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Antihistaminic drugs are widely used clinically and have long been primarily known for their use to treat severe allergic conditions caused by histamine release. Antihistaminic drugs also exert central nervous system (CNS) effects, acting as anxiolytics, hypnotics, and neuroleptics. However, these drugs also have multiple serious neuropharmacological side-effects, inducing delirium, hyperarousal, disorganized behavior, and hallucinations. Due to their robust CNS effects, antihistamines are also increasingly abused, with occasional overdoses and life-threatening toxicity. Here, we discuss chemical and neuropharmacological aspects of antihistaminic drugs in both human and animal (experimental) models and outline their current societal and mental health importance as neuroactive substances.

Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) is a potent greenhouse gas with various production pathways. N 2 O reductase (N 2 OR) is the primary N 2 O sink, but the distribution of its gene clades, typically nosZ I and atypically nosZ II, along urbanization gradients remains poorly understood. Here we sampled soils from forests, parks, and farmland across eight provinces in eastern China, using high-throughput sequencing to distinguish between two N 2 O-reducing bacteria clades. A deterministic process mainly determined assemblies of the nosZ I communities. Homogeneous selection drove nosZ I deterministic processes, and both homogeneous and heterogeneous selection influenced nosZ II. This suggests nosZ II is more sensitive to environmental changes than nosZ I, with significant changes in community structure over time or space. Ecosystems with stronger anthropogenic disturbance, such as urban areas, provide diverse ecological niches for N 2 O-reducing bacteria (especially nosZ II) to adapt to environmental fluctuations. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and correlation analyses revealed that pH significantly influences the community composition of both N 2 O-reducing bacteria clades. This study underscores urbanization's impact on N 2 O-reducing bacteria in urban soils, highlighting the importance of nosZ II and survival strategies. It offers novel insights into the role of atypical denitrifiers among N 2 O-reducing bacteria, underscoring their potential ecological importance in mitigating N 2 O emissions from urban soils.

Introduction: Long head of biceps brachii tendinopathy, a frequent source of anterior shoulder pain, may lead to discomfort and diminished function. The objective of this study is to assess the efficacy of dry needling and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in these patients., Patients and Methods: Thirty patients were randomized into dry needling and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation groups and assessed before treatment, 8 and 15 days after treatment using a visual analogue scale, shoulder pain and disability index, pressure pain threshold, tissue hardness, and biceps peritendinous effusion., Results: Both treatments significantly reduced the visual analogue scale in immediate ( p  < 0.001), short-term ( p  < 0.01), and medium-term effects ( p  < 0.01). Dry needling outperformed transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for the pain ( p  < 0.01) and disability ( p  < 0.03) subscales of the shoulder pain and disability index in the short-term and medium-term effects, respectively. Pressure pain threshold increased after both treatments but didn't last beyond 8 days. Neither treatment showed any improvements in tissue hardness of the long head of biceps brachii muscle. Notably, only the dry needling group significantly reduced biceps peritendinous effusion in both short-term and medium-term effects ( p  < 0.01)., Conclusions: Dry needling showed non-inferior results to transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in reducing pain and disability and demonstrated even superior results in reducing biceps peritendinous effusion (see Graphical Abstract)., Trial Registration: The Institutional Review Board of the China Medical University Hospital (CMUH107-REC2-101) approved this study, and it was registered with Identifier NCT03639454 on ClinicalTrials.gov.

Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells are commonly used to produce cell-based influenza vaccines. However, the role of the low-serum medium on the proliferation of MDCK cells and the propagation of the influenza virus has not been well studied. In the present study, we used 5 of 15 culture methods with different concentrations of a mixed medium and neonatal bovine serum (NBS) to determine the best culture medium. We found that a VP:M199 ratio of 1:2 (3% NBS) was suitable for culturing MDCK cells. Furthermore, the stable growth of MDCK cells and the production of the influenza virus were evaluated over long-term passaging. We found no significant difference in terms of cell growth and virus production between high and low passages of MDCK cells under low-serum culture conditions, regardless of influenza virus infection. Lastly, we performed a comparison of the transcriptomics and proteomics of MDCK cells cultured in VP:M199 = 1:2 (3% NBS) with those cultured in VP:M199 = 1:2 (5% NBS) before and after influenza virus infection. The transcriptome analysis showed that differentially expressed genes were predominantly enriched in the metabolic pathway and MAPK signaling pathway, indicating an activated state. This suggests that decreasing the concentration of serum in the medium from 5% to 3% may increase the metabolic activity of cells. Proteomics analysis showed that only a small number of differentially expressed proteins could not be enriched for analysis, indicating minimal difference in the protein levels of MDCK cells when the serum concentration in the medium was decreased from 5% to 3%. Altogether, our findings suggest that the screening and application of a low-serum medium provide a background for the development and optimization of cell-based influenza vaccines.

