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Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide, exhibiting a high morbidity, and mortality. As the various treatment methods for gastric cancer are limited by disadvantages, many efforts to improve the efficacy of these treatments are being taken. Metabolic recombination is an important characteristic of cancer and has gradually caused a recent upsurge in research. However, systematic analysis of the interaction between glycolysis and GC patient prognosis and its potential associations with immune infiltration is lacking but urgently needed. Methods: We obtained the gene expression data and clinical materials of GC derived from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional regression analyses were performed to select the optimal prognosis-related genes for subsequent modeling. We then validated our data in the GEO database and further verified the gene expression using the Oncomine database and PCR experiments. Besides, Gene set variation analysis (GSVA) analysis was employed to further explore the differences in activation status of biological pathways between the high and low risk groups. Furthermore, a nomogram was adopted to predict the individualized survival rate of GC patients. Finally, a violin plot and a TIMMER analysis were performed to analyse the characteristics of immune infiltration in the microenvironment. Results: A seven-gene signature, including STC1, CLDN9, EFNA3, ZBTB7A, NT5E, NUP50, and CXCR4, was established. Based on this seven-gene signature, the patients in the training set and testing sets could be divided into high-risk and low-risk groups. In addition, a nomogram based on risk and age showed good calibration and moderate discrimination. The results proved that the seven-gene signature had a strong capacity to predict the GC patient prognosis. Collectively, the violin plot and TIMMER analysis demonstrated that an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment caused by hyperglycolysis led to poor prognosis. Conclusion: Taken together, these results established a genetic signature for gastric cancer based on glycolysis, which has reference significance for the in-depth study of the metabolic mechanism of gastric cancer and the exploration of new clinical treatment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), a significant pathogen affecting the swine industry globally, has been shown to manipulate host cell processes, including autophagy, to facilitate its replication and survival within the host. Autophagy, an intracellular degradation process crucial for maintaining cellular homeostasis, can be hijacked by viruses for their own benefit. During PRRSV infection, autophagy plays a complex role, both as a defense mechanism of the host and as a tool exploited by the virus. This review explores the current understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying autophagy induction under PRRSV infection, its impact on virus replication, and the potential implications for viral pathogenesis and antiviral strategies. By synthesizing the latest research findings, this article aims to enhance our understanding of the intricate relationship between autophagy and PRRSV, paving the way for novel therapeutic approaches against this swine pathogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In practical cyber-manufacturing systems (CMS), the node component is the forwarder of information and the provider of services. This dual role makes the whole system have the typical physical-services interaction characteristic, making CMS more vulnerable to cascading failures than general manufacturing systems. In this work, in order to reasonably characterize the cascading process of CMS, we first develop an interdependent network model for CMS from a physical-service networking perspective. On this basis, a realistic cascading failure model for CMS is designed with full consideration of the routing-oriented load distribution characteristics of the physical network and selective load distribution characteristics of the service network. Through extensive experiments, the soundness of the proposedmodel has been verified and some meaningful findings have been obtained: (1) attacks on the physical network are more likely to trigger cascading failures and may cause more damage; (2) interdependency failures are the main cause of performance degradation in the service network during cascading failures; and (3) isolation failures are the main cause of performance degradation in the physical network during cascading failures. The obtained results can certainly help users to design a more reliable CMS against cascading failures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a fatal disease with an insidious onset and rapid progression, shows characteristics such as increases in pulmonary circulatory resistance and pulmonary arterial pressure, and progressive right heart failure. Shikonin can reduce right ventricular systolic pressure in chronically hypoxic mice. However, the mechanisms underlying the protective effect of shikonin against PAH pathogenesis have only been sporadically iden‑ tified. The present study evaluated whether inhibiting the expression of pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) contributed to the improvement of pulmonary vascular remodeling in PAH rats induced by monocrotaline (MCT) treatment. Hemodynamic parameters were assessed using echocardiography and right ventricular catheterization. Right ventricular hypertrophy index analysis and hematoxylin and eosin staining were used to evaluate the degree of pulmonary vascular and right heart remodeling. Moreover, PKM2, p‑PKM2, ERK, p‑ERK, glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1), lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) protein expression levels were semi‑quantified using western blotting. The expression and distribution of PKM2 were assessed using immunofluorescence microscopy. The present study demonstrated that MCT treatment caused pulmonary arterial hypertension and pulmonary vascular remodeling in experimental rats. Shikonin improved hemody‑ namics and pulmonary vascular remodeling in MCT‑induced PAH rats, decreased aerobic glycolysis and downregulated PKM2, p‑PKM2, p‑ERK, GLUT 1 and LDHA protein expres‑ sion levels. Shikonin improved experimental pulmonary arterial hypertension hemodynamics and pulmonary vascular remodeling at least partly through the inhibition of PKM2 and the resultant suppression of aerobic glycolysis. These results provide a novel understanding of possible new treatment targets for