and equity-aware carve-outs. Full article

Climate-change-induced thermal stress poses a significant threat to cold-adapted aquatic species, particularly fish endemic to high-altitude ecosystems such as Gymnocypris eckloni, which is native to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. To elucidate the molecular and metabolic mechanisms underlying their response to elevated temperatures, we integrated RNA-seq, miRNA-seq, and LC-MS-based metabolomic analyses of liver tissue from fish exposed to chronic thermal stress (HT) versus control (CT) conditions. Although no significant differences were observed in growth parameters, histopathological examination revealed structural damage under heat stress. Transcriptomic analysis identified widespread dysregulation of genes involved in energy metabolism, with significant downregulation of pathways related to amino acid, fatty acid, glucose, and oxidative phosphorylation. In contrast, upregulated DEGs were enriched in N-glycan biosynthesis, protein processing in the endoplasmic reticulum, and phagosome. Concomitant miRNA profiling revealed differentially expressed miRNAs, including miR-196a-5p, miR-132-3p, and miR-181b-5p, which were predicted to regulate key metabolic genes such as ugt1a1, pepck, and calr. Metabolomic analysis further demonstrated significant alterations in metabolic profiles, with glutathione metabolism, tryptophan metabolism, steroid hormone biosynthesis, and pyruvate metabolism emerging as central pathways in the heat stress response. Integrated multi-omics analysis confirmed coordinated regulation of these pathways, highlighting the critical role of glutathione and tryptophan, as well as disruptions in purine and energy metabolism. The DEMiR-DEG-DEM networks involving miR-196a-5p-pepck-PEP, miR-133a-3p-gne-UDP-GlcNAc, and miR-132-3p-ugt1a1-Bilirubin may play an important role in thermal stress. This study provided a new perspective on the molecular, regulatory, and metabolic adaptations of Gymnocypris eckloni to thermal stress, identifying potential biomarkers and regulatory networks that may inform conservation strategies for cold-water fish under global warming. Full article

Understanding the molecular crosstalk between drought and iron (Fe) homeostasis is crucial for developing drought-tolerant wheat cultivars with enhanced nutrient quality. In this study, transcriptomic data mining identified 23,271 and 5933 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) under drought and Fe deficiency, respectively, with 2479 DEGs in response to both stresses. Notably, this overlapping set included significant numbers of genes encoding transcription factors (TFs) (149 genes), Fe homeostasis components (274 genes), and those involved in phytohormones pathways (245 genes), particularly the abscisic acid (ABA) pathway. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis revealed specific and commonly affected biological processes, such as response to abiotic stimulus and heme binding. Furthermore, co-expression network analysis revealed modules highly enriched with genes involved in transcriptional regulation and Fe uptake, enabling the identification of key hub regulatory genes, belonging to the MYB, NAC, BHLH, and AP2/ERF families, involved in the shared stress response. Finaly, the expression of a set of candidate TF-encoding genes was validated using qRT-PCR in durum wheat under drought and Fe starvation, providing a detailed overview of the possible shared regulatory mechanisms linking drought and Fe deficiency responses. Full article