Review
Virology
Kain van den Elsen, Jun Ping Quek, Dahai Luo
Summary: Flaviviruses are vector-borne RNA viruses, including clinically relevant human viral pathogens such as dengue and Zika. Limited vaccines and ineffective antiviral drugs drive research towards understanding the molecular aspects of viral genome replication, focusing on the virus-induced intracellular membranous compartments.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Wikanda Tunterak, Kanana Rungprasert, Suwarak Wannaratana, Nichapat Yurayart, Duangduean Prakairungnamthip, Patchareeporn Ninvilai, Benchaphorn Limcharoen, Teerawut Nedumpun, Rodolphe Hamel, Wijit Banlunara, Aunyaratana Thontiravong
Summary: This study investigates the pathogenesis of cluster 1 DTMUV in ducks and compares it to cluster 2.1 DTMUV. The results show that cluster 1 DTMUV is generally less pathogenic and exhibits milder pathological changes compared to cluster 2.1 DTMUV. Significant antigenic differences are also observed between the two clusters.
TRANSBOUNDARY AND EMERGING DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Cristina Romero-Lopez, Margarita Roda-Herreros, Beatriz Berzal-Herranz, Sara Esther Ramos-Lorente, Alfredo Berzal-Herranz
Summary: RNA viruses rely on RNA-RNA interactions involving genomic structural elements for viral replication and translation. In this study, intra- and intermolecular RNA-RNA interactions in the 3' UTR of the West Nile virus genome are observed, with intermolecular interactions forming molecular dimers. Functional analysis suggests a relationship between 3' UTR dimerization and viral translation efficiency. These findings imply the existence of a network of RNA-RNA interactions involving 3' UTR structural elements that regulate viral translation.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Virology
Eiji Morita, Youichi Suzuki
Summary: Flavivirus, a large group of arthropod-borne viruses, causes life-threatening diseases in humans by inducing intracellular membrane rearrangement. The replication organelle provides a microenvironment for the activity of the flaviviral replication complex, coordinating viral RNA amplification, protein translation, and virion assembly while protecting the complex from cellular immune defense. This review summarizes the current understanding of how cellular factors regulate the formation and function of membrane-associated flaviviral replication organelle.
Article
Virology
Susannah Stephenson-Tsoris, John L. Casey
Summary: This study identified the start site for HDV genome RNA synthesis as position 1646 and revealed some differences in the synthesis process. The findings are important for targeting virus replication.
JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Dongsheng Li, Min-Hsuan Lin, Daniel J. Rawle, Hongping Jin, Zhonglan Wu, Lu Wang, Mary Lor, Mazhar Hussain, John Aaskov, David Harrich
Summary: Li et al. have developed a DENV-derived defective interfering particle (DIP) production cell line that can stably produce infectious virus-free DIPs. The DENV DIPs produced from this system can potently inhibit replication of all DENV serotypes in cells and have the potential to be repurposed to make antiviral DIPs for other RNA viruses.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Virology
Kouacou Konan, Simon Alem Ogbamikael, Eric Yager, Toshiyuki Yamaji, Jennifer Cerone, Meredith Monaco-Brown, Margarida Barroso, Kentaro Hanada
Summary: Zika virus relies on host lipids, specifically glycosphingolipids, for successful replication. Knockout or inhibition of enzymes involved in glycosphingolipid synthesis significantly reduces virus titers and genome replication, while supplementation of glucosylceramide rescues viral replication.
Article
Microbiology
Monica E. Graham, Camille Merrick, Benjamin M. Akiyama, Matthew J. Szucs, Sarah Leach, Jeffery S. Kieft, J. David Beckham
Summary: The researchers made targeted mutations in the dumbbell region of the Zika virus RNA structure and found that these mutations significantly weakened the virus, reducing its ability to produce non-coding RNA that is necessary for infection, virus-induced cell death, and evasion of the host immune system. These findings suggest that targeted mutations in the flavivirus dumbbell RNA structure could be an important approach for developing future vaccine candidates.