Background: Obesity in children and adolescents is a serious problem, and the efficacy of exercise therapy for these patients is controversial., Aim: To assess the efficacy of exercise training on overweight and obese children based on glucose metabolism indicators and inflammatory markers., Methods: The PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases were searched for randomized controlled trials related to exercise training and obese children until October 2023. The meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.3 software to evaluate the efficacy of exercise therapy on glucose metabolism indicators and inflammatory markers in obese children., Results: In total, 1010 patients from 28 studies were included. Exercise therapy reduced the levels of fasting blood glucose (FBG) [standardized mean difference (SMD): -0.78; 95% confidence interval (CI): -1.24 to -0.32, P = 0.0008], fasting insulin (FINS) (SMD: -1.55; 95%CI: -2.12 to -0.98, P < 0.00001), homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (SMD: -1.58; 95%CI: -2.20 to -0.97, P < 0.00001), interleukin-6 (IL-6) (SMD: -1.31; 95%CI: -2.07 to -0.55, P = 0.0007), C-reactive protein (CRP) (SMD: -0.64; 95%CI: -1.21 to -0.08, P = 0.03), and leptin (SMD: -3.43; 95%CI: -5.82 to -1.05, P = 0.005) in overweight and obese children. Exercise training increased adiponectin levels (SMD: 1.24; 95%CI: 0.30 to 2.18, P = 0.01) but did not improve tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels (SMD: -0.80; 95%CI: -1.77 to 0.18, P = 0.11)., Conclusion: In summary, exercise therapy improves glucose metabolism by reducing levels of FBG, FINS, HOMA-IR, as well as improves inflammatory status by reducing levels of IL-6, CRP, leptin, and increasing levels of adiponectin in overweight and obese children. There was no statistically significant effect between exercise training and levels of TNF-α. Additional long-term trials should be conducted to explore this therapeutic perspective and confirm these results., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have nothing to disclose., (©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death globally. In addition, 20% to 40% of the patients with CHD have comorbid mental health issues such as anxiety or depression, affecting the prognosis and quality of life (QoL). Mobile health (mHealth) interventions have been developed and are widely used; however, the evidence for the effects of mHealth interventions on QoL, anxiety, and depression in patients with CHD is currently ambiguous., Objective: In this study, we aimed to assess the effects of mHealth interventions on QoL, anxiety, and depression in patients with CHD., Methods: We searched the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang databases from inception to August 12, 2023. Eligible studies were randomized controlled trials that involved patients with CHD who received mHealth interventions and that reported on QoL, anxiety, or depression outcomes. We used the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials to evaluate the risk of bias in the studies, ensuring a rigorous and methodologically sound analysis. Review Manager (desktop version 5.4; The Cochrane Collaboration) and Stata MP (version 17.0; StataCorp LLC) were used to conduct the meta-analysis. The effect size was calculated using the standardized mean difference (SMD) and its 95% CI., Results: The meta-analysis included 23 studies (5406 participants in total) and showed that mHealth interventions significantly improved QoL in patients with CHD (SMD 0.49, 95% CI 0.25-0.72; Z=4.07; P<.001) as well as relieved their anxiety (SMD -0.46, 95% CI -0.83 to -0.08; Z=2.38; P=.02) and depression (SMD -0.34, 95% CI -0.56 to -0.12; Z=3.00; P=.003) compared to usual care. The subgroup analyses indicated a significant effect favoring the mHealth intervention on reducing anxiety and depressive symptoms compared to usual care, especially when (1) the intervention duration was ≥6 months (P=.04 and P=.001), (2) the mHealth intervention was a simple one (only 1 mHealth intervention was used) (P=.01 and P<.001), (3) it was implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic (P=.04 and P=.01), (4) it was implemented in low- or middle-income countries (P=.01 and P=.02), (5) the intervention focused on mental health (P=.01 and P=.007), and (6) adherence rates were high (≥90%; P=.03 and P=.002). In addition, comparing mHealth interventions to usual care, there was an improvement in QoL when (1) the mHealth intervention was a simple one (P<.001), (2) it was implemented in low- or middle-income countries (P<.001), and (3) the intervention focused on mental health (P<.001)., Conclusions: On the basis of the existing evidence, mHealth interventions might be effective in improving QoL and reducing anxiety and depression in patients with CHD. However, large sample, high-quality, and rigorously designed randomized controlled trials are needed to provide further evidence., Trial Registration: PROSPERO CRD42022383858; https://tinyurl.com/3ea2npxf., (©Qiao Ling Hou, Le Yang Liu, Ying Wu. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 11.06.2024.)