PAH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Objectives]This study was conducted to establish simple, efficient, stable, standardized and practical identification methods for sugarcane resistance to white leaf disease (SCWL), and promote the breeding for sugarcane resistance to SCWL. [Methods] The identification technology of sugarcane resistance to SCWL was systematically studied and explored from the aspects of sugarcane material treatment and planting, inoculation liquid preparation, inoculation method, disease investigation, grading standard formulation, etc., and two sets of simple, efficient, stable, standardized and practical accurate identification methods for sugarcane resistance to SCWL were created for the first time, namely, the seed cane coating inoculation method and the stem-cutting inoculation method at the growth stage. The seed cane coating inoculation method includes the steps of directly screening SCWL phytoplasma, extracting juice from cane and adding 10 times of sterile water to prepare an inoculation liquid, spraying seed cane on plastic film to keep moisture, planting the inoculated materials in barrels in an insect-proof greenhouse for cultivation, investigating the incidence rate 30 d after inoculation, and evaluating the disease resistance according to the 1 -5 level standard. The method of stem-cutting inoculation includes the steps of directly screening sugarcane stems carrying SCWL phytoplasma and adding 10 times of sterile water to prepare an inoculation liquid, cultivating the identification materials in an insect-proof greenhouse, dropping 100 pj of the inoculation liquid into each root incision with a pipette gun at the age of 6 months, investigating the incidence rate 20 d after planting, and evaluating the disease resistance according to the 1-5 level standard. [Results] The two methods are similar to the natural transmission method. After inoculation, SCML occurred significantly, with high sensitivity and good reproducibility. The results of resistance identification were consistent with those of natural disease in the field. Through the two inoculation methods and field natural disease investigation, the resistance of 10 main cultivars to SCML was identified, which was true and reliable. [Conclusions] This study can provide standard varieties for identification of SCML resistance in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) is a serious and fatal disease. Recently, m6A has been reported to play an important role in the lungs of IPAH patients and experimental pulmonary hypertension models. However, the meaning of m6A mRNAs in the peripheral blood of IPAH patients remains largely unexplored. We aimed to construct a transcriptome-wide map of m6A mRNAs in the peripheral blood of IPAH patients. M6A RNA Methylation Quantification Kit was utilized to measure the total m6A levels in the peripheral blood of IPAH patients. A combination of MeRIP-seq, RNA-seq and bioinformatics analysis was utilized to select m6A-modified hub genes of IPAH. MeRIP-qPCR and RT-qPCR were used to measure the m6A levels and mRNA levels of TP53, RPS27A, SMAD3 and FoxO3 in IPAH patients. Western blot was performed to assess the protein levels of m6A related regulators and m6A related genes in experimental PH animal models, hypoxia-treated and PDGF-BB induced PASMCs. We found that the total m6A levels were increased in peripheral blood of IPAH patients and verified that m6A levels of RPS27A and SMAD3 were significantly elevated and m6A levels of TP53 and FoxO3 were significantly reduced. The mRNA or protein levels of RPS27A, SMAD3, TP53 and FoxO3 were changed in human blood samples, experimental PH animal models and PDGF-BB induced PASMCs. Moreover, METTL3 and YTHDF1 were increased in the hypoxia induced pulmonary hypertension rat model, hypoxia-treated and PDGF-BB induced PASMCs. These finding suggested that m6A may play an important role in IPAH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy or load disaggregation, as one essential part of non-intrusive load monitoring (NILM), is an efficient way to separate the consumption information of target appliances from the whole consumption data, and can accordingly help to regulate people's energy consumption behaviors. However, the consumptions of the target appliances are usually affected by the variance of the opening time, working condition and user interference, so it is a difficult task to realize precise disaggregation. To further improve the energy disaggregation accuracy, this paper proposes a new parallel disaggregation strategy with two subnets for the energy consumption disaggregation of the target appliances in the residential buildings. In the proposed strategy, the parallel disaggregation network contains a long-term disaggregation network and a short-term disaggregation network, which can automatically and respectively learn the long-term trend features and short-term dynamic characteristics of the electrical appliances. This parallel structure can make full use of the advantages of different methods in feature extraction, so as to model the appliance features more comprehensively. To better extract the long-term and short-term features, in the long-term disaggregation subnet, we propose the double branch bi-directional temporal convolution network (DBB-TCN) which has a wider receptive field than the traditional temporal convolution networks (TCN), while in the short-term disaggregation subnet, we adopt the convolution auto-encoder to learn the short-term characteristics of the target appliances. Finally, detailed experiments and comparisons are made with two real-world datasets. Experimental results verified that the proposed parallel disaggregation method performs better than the existing methods under various evaluation criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Sasanquasaponin (SQS) is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine proved to have a wide range of pharmacological functions. Objective: The objective of this study is to explore the effect and underlying mechanism of SQS in the treatment of prostate cancer (PC). Materials and methods: PC cell lines (22Rv1 and PC-3) were treated with SQS (0, 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 μM) for 12 or 24 h. The viability of cells was evaluated, while the mRNA and protein levels of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related genes in PC cell lines were measured (Groups: Control, TGF-β1, TNF-α, TGF-β1 + TNF-α, and TGF-β1 + TNF-α + SQS). The migration and invasion abilities of PC cell lines were evaluated (Groups: Control, SQS). Finally, the antitumour effect of SQS (25, 50,100, and 