Article
Microbiology
Alena Kaltenbrunner, Viktoria Reimann, Ute A. Hoffmann, Tomohiro Aoyagi, Minori Sakata, Kaori Nimura-Matsune, Satoru Watanabe, Claudia Steglich, Annegret Wilde, Wolfgang R. Hess
Summary: Synthetic biology approaches for cyanobacterial producer strains rely on appropriate plasmid vectors. Understanding native plasmid replication and defense mechanisms in cyanobacteria, such as the CRISPR-Cas systems, is crucial for industrial usefulness. The model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 has multiple plasmids, including pSYSA which encodes CRISPR-Cas systems and toxin-antitoxin systems.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Huiling Kang, Jingyuan Cong, Chenlong Wang, Wenxin Ji, Yuhui Xin, Ying Qian, Xuemei Li, Yutao Chen, Zihe Rao
Summary: The study presents the cryo-EM structure of the complex of JUNV L protein with Z protein, revealing insights into how Z protein regulates JUNV L during viral life cycle and RNA synthesis. This work sheds light on the mechanism of JUNV transcription, replication, and regulation, providing a basis for the design of antivirals against viral infections.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Review
Cell Biology
Louis De Falco, Nelly M. Silva, Nuno C. Santos, Roland G. Huber, Ivo C. Martins
Summary: The circularization of viral genomes plays vital roles in the viral life cycle, with genomic structures and associated host factors being crucial for this process in flaviviruses. Sequence motifs and RNA structures are key elements involved in circularization, contributing to viral proliferation and replication.
Article
Virology
Jose Angel Rubio-Miranda, Febe Elena Cazares-Raga, Andrea Santos Coy-Arechavaleta, Mercedes Viettri, Leticia Cortes-Martinez, Anel Lagunes-Guillen, Bibiana Chavez-Munguia, Juan E. Ludert, Fidel de la Cruz Hernandez-Hernandez
Summary: Septins are a family of GTP-binding proteins that play roles in cell division, chromosomal segregation, intracellular vesicular traffic, and response to pathogens. This study reveals the involvement of septins in the replication of dengue virus in mosquito cells, highlighting their interaction with viral proteins.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jillian N. Whelan, Nicholas A. Parenti, Joshua Hatterschide, David M. Renner, Yize Li, Hanako M. Reyes, Beihua Dong, Erick R. Perez, Robert H. Silverman, Susan R. Weiss
Summary: The study found that an inactive form of RNase L promotes infectious virus production during ZIKV infection by supporting assembly of ZIKV replication factories and interacting with the cytoskeleton. This role is not a general feature of all flavivirus infections, as inactive RNase L did not improve virus production during DENV or West Nile Kunjin virus infection.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Review
Biochemical Research Methods
Mattia Furlan, Stefano de Pretis, Mattia Pelizzola
Summary: Despite RNA abundance being commonly assumed as a proxy for transcriptional activity, it is now possible to calculate how synthesis, processing, and degradation rates collectively determine the abundance of each gene's RNA. Different transcriptional outputs can correspond to different combinations of kinetic rates, indicating the existence of markedly different modes of gene expression regulation and their profound effects on gene self-expression regulation.
BRIEFINGS IN BIOINFORMATICS
(2021)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Michele Lai, Alessandro De Carli, Carolina Filipponi, Elena Iacono, Veronica La Rocca, Giulia Lottini, Carmen Rita Piazza, Paola Quaranta, Maria Sidoti, Mauro Pistello, Giulia Freer
Summary: In cells infected by single stranded positive-sense RNA viruses, a marked reorganization of internal membranes occurs, leading to changes in cell compartments to provide lipids for membrane rearrangement into replication organelles. This increased lipid consumption is achieved through lipolysis and lipophagy of lipid droplets.
ANTIVIRAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Chenjing Li, Yihua Feng, Jingyao Li, Rui Lian, Liehao Qin, Chunling Wang
Summary: A novel polysaccharide, PSPP-A, extracted from purple sweet potato, was investigated for its structural characteristics and preventive effects on NAFLD. The results showed that PSPP-A mainly contained arabinose and had certain preventive effects. This study provides a theoretical basis for further elucidating the hepatoprotective effect of purple sweet potatoes as a functional food.
JOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
(2023)
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Wenjun Wang, Vitaliy Zhurbenko, Juan Diego Sanchez-Heredia, Jan Henrik Ardenkjaer-Larsen
Summary: To improve the decoupling of preamplifiers, their noise figure can be sacrificed. This study establishes the relation between the preamplifier noise figure and decoupling, and proposes a method to design the corresponding decoupling networks. The approach is proven to significantly increase the decoupling of coils.
MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Wenjun Wang, Juan Diego Sanchez-Heredia, Rie Beck Olin, Esben Sovso Szocska Hansen, Christoffer Laustsen, Vitaliy Zhurbenko, Jan Henrik Ardenkjaer-Larsen
Summary: This article introduces a novel 14-channel receive-only array for C-13 human head imaging at 3 T that achieves higher SNR by operating at cryogenic temperature cooled by liquid nitrogen. The array is cooled using cryostats and circuits are adapted to the low temperature environment. Imaging results show significant SNR improvement at cryogenic temperature compared to room temperature. The cryogenic coil array is suitable for scenarios that require high SNR deep in a head and decent SNR on the periphery.
MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Yanbo Zhu, Zi Yan, Changhao Fu, Xue Wen, Lin Jia, Lei Zhou, Zhonghua Du, Cong Wang, Yichen Wang, Jingcheng Chen, Yuanyuan Nie, Wenjun Wang, Jiuwei Cui, Guixia Wang, Andrew R. Hoffman, Ji-Fan Hu, Wei Li
Summary: By combining CRIST-seq and RNA sequencing, researchers identified a pluripotency-associated lncRNA Osilr9, which plays a critical role in maintaining the pluripotency of stem cells by coordinating the promoter activity of core stem cell factor genes. Osilr9 binds to the Oct4 promoter and recruits a DNA demethylase to induce promoter demethylation, thus facilitating the maintenance of pluripotency.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Zhifeng Wang, Yuquan Gan, Qianqian Du, Shuhong Li, Yunlong Liu, Wenjun Wang
Summary: In this research, pentacene nanoribbons and nanosheets were selectively fabricated by controlling their growth temperature. The photoluminescence activity and electrical properties of the crystals were strongly influenced by their geometrical morphology and molecular stacking mode. The study demonstrated that the nanoribbon crystal exhibited higher photoluminescence intensity while the nanosheet crystal had higher electrical conductivity due to stronger pi-pi stacking interactions. Controlling the crystal's morphology can offer potential guidance for the design and development of organic crystal optoelectronics.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Yuting Zhang, Shuchao Qin, Qianqian Du, Yuquan Gan, Jing Zhao, Mengru Li, Xialian Zheng, Anran Wang, Yunlong Liu, Shuhong Li, Ruixin Dong, Zhonghui Nie, Cailong Liu, Wenjun Wang, Fengqiu Wang
Summary: This study presents a high-performance broadband vertical phototransistor based on rubrene single crystal, with a response covering the UV to visible range and excellent photoresponsivity. The device exhibits good air stability and no degradation in performance after continuous operating for 2 months.
ADVANCED ELECTRONIC MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Wenjun Wang, Huan Chen, Wei Zhu, Zhengjun Gong, Hui Yin, Chao Gao, Anni Zhu, Dongmei Wang
Summary: Real-time online monitoring of 117 regulated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in ambient air was achieved by developing an innovative automated GC/MS system. The system effectively minimized the presence of interfering substances and successfully separated and detected the VOCs without the challenges faced by traditional methods. With optimized conditions, impressive precision and accuracy were achieved, making this system a valuable tool for VOC monitoring.
ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yongshui Wang, Yao Guo, Haohao Liu, Xingde Du, Linjia Shi, Wenjun Wang, Shenshen Zhang
Summary: This study discussed the protective effect of hawthorn fruit extract on liver damage caused by microcystins, and found that it can alleviate oxidative stress and apoptosis, thus reducing hepatotoxicity.
ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Jingyao Li, Bin Liu, Xiaojuan Feng, Mengli Zhang, Tingting Ding, Yue Zhao, Chunling Wang
Summary: By comparing the differences in protein secretion between A. oryzae 3.042 and A. sojae 3.495 during soy sauce koji fermentation and their effect on volatile metabolites, this study revealed that the two strains had differences in amino acid metabolism and protein folding, sorting, and degradation pathways. The analysis of extracellular enzymes showed that A. sojae 3.495 up-regulated three peptidases, while A. oryzae 3.042 up-regulated seven carbohydrases, contributing to differences in enzyme activity. These differences influenced the content of volatile alcohols, aldehydes, and esters, affecting the aroma type of koji.