Drought stress has a significant impact on the quality and quantity of lake water. Understanding this impact is crucial for preventing water security risks and pollution recovery. However, there is a lack of systemic understanding of how drought affects water quality and quantity, and how they change in multiple dimensions. This manuscript established a synthesized methodology with the principles to judge the applicability and three steps of application to detect the change in water quality and water level under severe drought in Xingyun Lake, China. Results show that (1) The water level and water quality of Xingyun Lake have a synchronous and evident response to drought during 2009-2014. The rainfall during 2008-2015 declined by 22.9 % to normal, and the inundated area and lake water depth in 2012 decreased by 10.50 % from 2002 to 1.38 m to the average depth, respectively. The pollution index climbed above 1.21 after 2008, fluctuating around 1.42. (2) Under drought, the water quality indicators significantly changed in the terms of the overall feature, trend, eigenvalue, and morphological characteristics. The water quality indicators of Set 2008-2015 are significantly different from set 2000-2007 and not in the groups of set 1994-2000 . The morphological characteristics of water quality indicators in set 2008-2015 differs significantly from that in set 2000-2007 shown by the minimum, maximum, median, quartiles, and extreme values. (3) Although NH 3 -N showed no significant change, the water quality deteriorated in the physical, chemical, and biological aspects. The TP, I MN , and BOD 5 changed more evidently than DO and NH 3 -N. (4) Water quality grade and indicator concentration deteriorated significantly and sharply under severe drought and are threatened deeply by TP and TN. The synthesized methodology is scientifically constructed and canbe employed in the characteristics cognition of water quality and water level to severe drought in and out of this research. And the intervention time and various regulating measures for pollution degradation and water quality recovery canbe constructed based on the multi-dimensional analysis of water quality change under drought evolution., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

The formation of phytoene by condensing two geranylgeranyl diphosphate molecules catalyzed by phytoene synthase (PSY) is the first committed and rate-limiting step in carotenoid biosynthesis, which has been extensively investigated in bacteria, land plants and microalgae. However, this step in macroalgae remains unknown. In the present study, a gene encoding putative phytoene synthase was cloned from the economic red alga Pyropia yezoensis -a species that has long been used in food and pharmaceuticals. The conservative motifs/domains and the tertiary structure predicted using bioinformatic tools suggested that the cloned PyPSY should encode a phytoene synthase; this was empirically confirmed by pigment complementation in E. coli . This phytoene synthase was encoded by a single copy gene, whose expression was presumably regulated by many factors. The phylogenetic relationship of PSYs from different organisms suggested that red algae are probably the progeny of primary endosymbiosis and plastid donors of secondary endosymbiosis.

Traditional H 2 O 2 cleavage mediated by macroscopic electron transfer (MET) not only has low utilization of H 2 O 2 , but also sacrifices the stability of catalysts. We present a non-redox hydroxyl-enriched spinel (CuFe 2 O 4 ) catalyst with dual Lewis acid sites to realize the homolytic cleavage of H 2 O 2 . The results of systematic experiments, in situ characterizations, and theoretical calculations confirm that tetrahedral Cu sites with optimal Lewis acidity and strong electron delocalization can synergistically elongate the O-O bonds (1.47 Å → 1.87 Å) in collaboration with adjacent bridging hydroxyl (another Lewis acid site). As a result, the free energy of H 2 O 2 homolytic cleavage is decreased (1.28 eV → 0.98 eV). H 2 O 2 can be efficiently split into ⋅OH induced by hydroxyl-enriched CuFe 2 O 4 without MET, which greatly improves the catalyst stability and the H 2 O 2 utilization (65.2 %, nearly 2 times than traditional catalysts). The system assembled with hydroxyl-enriched CuFe 2 O 4 and H 2 O 2 affords exceptional performance for organic pollutant elimination. The scale-up experiment using a continuous flow reactor realizes long-term stability (up to 600 mL), confirming the tremendous potential of hydroxyl-enriched CuFe 2 O 4 for practical applications., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