200 mg/kg) in BALB/c nude mice (6 weeks, 18-20 g) was evaluated (Groups: Control, Vehicle, 25, 50,100, and 200 mg/kg SQS). The study duration was 1 month. Results: SQS inhibited the viability and the number of colonies of 22Rv1 or PC-3 cells. The IC50 of SQS of 12 and 24 h in these two cells was 3.25, 1.82, 4.76, and 4.70 μM, respectively. SQS inhibited the adhesion, migration, and invasion of PC cells. It also inhibited the expression of EMT-related markers of PC cells. The PI3K/Akt/mTOR and Smad2/3 signalling pathways were activated in the process of EMT, and SQS could significantly reduce the activation of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR and Smad2/3 pathways. Finally, SQS inhibited the growth of xenograft tumours in vivo. Conclusions: SQS inhibited EMT in PC by regulating the PI3K/Akt/mTOR and Smad pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Objectives] This study was conducted to determine the pathogen species and dominant species of sugarcane pokkah boeng in the sugarcane areas of Yunnan in the low-latitude plateau, so as to provide a basis for the pathogenic mechanism, disease resistance breeding and scientific prevention and control of pokkah boeng. [Methods] With 14 pokkah boeng samples collected from different sugarcane areas in Yunnan as materials, pokkah boeng-specific detection primers Fv-F4/Fv-R4 and Fp-F3/Fp-R3 were designed based on ribosomal DNA non-transcribed spacer (rDNA-ITS) sequences, respectively, and used to perform PCR on Fusarium, verticillioides and F. proliferatum. [Results] In 12 of the 14 pokkah boeng samples, two species of pokkah boeng pathogens were detected, and there was a phenomenon of composite infection. Seven composite infection samples were selected for sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis. The sequences of F. verticillioides (GenBank accession number; MZ126549-MZ126555) and F. proliferatum (GenBank accession number; MZ102259-MZ102265) from seven composite infection samples shared 98.6% -100% and 100% with F. verticillioides strain 20 (GenBank accession number; KU508286) and F. proliferatum Dehong strain (GenBank accession number; KJ629482) published in GenBank, respectively. The phylogenetic tree showed that the pathogens of sugarcane pokkah boeng in Yunnan were mainly divided into the F. 'verticillioides group and F. proliferatum group. In the F. 'verticillioides group, except for ROC 25 (Lancang, Yunnan) and Funong 10-1405 (Maitreya, Yunnan) which were on an independent branch, the remaining five composite infection samples were grouped with F. verticillioides strains from different geographical origins, and were closely related to F. oxysporum Guangxi strain. All strains of F. proliferatum from different geographic origins were clustered into another group. [Conclusions] This study provides a scientific basis for disease resistance breeding and disease prevention and control of sugarcane pokkah boeng. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Objectives] This study was conducted te screen high-efficienca compound formulations and precise application technologies Sor the preventon and con-trot of sugarcane brown stripe disease. [Methodt] Carbendazim, benomyl, chlorothalonil, azoxystrobin, pyracloseobine and difenoconazole * azoxystrobin were selected for field efficacy tests. [ResulU] Three formulations, (50% carbendazimWP 1 500 g+75% chlorothfonii WP 1 500 g + potassiumdihydrogen phosphate 2 400 g + agnculturai synergist 300 mt)/hm², (50% benomyl WP 1 500 g + 75% chlorothalonil WP 1 500 g + potassium dihydrogen phosphate 2 400 g + agricultue-ai synergist 300 mt)/hm² and (25% pyraclostrobin 600 mi + potassium dihydrogen phosphate 2 400 g + agriculturai synergist 300 mt)/hm² had good controi effecis on sugarcane brown stripe disease, and showed disease index below 14. 02 and control efficaca above 84.41%. The three formulations arc idd high-efficienca compound formulations for ihc prevention and coneO oo sugarcane brown stripe disease. They can be sprayed manually and by unmanned aeriai vehicles on the foliai surfacc from July te August, oncc every 7 te 10 d, continuously for 2 times. [Conclusion] This study provides new technicf support for accurate and efficient prevention and controi of sugarcane brown stipe disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to clarify the species, occurrence and distribution characteristics of sugarcane rust pathogens in low-latitude plateau sugarcane rust areas of Yunnan Province and the phylogenetic relationship between the pathogens and that between them and other rust fungi of the genus Puccinia. [Methods] Fifty seven sugarcane rust samples collected from the sugarcane areas of Baoshan, Llncang, Menghai, Menglian, Ximeng, Lancang and Wenshan in Yunnan were subjected to molecular identification. [Results] The four sugarcane rust samples from Haiyinl hao in Menghai, Yunnan Province belonged to orange rust of sugarcane, and the pathogen was Puccinia kuehnii Butler. ; and other 53 samples of sugarcane rust belonged to brown rust of sugarcane, and the pathogen was Puccinia melaCephala Syd. et P. Syd. The rDNA sequences of other rust fungi from the genus Puccinia were downloaded from GenBank and used for the construction of an NJ tree for systematic evolution analysis together with the sequences obtained in this study. The results showed that the four P. kuehnii sequences obtained in this study were clustered with Puccinia polysora ( GenBank accession number; GU058024 ) into one group, and they were close genetically; the 53 P. melanocephala sequences were clustered with P. nakanishikii (GenBank accession number: GU058002 ), P. rufipes (GenBank accession number; AJ296545 ), Aecidium deutziae (GenBank accession number:KU309317) and P.coronata ( GenBank accession number: DQ354526 ) into one group, and they had a close genetic relationship; and the genetic relationship of the two species of sugarcane rust fungi identified in this study was relatively distant. [Conclusions ] This study provides a scientific basis for sugarcane rust epidemic prediction, disease resistance breeding, and precise prevention and control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ovarian cancer (OC) is the most lethal gynecological malignancy. The objective of this study was to establish and validate an individual aging-related gene signature and a clinical nomogram that can powerfully predict independently the overall survival rate of patients with ovarian cancer. Methods: Data on transcriptomic profile and relevant clinical information were retrieved from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database as a