FOOD RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Water Resources
Jingzhou Zhang, Shengtang Zhang, Chuantao Wang, Wenjun Wang, Lijun Ma, Xuefeng Xu, Jiansen Zhou
Summary: Vegetation lodging downstream influences overland flow by changing its characteristics and causing resistance effect. However, there have been few studies on the hydraulic characteristics of slope flow caused by vegetation lodging. To clarify this effect, an indoor experiment was conducted under different slope and flow discharge conditions, and the resistance mechanism and flow regime characteristics were compared and discussed. The results showed that as slope and vegetation lodging increased, flow patterns evolved from slow to rapid and the resistance of overland flow decreased. The morphology of vegetation lodging is the main factor influencing flow resistance and hydraulic erosion.
HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Peihong Yang, Hui Jiang, Chunming Liu, Lan Kang, Chunling Wang
Summary: The paper proposes an optimal scheduling model based on CCHP and carbon capture device to achieve the low-carbon operation of the integrated energy system by considering demand response and ladder-type carbon trading mechanism. The model takes into account the demand response of cooling, heating, and electricity load based on time-of-use electricity price and incentive mechanism, and establishes a carbon trading model considering the actual carbon emissions and ladder-type carbon trading mechanism. By solving the mixed integer linear problem using CPLEX, the results show that the system total cost can be reduced by 5.9% with ladder-type carbon trading, and further reduced by 3.1% after considering user-side demand response. The simulation results demonstrate the flexibility of load transfer, reduced gas purchase, and decreased system carbon emissions with the introduction of demand response and ladder-type carbon trading, providing significant application value.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ELECTRICAL POWER & ENERGY SYSTEMS
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Qian Jiang, Wenjun Wang, Wendong Chen, Yan Xu
Summary: This study simulated the risks of cognitive impairment (CI), developing secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), and mortality in Chinese patients with newly diagnosed relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) compared to a matched control cohort. The results showed that newly diagnosed RRMS patients had a higher risk of CI, lower life expectancy, lower quality-adjusted life years (QALY), and higher medical and indirect costs compared to the control cohort. Patients who developed CI contributed significantly to the disease burden of RRMS.
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS AND RELATED DISORDERS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Jiyuan Liang, Zhen Wang, Litao Huang, Pan Zou, Xiaolang Liu, Qian Ni, Xinyu Wang, Wenjun Wang, Runming Tao
Summary: A novel nitrogen-doped graphene with different microstructures is synthesized through an in situ interlamination self-assembling method, using in situ formed Fe3(PO4)2 and organoamine as the catalyst and carbon source, respectively. Bubble-like and sheet-like nitrogen-doped graphene are obtained by tuning the alkyl chain length in organoamine, octylamine, and dodecylamine. The as-prepared graphene electrode material exhibits good rate capability and cyclic performance, delivering promising practicality for energy storage applications.
ACS MATERIALS LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Jing Zhao, Qianqian Du, Xialian Zheng, Yunlong Liu, Shuhong Li, Wenjun Wang, Fengqiu Wang, Shuchao Qin
Summary: In this study, a sensitive organic rubrene crystal/graphene heterostructure photodetector was reported. By using an asymmetrical van der Waals stacking configuration, self-powered photon detection was realized in this graphene-based organic heterostructure device. The device exhibited several commendable performances, including a high responsivity (8 x 10(5) A/W), specific detectivity (>10(12) Jones), and a fast response speed (ca.20/70 μs). Additionally, the device showed excellent mechanical flexibility, good conductivity, and stable light detection capabilities.
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Wenjun Wang, Juan Diego Sanchez-Heredia, Tom Maurouard, Vitaliy Zhurbenko, Jan Henrik Ardenkjar-Larsen
Summary: This work analyzes the quantitative relationship between a probe's calibrated ${S}_{21}$ and the RF coil current. The analytical relationship is established and verified through simulation and benchtop measurements. The calibration improves the sensitivity of probe measurements and facilitates fine-tuning current-suppressing circuits.
IEEE JOURNAL OF ELECTROMAGNETICS RF AND MICROWAVES IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY
(2023)