2D Bi 2 O 2 Se has recently garnered significant attention in the electronics and optoelectronics fields due to its remarkable photosensitivity, broad spectral absorption, and excellent long-term environmental stability. However, the development of integrated Bi 2 O 2 Se photodetector with high performance and low-power consumption is limited by material synthesis method and the inherent high carrier concentration of Bi 2 O 2 Se. Here, a type-I heterojunction is presented, comprising 2D Bi 2 O 2 Se and lead-free bismuth perovskite CsBi 3 I 10 , for fast response and broadband detection. Through effective charge transfer and strong coupling effect at the interfaces of Bi 2 O 2 Se and CsBi 3 I 10 , the response time is accelerated to 4.1 µs, and the detection range is expanded from ultraviolet to near-infrared spectral regions (365-1500 nm). The as-fabricated photodetector exhibits a responsivity of 48.63 AW -1 and a detectivity of 1.22×10 12 Jones at 808 nm. Moreover, efficient modulation of the dominant photocurrent generation mechanism from photoconductive to photogating effect leads to sensitive response exceeding 10 3 AW -1 for heterojunction-based photo field effect transistor (photo-FETs). Utilizing the large-scale growth of both Bi 2 O 2 Se and CsBi 3 I 10 , the as-fabricated integrated photodetector array demonstrates outstanding homogeneity and stability of photo-response performance. The proposed 2D Bi 2 O 2 Se/CsBi 3 I 10 perovskite heterojunction holds promising prospects for the future-generation photodetector arrays and integrated optoelectronic systems., (© 2023 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

The Zingiberaceae family serves as a diverse repository of bioactive phytochemicals, comprising approximately 52 genera and 1300 species of aromatic perennial herbs distinguished by their distinct creeping horizontal or tuberous rhizomes. Amomum villosum Lour. and Amomum tsao-ko Crevost & Lemaire., are the important plants of family Zingiberaceae that have been widely used in traditional medicine for the treatment of many ailments. The Amomum species are employed for their aromatic qualities and are valued as spices and flavorings. In the essential oils (EOs) of Amomum species, notable constituents include, camphor, methyl chavicol, bornyl acetate, trans -p-(1-butenyl) anisole, α-pinene, and β-pinene., Objective: The aim of this review is to present an overview of pharmacological studies pertaining to the extracts and secondary metabolites isolated from both species. The foremost objective of review is not only to increase the popularity of Amomum as a healthy food choice but also to enhance its status as a staple ingredient for the foreseeable future., Result: We endeavored to gather the latest information on antioxidant, antidiabetic, anticancer, antiobesity, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties of plants as well as their role in neuroprotective diseases. Research conducted through in-vitro studies, animal model, and compounds analysis have revealed that both plants exhibit a diverse array health promoting properties., Conclusion: the comprehensive review paper provides valuable insights into the diverse range of bioactive phytochemicals found in A. villosum and A. tsao-ko , showcasing their potential in preventing diseases and promoting overall human well-being. The compilation of information on their various health-enhancing properties contributes to the broader understanding of these plants and their potential applications in traditional medicine and beyond., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