training group, and the same data from three public Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases as validation groups. Univariate Cox regression analysis, lasso regression analysis, and multiple multivariate Cox analysis were analyzed sequentially to select the genes to be included in the aging-associated signature. A risk scoring model was established and verified, the predictive value of the model was evaluated, and a clinical nomogram was established. Results: We found eight genes that were most relevant to prognosis and constructed an eight-mRNA signature. Based on the model, each OC patient's risk score was able to be calculated and patients were split into groups of low and high risks with a distinct outcome. Survival analysis confirmed that the outcome of patients in the high-risk group was dramatically shorter than that of those in the low-risk group, and the eight-mRNA signature can be considered as a powerful and independent predictor that could predict the outcome of OC patient. Additionally, the risk score and age can be used to construct a clinical nomogram as a simpler tool for predicting prognosis. We also explored the association between the risk score and immunity and drug sensitivity. Conclusion: This study suggested that the aging-related gene signature could be used as an intervention point and latent prognostic predictor in OC, which may provide new perceptions for postoperative treatment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discussed and summarized the parasitic characters and the protection and utilization of 7 species of dominant natural enemies of sugarcane pests in Yunnan, China. Sugarcane pests are numerous and there are rich natural enemy resources in Yunnan sugarcane areas. There are more than 283 species of natural enemies against sugarcane pests in Yunnan, among which the dominant natural enemies with protection and utilization value and research significance include Trichograrrurui, Apantdes flavipes (Cameron) and Stumuopsis inferem Townsend parasitic: on sugarcane borers, Synonycfm grandis (Thunberg) , Lemtlia biplagiata ( Swartz) , Chilornenes sexnmaculata ( Fabricius) and Thiallela sp catching and feeding on Ceralovacima hunger a Zehntner, and Euborellia pallipes Shiraki preying on Saccharicocus sacchari (Cocherell) , Dysmicoccus bohinsis Kuw, Trochorhopalus hurneralis Chevrolat and Diocalruulra sp. There is also one fungal parasite, namely Becuweria bassiana, which is widely distributed in nature, and can parasitize in a variety of sugarcane pests including sugarcane borers, Exoloniha ser-ruhila (Gyllenhal) , Alissonolum impressicolle Arrow, T. hurneralis and Otidognathus rubriceps Chevrola. It has a natural parasitism rate generally around 10% and certain natural inhibition effect on sugircane pests. Reasonably protecting and utilizing natural enemies and giving full play to the natural regulation of natural enemies on pests are of great significance for protecting the ecological environment, maintaining the ecological balance of sugarcane fields, improving the comprehensive management level of pests, and protnoting the sustainable development of sugir industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) play an indispensable role in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), leading to a survival major breakthrough, but there remains no uniform standard for predicting the efficacy of TKI therapy.Aims: We retrospectively reviewed the use of EGFR-TKIs for advanced NSCLC between January 2009 and December 2017 in a hospital, which 169 patients who treated with first-line TKIs were enrolled.Subjects and Methods: Multiple clinical factors, including histology, age, and sex, were analyzed. We calculated the tumor shrinkage rate (TSR) by measuring the longest diameters of the main mass by computed tomography (CT) before TKI therapy and the first CT after TKI therapy. We evaluated overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) after first-line TKI therapy, and we assessed factors predicting survival using the Kaplan-Meier method.Results: Eligible patients were sorted into higher (n = 83) and lower (n = 86) TSR groups according to the mean TSR of 0.49%. The 83 patients with a higher TSR had longer PFS and OS than those in the 86 patients with a lower TSR (14.83 vs. 8.40 months, P < 0.001, and 31.03 vs. 20.10 months, P < 0.001, respectively). Multivariate analyses revealed that TSR was an independent predictor of PFS and OS (PFS hazard ratio [HR]: 0.506, P < 0.001, and OS HR: 0.291, P < 0.001).Conclusions: These cumulative data support that TSR may be an early predictor of the treatment efficacy in NSCLC with EGFR mutations treated with first-line TKIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) play an indispensable role in the treatment of non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), leading to a survival major breakthrough, but there remains no uniform standard for predicting the efficacy of TKI therapy. Aims: We retrospectively reviewed the use of EGFR‑TKIs for advanced NSCLC between January 2009 and December 2017 in a hospital, which 169 patients who treated with first‑line TKIs were enrolled. Subjects and Methods: Multiple clinical factors, including histology, age, and sex, were analyzed. We calculated the tumor shrinkage rate (TSR) by measuring the longest diameters of the main mass by computed tomography (CT) before TKI therapy and the first CT after TKI therapy. We evaluated overall survival (OS) and progression‑free survival (PFS) after first‑line TKI therapy, and we assessed factors predicting survival using the Kaplan–Meier method. Results: Eligible patients were sorted into higher (n = 83) and lower (n = 86) TSR groups according to the mean TSR of 0.49%. The 83 patients with a higher TSR had longer PFS and OS than those in the 86 patients with a lower TSR (14.83 vs. 8.40 months, P < 0.001, and 31.03 vs. 20.10 months, P < 0.001, respectively). Multivariate analyses revealed that TSR was an independent predictor of PFS and OS (PFS hazard ratio [HR]: 0.506, P < 0.001, and OS HR: 0.291, P < 0.001). Conclusions: These cumulative data support that TSR may be an early predictor of the treatment efficacy in NSCLC with EGFR mutations treated with first‑line TKIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aimed al the difficult problem of prevention and control of disastrous sugircane borers in low latitude plateau of China, this research systematically overcame the botlleneck of comprehensive prevention and control of sugarcane bores after 10 years of collaIborative research, and formed a number of core product technologies, which