The sluggish four-electron oxygen evolving reaction is one of the key limitations of photoelectrochemical water decomposition. Optimizing the binding of active sites to oxygen in water and promoting the conversion of *O to *OOH are the key to enhancing oxygen evolution reaction. In this work, W-doped Cu 2 V 2 O 7 (CVO) constructs corner-sharing tetrahedrally coordinated W-V dual active sites to induce the generation of electron deficiency active centers, promote the adsorption of ─OH, and accelerate the transformation of *O to *OOH for water splitting. The photocurrent obtained by the W-modified CVO photoanode is 0.97 mA cm -2 at 1.23 V versus RHE, which is much superior to that of the reported CVO. Experimental and theoretical results show that the excellent catalytic performance may be attributed to the formation of synergistic dual active sites between W and V atoms, and the introduction of W ions reduces the charge migration distance and prolongs the lifetime of photogenerated carriers. Meanwhile, the electronic structure in the center of the d-band is modulated, which leads to the redistribution of the electron density in CVO and lowers the energy barrier for the conversion of the rate-limiting step *O to *OOH., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Phytoremediation, which is commonly carried out through hydroponics and substrate-based strategies, is essential for the effectiveness of nature-based engineered solutions aimed at addressing excess nitrogen in aquatic ecosystems. However, the performance and mechanisms of plants involving nitrogen removal between different strategies need to be deeply understood. Here, this study employed in-situ cultivation coupled with static nitrogen tracing experiments to elucidate the influence of both strategies on plant traits associated with nitrogen removal. The results indicated that removal efficiencies in plants with substrate-based strategies for ammonium nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen were 30.51-71.11 % and 16.82-99.95 %, respectively, which were significantly higher than those with hydroponics strategies (25.98-58.18 % and 7.29-79.19 %, respectively). Similarly, the plant nitrogen uptake rates in the substrate-based strategy also generally showed higher levels compared to hydroponics strategies (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the microorganisms-mediated nitrous oxide emission rates in the substrate-based strategy during summer (unamended: 0.00-0.58 μg/g/d; potential: 3.35-7.65 μg/g/d) were obviously lower than those in the hydroponics strategy (unamended: 2.23-11.70 μg/g/d; potential: 9.72-43.09 μg/g/d) (P < 0.05). Notably, analysis of similarity tests indicated that the influences of strategy on the above parameters generally surpass the effects attributable to interspecies plant differences, particularly during summer (R > 0, P < 0.05). Based on statistical and metagenomic analyses, this study revealed that these differences were driven by the stabilizing influence of substrate-based strategy on plant roots and enhancing synergistic interplay among biochemical factors within plant-root systems. Even so, phytoremediation strategies did not significantly alter the characteristics of plants with regards to their tendency towards ammonium nitrogen uptake (up to 87.68 %) and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium as primary biological pathway for nitrogen transformation which accounted for 53.66-96.47 % nitrate removal. In summary, this study suggested that the substrate-based strategy should be a more effective strategy for enhancing the nitrogen removal ability of plants in subtropical river restoration practices., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Seasonal influenza, causes hundreds of thousands of deaths annually, posing a severe threat to human health. Currently available influenza vaccines are targeted only at specific strains or conserved epitopes; however, these vaccines are not completely efficacious because influenza viruses can undergo mutation during circulation, leading to antigenic mismatch between recommended strains and circulating strains and elusion from the immune system. Therefore, developing an influenza vaccine that is quick, effective, and broadly protective has become crucial, and the integral part of hemagglutinin (HA) remains an ideal target for vaccine development. This study developed a lipid nanoparticle-encapsulated nucleoside-modified mRNA vaccine (mRNA-LNPs) encoding a consensus full-length HA sequence (H1c) and evaluated its protective efficacy and immunogenicity through in vitro and in vivo assays. Following two intramuscular immunizations (2, 10 µg, or 20 µg) at a 3-week interval in BALB/c mice, H1c-mRNA-LNP vaccine induced strong antibodies as shown in the hemagglutination-inhibition test and protective neutralizing antibodies against numerous heterologous H1N1 influenza viruses as shown in the microneutralization assay. Additionally, both Th1- and Th2-biased cellular immune responses were elicited, with the Th1-biased response being stronger. Two doses of the H1c-mRNA-LNP vaccine could neutralize a panel of heterologous H1N1 influenza viruses and could confer protection in mice. Taken together, these findings suggest that the H1c-mRNA-LNP vaccine encoding a consensus full-length HA is a feasible strategy for developing a cross-protective vaccine against a panel of heterologous H1N1 influenza viruses.

Introduction: Until now, the mechanism underlying the impact of topping on hormone regulation in tobacco plants remains unclear, and most studies investigating the hormone signaling pathways in plants rely on genes or transcriptional pathways., Methods: This study examines the regulatory mechanisms of hormones in the roots and leaves of tobacco plants with and without topping at the protein level., Results: The results demonstrate that, compared with non-topped plants, topping leads to a decrease in the levels of IAA (auxin), ABA (abscisic acid), and GA (gibberellin) hormones in the leaves, whereas the content of the JA (jasmonic acid) hormone increases. Furthermore, in the roots, topping results in an increase in the levels of IAA, ABA, and JA hormones, along with a decrease in GA content. In the leaves, a total of 258 significantly different proteins were identified before and after topping, with 128 proteins upregulated and 130 proteins downregulated. In the roots, there were 439 proteins with significantly different quantities before and after topping, consisting of 211 upregulated proteins and 228 downregulated proteins. Notably, these proteins were closely associated with the metabolic and biosynthetic pathways of secondary metabolites, as indicated by functional categorization., Conclusions: When integrating the hormone changes and the proteomics results, it is evident that topping leads to increased metabolic activity and enhanced hormone synthesis in the root system. This research provides a theoretical foundation for further investigations into the regulation and signaling mechanisms of hormones at the protein level before and after topping in plants., Competing Interests: Authors XL and XQ are employed by Hunan Zhangjiajie Municipal Tobacco Co. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Gu, Yang, Ren, Luo, Qin, Op de Beeck, He, Jian and Chen.)