promoted the green and high-quality development of the sugarcane industry and achieved llie following innovative results. In this study, the species, population structure and damage characteristics of disastrous sugarcane borers in low latitude plateau were clarified for the first time, which provided a scientific basis for the formulation of technology and application of comprehensive prevention and control. The monitoring technology system and early warning monitoring network were constructed for the monitoring of borer pojHilation in low latitude plateau sugarcane area, wliich realized the accurate monitoring of the population dynamics of sugan-ane bores and provided technical support for comprehensive prevention and control, the flight spraying technology by unmanned aerial vehicle ( UAV) was developed for bores in the low latitude plateau cane area, and ii has been successfull) applied in a large area, therein opening up a new way of light, simple and efficienl for effeclive conlrol of borers. The scale application of lain]) trapping and sexual attracting to kill adult insects technology promoted the advancement of green control technology of bores. Integration was made to the comprehensive control techniques like UAV flight control, biological agents, physical and chemical inducement and control, and sexual attractant trapping in the low latitude plateau sugarcane area, and standardized technical regulations have been formulated, which significantly improved the overall prevention and control effect of large areas. The technologies for the comprehensive prevention and control of sugarcane Infers have been popularized and applied in 8 major sugarcane producing states (cities) in low altitude plateau of Yunnan over llie years, which has controlled the damage and showed remarkable control effect. In 2017 -2018, the integrated conlrol technology was popularized and applied to a total of 2.78x105 hm2( 1.33x104 hm2 of LAV flight control) of area, which recovered a total of 3.666x106 t of sugarcrane losses, increasing 4. 69 x 10 t of sugar with the sales increase of 3.979 billion yuan, added profits of 1.251 billion yuan and the taxes increase of 188 million yuan. The research results show that the technology has high technical integration, strong practicability, high degree of transformation, significant economic:, sexual and ecological benefits, which provide technical supports for the sustainable development, loss reduction and efficiency increase of the sugarcane industry in the low-latitude plateau sugarcane region, and make significant contributions to the economic development of ethnic minorities in the border-stricken areas and the increase of farmers" income and poverty alleviation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research was aimed at ihe defects in traditional artificial spraying conlrol method and the problems such as the difficulty in pesticides applying, labor shortage and low operating efficiency in the middle and lale stage of sugarcane high slalk crops. The aerial pesticide application technology for sugarcane main diseases and pests was systematically developed and demonstrated from the aspects of aircraft type choice, selection of special pesticides and auxiliaries, integration of pesticides and equipment, field operation, technical specifications, and large-scale application organization mixle. The LAV model and flight technical parameters suitable for the sugarcane planting area in low-latitude plateau were analyzed, and the optimal agent formulation combination and application technology of the UAV flight control were screened out, and the UAV flight control was applied to the major sugarcane pests and diseases conlrol in the low-latitude plateau in large scale ( UAV flight conlrol was popularized and applied to 15 527 hm2 in 2018). The research results provided mature whole-process technical support for the normalization of the application of the UVA flight control of major sugarcane pests and diseases. The UAV control technology for major sugarcane pests and diseases had the advantages of ultra-low pesticides applying dosage and high operating efficiency, and could effectively solve the problems such as the difficulty in pesticides applying, labor shortage and low operating efficiency in the middle late growth stage of liigh stalk crops. This technology successfully opened up a simple, efficient and new way for the effective control of major sugarcane pests and diseases, and practically accelerated the process of integrated conlrol and prevention of sugarcane pesls and diseases, hi addition, this technology had an extremely significant effect on reducing the loss of sugarcane farmers and enterprises caused by the epidemic and outbreak of sugarcane pesls and diseases, increasing sugarcane yield and sugar content. At the same time, this technology played an important role in realizing the whole-process precise control of sugircane pesls and diseases, improving the quality and increasing the efficiency of sugarcane, and guaranteeing the national sugar safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Comparison of transanal specimen extraction (TSE) and transabdominal specimen extraction (TASE) in laparoscopic rectal surgery is still sparsely reported. Trauma, pain, scarring, and bad psychological suggestion have long been considered an inevitable outcome of surgery. For laparoscopic rectal cancer surgery, whether TSE or TASE is beneficial in terms of technical platforms, indications, contraindications, technical requirements for aseptic operation, tumor-free operation, prevention and treatment of complications still has not reached a unified consensus and standards. Recently, comparison of TSE and TASE in laparoscopic rectal surgery has still been sparsely reported. Aim: In this study, we retrospectively analyzed the short-term outcomes of TSE and TASE in laparoscopic rectal surgery in a single institution in southern China. Material and methods: Patients who underwent laparoscopic radical rectal cancer surgery using either TSE or TASE were recruited. Data, including patient demographics, perioperative and postoperative variables, were analyzed retrospectively. Results: Sixty-seven patients were included in this study. Thirty patients underwent TSE and 37 patients underwent TASE. The two groups were similar in demographics and tumor characteristics. Postoperative complications were similar in both groups, except that wound infection was lower for the TSE group (p = 0.122). The TSE group had a better cosmetic result with no abdominal incision and no differences in circumferential margins, distal resection margins or completeness of total mesorectal excision. Conclusions: Laparoscopic TSE is recommended in the treatment of rectal cancer with similar oncologic outcomes compared with conventional TASE. It is mini-invasive surgery and has the advantage of better cosmetic results. There is a need for further randomized studies to refine the applicability of laparoscopic TSE in rectal cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to select the long-acting, low toxic, low-risk and multi-functional new pesticides for the control of sugarcane borders and woolly aphids and precise and efficient application technology, the control effect of 10% monosultap • thiamethoxam granular formulation and 1% Bt • clothianidin granular formulation on sugarcane borders and woolly aphids were studied. The results showed that 10% monosultap • thiamethoxam GR and 1% Bt • clothianidin GR had good control effects on sugarcane borders and woolly aphids. They were ideal slow-release, long-acting, low toxic and multi-functional new pesticides used to control sugarcane borders and woolly aphids. They could be used alternately with other pesticides to delay the emergence and development of pest resistance to pesticides. The best dosage of the two pesticides in the field was 45 kg/hm2. They could be mixed with fertilizer (1 200 -1 800 kg/hm2), scattered in sugarcane ditches or at tlie base of sugarcane plant, and covered with soil or film from January to July. The control effect on dead heart seedlings damaged by borerr could be up to above 79.2%, and the control effect on sugarcane woolly aphids could reach more than 98.8%. In comparison with the control group, the actual yield and sugar content of sugarcane increased by above 41 555 kg/hm2 and 6. 5% respectively. The application of slow-release, long-acting, strong systemic and multi-functional new agents with fertilizer around roots is convenient, precise and efficient, labor-saving, time-saving and environmentally friendly, and is worthy of being widely applied in sugarcane areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ceracris kiangsu Tsai is one of the most widely distributed forest pest. C. kiangsu has migrated from Laos to China this year, with many migration peaks and large population numbers. The main sources of C. kiangsu were from abroad and a small number of native insect sources exist. Most of the immigration sources were from Laos, and a small part originated from Vietnam. The frontier region of Yunnan Province is suitable for the growth of C. kiangsu. It is speculated that the migration frequency of the C. kiangsu from abroad may increase in recent years. In this paper, the typical morphological characteristics, life history, biological characteristics and prevention and control measures of C. kiangsu were summarized. Based on the characteristics of C. kiangsu, and combining actual sugarcane production condition in Yunnan sugarcane areas, we put forward prevention and control strategies and measures. It is suggested that Yunnan Sugarcane areas should pay close attention to the occurrence of C. kiangsu in neighboring countries, monitor the C. kiangsu population dynamics and update pest forecast information in time, and detect and control C. kiangsu in the early period, in order to effectively prevent C. kiangsu and ensure the safety of sugarcane production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on investigation and research, according to the current actual production of sugarcane, the occurrence dynamics and outbreak causes of important pests and diseases that seriously affect sugarcane production were summarized, and accurate and efficient green prevention and control technology was put forward according to the occurrence and damage characteristics of important pests and diseases, such a strengthening sugarcane introduction and quarantine, breeding and selecting varieties resistant to diseases and pests, promoting the use of detoxified healthy seedlings vigorously, applying lamp trapping technology on a large scale, scientifically guiding and promoting biological prevention and control technology, practically promoting the precise and efficient application of slow-release longacting and low toxic pesticides, strengthening field management, spraying pesticides in time at the early stage of a disease, and doing a good job of monitoring and emergency prevention and control of sudden pests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sugarcane borers are the most common pests in Yunnan sugarcane areas, and their harm is the most serious presently. The damage caused by sugarcane borers has become the first important factor seriously influencing the sustainable and stable development of sugar industry in Yunnan. To scientifically and effectively prevent and control sugarcane borers to ensure the production safety of sugarcane, the characteristics of occurrence and damage of sugarcane borers in Yunnan sugarcane areas were systematically introduced, and corresponding comprehensive control measures and strategies were proposed according to the characteristics of its occurrence and damage and the actual production of sugarcane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, with the adjustment of agricultural structure, the change of planting system, the continuous cropping phenomenon and the abnormal climate and environment have provided favorable conditions for the spread, reproduction and survival of sugarcane pests. The pest species that are harmful to sugarcane have increased, which pose potential threats to sugar cane production. Therefore, the occurrence dynamics and control of 6 sugarcane pests with potential threats were studied in order to prospectively grasp the dynamics of sugarcane pests, scientifically and effectively prevent and control sugarcane pests, and ensure the safety of sugarcane production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the hydraulic drive unit (HDU) on the joints of bionic legged robots, this paper proposes the position-based impedance control method. Then, the impedance control performance is tested by a HDU performance test platform. Further, the method of first-order sensitivity matrix is proposed to analyze the dynamic sensitivity of four main control parameters under four working conditions. To research the parameter sensitivity quantificationally, two sensitivity indexes are defined, and the sensitivity analysis results are verified by experiments. The results of the experiments show that, when combined with corresponding optimization strategies, the dynamic compliance composition theory and the results from sensitivity analysis can compensate