Urban greenspace (UGS) is recognized to confer significant societal benefits, but few studies explored the microbial communities and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) from different urban greenspace types. Here, we collected leaf and soil samples from forest, greenbelt, and parkland to analyze microbial community assembly and ARG profile. For phyllosphere fungal community, the α-diversity was higher in forest, compared to those in greenbelt and parkland. Moreover, urban greenspace types altered the community assembly. Stochastic processes had a greater effect on phyllosphere fungal community in greenbelt and parkland, while in forest they were dominated by deterministic processes. In contrast, no significant differences in bacterial community diversity, community assembly were observed between the samples collected from different urban greenspace types. A total of 153 ARGs and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) were detected in phyllosphere and soil with resistance to the majority classes of antibiotics commonly applied to humans and animals. Structural equation model further revealed that a direct association between greenspace type and ARGs in the phyllosphere even after considering the effects of all other factors simultaneously. Our findings provide new insights into the microbial communities and antibiotic resistome of urban greenspaces and the potential risk linked with human health., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Food safety of leafy greens is an emerging public health issue as they can harbor opportunistic human pathogens (OHPs) and expose OHPs to consumers. Protists are an integral part of phyllosphere microbial ecosystems. However, our understanding of protist-pathogen associations in the phyllosphere and their consequences on public health remains poor. Here, we examined phyllosphere protists, human pathogen marker genes (HPMGs), and protist endosymbionts from four species of leafy greens from major supermarkets in Xiamen, China. Our results showed that Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae were the dominant human pathogens in the vegetable phyllosphere. The distribution of HPMGs and protistan communities differed between vegetable species, of which Chinese chive possessed the most diverse protists and highest abundance of HPMGs. HPMGs abundance positively correlated with the diversity and relative abundance of phagotrophic protists. Whole genome sequencing further uncovered that most isolated phyllosphere protists harbored multiple OHPs which carried antibiotic resistance genes, virulence factors, and metal resistance genes and had the potential to HGT. Colpoda were identified as key phagotrophic protists which positively linked to OHPs and carried diverse resistance and virulence potential endosymbiont OHPs including Pseudomonas nitroreducens, Achromobacter xylosoxidans, and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. We highlight that phyllosphere protists contribute to the transmission of resistant OHPs through internalization and thus pose risks to the food safety of leafy greens and human health. Our study provides insights into the protist-OHP interactions in the phyllosphere, which will help in food safety surveillance and human health., (© 2023. ISME Publications B.V.)

Tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 3 (TRAF3), an adaptor protein, has significant and varying effects on immunity depending on cell types. The role of TRAF3 in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney Epithelial (MDCK) cell resistance to influenza A virus (IVA) remains elusive. In the present study, CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology was used to construct the TRAF3 knockout MDCK cells (MDCK-TRAF3 -/- ). Hemagglutination assay, plaque assay, transcriptome, and quantitative real-time PCR were performed after IVA infection. The results showed that after IVA infection, HA titers and virus titers were promoted, interferon I-related pathways were significantly blocked, and transcription of several antiviral-related genes was significantly decreased in MDCK-TRAF3 -/- cells. Thus, our study suggests that TRAF3 gene knockout reduced MDCK cell's resistance to IVA, thereby resulting in a promising way for IVA isolation and vaccine manufacturing., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Breast cancer is the major common malignancy worldwide among women. Previous studies reported that cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) showed pivotal roles in regulating tumor progression via exosome-mediated cellular communication. However, the detailed mechanism underlying the exosomal circRNA from CAFs in breast cancer progression remains ambiguous. Here, exosomal circRNA profiling of breast cancer-derived CAFs and normal fibroblasts (NFs) was detected by high-throughput sequencing, and upregulated circTBPL1 expression was identified in CAF exosomes. The exosomal circTBPL1 from CAFs could be transferred to breast cancer cells and promoted cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Consistently, circTBPL1 knockdown in CAFs attenuated their tumor-promoting ability. Further exploration identified miR-653-5p as an inhibitory target of circTBPL1, and ectopic expression of miR-653-5p could partially reverse the malignant phenotypes induced by circTBPL1 overexpression in breast cancer. Additionally, TPBG was selected as a downstream target gene, and circTBPL1 could protect TPBG from miR-653-5p-mediated degradation, leading to enhanced breast cancer progression. Significantly, the accelerated tumor progression triggered by exosomal circTBPL1 from CAFs was confirmed in xenograft models. Taken together, these results revealed that exosomal circTBPL1 derived from CAFs contributed to cancer progression via miR-653-5p/TPBG pathway, indicating the potential of exosomal circTBPL1 as a biomarker and novel therapeutic target for breast cancer., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Timing of seed germination is directly related to the survival probability of seedlings. For alpine plants, autumn-dispersal seeds should not germinate immediately because the cold temperature is not conducive to the survival of seedlings. Seed dormancy is a characteristic of the seed that prevents it from germinating after dispersal. Primula florindae is an alpine perennial forb endemic to eastern Tibet, SW China. We hypothesized that primary dormancy and environmental factors prevent seeds of P. florindae to germinate in autumn and allow them to germinate at the first opportunity in spring. We determined how GA 3 , light, temperature, dry after-ripening (DAR) and cold-wet stratification (CS) treatments affect seed germination by conducting a series of laboratory experiments. Firstly, the effects of gibberellic acid (GA 3 ; 0, 20, and 200 mg L -1 ) on germination of freshly shed seeds at alternating temperatures (15/5 and 25/15 °C) were immediately investigated to characterize seed with a physiological dormancy component. Then, the fresh seeds treated with 0, 3, and 6 months of after-ripening (DAR) and cold-wet stratification (CS) were incubated at seven constant (1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 °C) and two alternating temperatures (5/1, 15/5, and 25/15 °C) at light and dark conditions. Fresh seeds were dormant, which only germinated well (>60%) at 20, 25, and 25/15 °C in light but not at ≤15 °C and to higher percentages in light than in dark. GA 3 increased germination percentage of fresh seeds, and DAR or CS treatments increased final germination percentage, germination rate (speed), and widened the temperature range for germination from high to low. Moreover, CS treatments reduced the light requirement for germination. Thus, after dormancy release, seeds germinated over a wide range of constant and alternating temperatures, regardless of light conditions. Our results demonstrated that P. florindae seeds have type 2 non-deep physiological dormancy. Timing of germination should be restricted to early spring, ensuring a sufficient length of the growing season for seedling recruitment. These dormancy/germination characteristics prevent seeds from germinating in autumn when temperatures are low but allow them to germinate after snowmelt in spring., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests., (©2023 Qin et al.)

Gene therapy is a technique involving the modification of an individual's genes for treating a particular disease. The key to effective gene therapy is an efficient carrier delivery system. Viral vectors that have been artificially modified to lose their pathogenicity are used widely as a delivery system, with the key advantages of their natural high transduction efficiency and stable expression. With decades of development, viral vector-based gene therapies have achieved promising clinical outcomes. Currently, the three key vector strategies are based on adeno-associated viruses, adenoviruses, and lentiviruses. However, certain challenges, such as immunotoxicity and "off-target", continue to exist. In the present review, the above three viral vectors are discussed along with their respective therapeutic applications. In addition, the major translational challenges encountered in viral vector-based gene therapies are summarized, and the possible strategies to address these challenges are also discussed.