for the control parameters and optimize the control performance in different working conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a sedentary lifestyle leads to numerous health problems, it is important to keep constant motivation for a more active lifestyle. A large majority of the worldwide population, such as office workers, long journey vehicle drivers and wheelchair users, spends several hours every day in sedentary activities. The postures that sedentary lifestyle users assume during daily activities hide valuable information that can reveal their wellness and general health condition. Aiming at mining such underlying information, we developed a cushion-based system to assess their activity levels and recognize the activity from the information hidden in sitting postures. By placing the smart cushion on the chair, we can monitor users' postures and body swings, using the sensors deployed in the cushion. Specifically, we construct a body posture analysis model to recognize sitting behaviors. In addition, we provided a smart cushion that effectively combine pressure and inertial sensors. Finally, we propose a method to assess the activity levels based on the evaluation of the activity assessment index (AAI) in time sliding windows. Activity level assessment can be used to provide statistical results in a defined period and deliver recommendation exercise to the users. For practical implications and actual significance of results, we selected wheelchair users among the participants to our experiments. Features in terms of standard deviation and approximate entropy were compared to recognize the activities and activity levels. The results showed that, using the novel designed smart cushion and the standard deviation features, we are able to achieve an accuracy of (>89%) for activity recognition and (>98%) for activity level recognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging evidence indicates that microRNAs play critical roles in carcinogenesis and cancer progression. In this study, miR-133a was found to be significantly downregulated in colon tumor tissues. We aimed to determine its biological function, molecular mechanisms, and direct target genes in colorectal cancer. From these results, we found that miR-133a was significantly downregulated in primary tumor tissues and colon cancer cell lines. Ectopic expression of miR-133a in colon cancer cell lines significantly suppressed cell growth, as evidenced by cell viability and colony formation assays, as well as reduced xenograft tumor growth in nude mice. However, the effect of miR-133a was abolished by the overexpression of eIF4A1. Moreover, miR-133a inhibited cellular migration and invasiveness. A luciferase activity assay revealed oncogene eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4A1 as a direct target gene of miR-133a, whose expression was inversely correlated with that of miR-133a. Our results demonstrate that miR-133a plays a pivotal role in colorectal cancer by inhibiting cell proliferation, invasion, and migration by targeting oncogenic eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4A1, which acts as a tumor suppressor and may provide a new potential therapeutic target in colorectal cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is necessary to rapidly diagnose diseases, identify and monitor the pathogens to achieve scientific and effective control of major diseases in sugarcane. In the present study, the molecular techniques for rapid detection of 13 pathogens that cause 10 important diseases of sugarcane including smut, rust, leaf scald, ratoon stunting, red stripe, mosaic, Fiji, yellow leaf, white leaf and baciiliform virus were established by Sugarcane Research Institute, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences after years of effort. The results wiil provide scientific bais for effective diagnosis and control of sugarcane diseases, detection of virus-free seedling and quarantine management of exotic species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The postures of wheelchair users can reveal their sitting habit, mood, and even predict health risks such as pressure ulcers or lower back pain. Mining the hidden information of the postures can reveal their wellness and general health conditions. In this paper, a cushion-based posture recognition system is used to process pressure sensor signals for the detection of user's posture in the wheelchair. The proposed posture detection method is composed of three main steps: data level classification for posture detection, backward selection of sensor configuration, and recognition results compared with previous literature. Five supervised classification techniques--Decision Tree (J48), Support Vector Machines (SVM), Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Naive Bayes, and k-Nearest Neighbor (k-NN)--are compared in terms of classification accuracy, precision, recall, and F-measure. Results indicate that the J48 classifier provides the highest accuracy compared to other techniques. The backward selection method was used to determine the best sensor deployment configuration of the wheelchair. Several kinds of pressure sensor deployments are compared and our new method of deployment is shown to better detect postures of the wheelchair users. Performance analysis also took into account the Body Mass Index (BMI), useful for evaluating the robustness of the method across individual physical differences. Results show that our proposed sensor deployment is effective, achieving 99.47% posture recognition accuracy. Our proposed method is very competitive for posture recognition and robust in comparison with other former research. Accurate posture detection represents a fundamental basic block to develop several applications, including fatigue estimation and activity level assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron (Fe) is an essential plant micronutrient but is toxic in excess. Fe deficiency chlorosis is a major constraint for plant growth and causes severe losses of crop yields and quality. Under Fe deficiency conditions, plants have developed sophisticated mechanisms to keep cellular Fe homeostasis via various physiological, morphological, metabolic, and gene expression changes to facilitate the availability of Fe. Ethylene has been found to be involved in the Fe deficiency responses of plants through pharmacological studies or by the use of ethylene mutants. However, how ethylene is involved in the regulations of Fe starvation responses remains not fully understood. Over the past decade, omics approaches, mainly focusing on the RNA and protein levels, have been used extensively to investigate global gene expression changes under Fe-limiting conditions, and thousands of genes have been found to be regulated by Fe status. Similarly, proteome profiles have uncovered several hallmark processes that help plants adapt to Fe shortage. To find out how ethylene participates in the Fe deficiency response and explore putatively novel regulators for further investigation, this review emphasizes the integration of those genes and proteins, derived from omics approaches, regulated both by Fe deficiency, and ethylene into a systemic network by gene co-expression analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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As earlier observations on peroral infectivity of WSSV in white-legged shrimp are conflicting, here, a standardized peroral intubation technique was used to examine (i) the role of the physical composition of the viral inoculum and (ii) the barrier function of the PM. In a first experiment, the infectivity of a WSSV stock was compared by determining the SID50 by intramuscular injection, peroral inoculation or via feeding. The following titers were obtained: 108.77 SID50/g by intramuscular injection, 101.23 SID50/g by peroral inoculation and 100.73 SID50/g by feeding. These results demonstrated that 107.54-108.03 infectious virus is needed to infect shrimp by peroral inoculation and via feeding. Next, it was examined if damage of the PM may increase the susceptibility for WSSV by peroral route. The infectivity of a virus stock was tested upon peroral inoculation of shrimp with and without removal of the PM and compared with the infectivity upon intramuscular inoculation. The virus titers obtained upon intramuscular injection and peroral inoculation of shrimp with and without PM were 108.63, 101.13 and 101.53 SID50/mL, respectively. This experiment confirmed the need of 107.1-107.5 infectious virus to infect shrimp via peroral route and showed that the removal of the PM slightly but not significantly (p > 0.05) facilitated the infection of shrimp. This study indicated that WSSV contaminated feed is poorly infectious via peroral route, whereas it is highly infectious when injected into shrimp. The PM plays a minor role as internal barrier of shrimp against WSSV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Iron (Fe) and phosphorus (P) are essential mineral nutrients in plants. Knowledge regarding global changes in the abundance of Fe-responsive genes under Pi deficiency as well as the processes these genes are involved in remains largely unavailable at the genome level. In the current study, we comparatively analyzed RNA sequencing data sets relative to Fe deficiency (NCBI: SRP044814) and Pi starvation (NCBI: SRA050356.1). Results: Analysis showed a total of 579 overlapping genes that are responsible for both Fe deficiency and Pi starvation in Arabidopsis roots. A subset of 137 genes had greater than twofold changes in transcript abundant as a result of the treatments. Gene ontology (GO) analysis showed that the stress-related processes ‘response to salt stress’, ‘response to oxidative stress’, and ‘response to zinc ion’ were enriched in the 579 genes, while Fe response-related processes, including ‘cellular response to nitric oxide’, ‘cellular response to iron ion’, and ‘cellular iron ion homeostasis’, were also enriched in the subset of 137 genes. Co-expression analysis of the 579 genes using the MACCU toolbox yielded a network consisting of 292 nodes (genes). Further analysis revealed that a subset of 90 genes were up-regulated under Fe shortage, but down-regulated under Pi starvation. GO analysis in this group of genes revealed an increased cellular response to iron ion/nitric oxide/ethylene stimuli. Promoter analysis was performed in 35 of the 90 genes with a 1.5-fold or greater change in abundance, showing that 12 genes contained the PHOSPHATE STARVATION RESPONSE1-binding GNATATNC cis-element within their promoter regions. Quantitative real-time PCR showed that the decreased abundance of Fe acquisition genes under Pi deficiency exclusively relied on Fe concentration in Pi-deficient media. Conclusions: Comprehensive analysis of the overlapping genes derived from Fe deficiency and Pi starvation provides more information to understand the link between Pi and Fe homeostasis. Gene clustering and root-specific co-expression analysis revealed several potentially important genes which likely function as putative novel players in response to Fe and Pi deficiency or in cross-talk between Fe-deficient responses and Pi-deficient signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Root hairs, tubular-shaped outgrowths from root epidermal cells, play important roles in the acquisition of nutrients and water, interaction with microbe, and in plant anchorage. As a specialized cell type, root hairs, especially in Arabidopsis, provide a pragmatic research system for various aspects of studies. Here, we re-analyzed the RNA-seq transcriptome profile of Arabidopsis root hair cells by Tophat software and used Cufflinks program to mine the differentially expressed genes. Results showed that ERD14, RIN4, AT5G64401 were among the most abundant genes in the root hair cells; while ATGSTU2, AT5G54940, AT4G30530 were highly expressed in non-root hair tissues. In total, 5409 genes, with a fold change greater than two-fold (FDR adjusted P < 0.05), showed differential expression between root hair cells and non-root hair tissues. Of which, 61 were expressed only in root hair cells. One hundred and thirty-six out of 5409 genes have been reported to be “core” root epidermal genes, which could be grouped into nine clusters according to expression patterns. Gene ontology (GO) analysis of the 5409 genes showed that processes of “response to salt stress,” “ribosome biogenesis,” “protein phosphorylation,” and “response to water deprivation” were enriched. Whereas only process of “intracellular signal transduction” was enriched in the subset of 61 genes expressed only in the root hair cells. One hundred and twenty-one unannotated transcripts were identified and 14 of which were shown to be differentially expressed between root hair cells and non-root hair tissues, with transcripts XLOC_000763, XLOC_031361, and XLOC_005665 being highly expressed in the root hair cells. The comprehensive transcriptomic analysis provides new information on root hair gene activity and sets the stage for follow-up experiments to certify the biological functions of the newly identified genes and novel transcripts in root hair cell morphogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]