The plastisphere is a new ecological niche. Compared to the surrounding water, microbial community composition associated with the plastisphere is known to differ with functional consequences. Here, this study characterized the bacterial and fungal communities associated with four types of plastisphere (polyethylene, polystyrene, polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride) in an estuarine habitat; assessed ecological functions including carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur cycling, and determined the presence of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and human pathogens. Stochastic processes dominated the community assembly of microorganisms on the plastisphere. Several functional genera related to nutrient cycling were enriched in the plastisphere. Compared to surrounding water and other plastisphere, the abundances of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycling genes (cdaR, nosZ and chpy etc.) and ARGs (aadA2-1, cfa and catB8 etc.) were significantly increased in polyvinyl chloride plastisphere. In contrast, the polystyrene plastisphere was the preferred substrate for several pathogens being enriched with for example, Giardia lamblia 18S rRNA, Klebsiella pneumoniae phoE and Legionella spp. 23S rRNA. Overall, this study showed that different plastisphere had different effects on ecological functions and health risk in estuaries and emphasizes the importance of controlling plastic pollution in estuaries. Data from this study support global policy drivers that seek to reduce plastic pollution and offer insights into ecological functions in a new ecological niche of the Anthropocene., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The global herbaceous flora is probably shaped by both ancient and/or recent diversification, companied with the impacts from geographic differences between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Therefore, its biogeographic pattern with respect to temporal and spatial divergence is far from full understanding. Tribe Rubieae, the largest herbaceous tribe in the woody-dominant Rubiaceae, provides an excellent opportunity for studying the macroevolution of worldwide colonization. Here, we aim to reconstruct the evolutionary history of Rubieae with regard to climate fluctuation and geological history in the Cenozoic. A total of 204 samples of Rubieae representing all the distribution areas of the tribe were used to infer its phylogenetic and biogeographic histories based on two nrDNA and six cpDNA regions. The ancestral area of Rubieae was reconstructed using a time-calibrated phylogeny in RASP and diversification rates were inferred using Bayesian analysis of macroevolutionary mixtures (BAMM). Our results show Rubieae probably originated in European region during the middle Oligocene, with the two subtribes separating at 26.8 million years ago (Ma). All the genera in Rubieae formed separate clades between 24.79 and 6.23 Ma. The ancestral area of the subtribe Rubiinae was the Madrean-Tethyan plant belt and the North Atlantic land bridge (NALB) provided passage between North America and Europe for Rubiinae. The subtribe Galiinae clade originated in Europe/central Asia during the late Oligocene. Two diversification shifts were detected within Rubieae in the late Neogene. Most extant Rubieae species diverged recently during the Neogene within clades that generally were established during the late Paleogene. The tribe shows complex migration/dispersal patterns within the North Hemisphere combined with multiple recent dispersals into Southern Hemisphere. Our results highlighted the important role of recent biogeographic diversification in the Northern Hemisphere in shaping the modern global herbaceous flora during the latest and rapid worldwide expansion in the Neogene., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

The unique structure and physical properties of graphene and anatase TiO 2 make them suitable for use as additives for engine lubricants. This study describes the use of dielectric barrier discharge plasma-assisted ball milling to synthesize a multilayer graphene-reinforced TiO 2 composite nanolubricant additive (MGTC). A variety of physical and chemical tests were performed to characterize the resulting experimental materials, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), Raman, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Four-ball friction and wear testing machines were used to study the tribological properties and extreme pressure anti-wear properties of a base oil containing 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 wt % of the modified TiO 2 . Raman spectroscopy, XPS, SEM, and energy-dispersive spectrometry (EDS) analyses were used to examine and analyze the microstructure of the friction pairs. As a result of the plasma-assisted ball milling process, expanded graphite was successfully separated into multilayer graphene nanosheets, and spherical TiO 2 was successfully bonded to the nanosheets of the multilayer graphene. The 1.0 wt % composite oil was found to provide good friction reduction and wear resistance. It had a film thickness of 27.5 nm, which was 167% thicker than base oil. Due to its excellent dispersion stability, the MGTC nanocomposite exhibited excellent lubrication performance, which was attributed to the formation of carbon protective films, titanium dioxide deposition films, transfer films, and the occurrence of nano ball effects on the surface of friction pairs., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2022 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Myofibrillar myopathy (MFM) is characterized by phenotypic heterogeneity; decreased function of the myosin-directed chaperone, UNC-45B protein, leads to MFM II, which is characterized by slow progressive proximal myasthenia. Currently, only two studies have reported 11 cases worldwide. This study aimed to conduct genetic research and etiological analysis of a neonatal case of perinatal myasthenia who eventually died due to autonomic dyspnea. The case involved a newborn female admitted for weak cries and groaning. Physical examination revealed shallow and irregular spontaneous breathing, difficulty feeding, hip flexion and knee flexion in both lower limbs, hypotonia (level 1), less translation action, and inability to resist gravity. The child died at 23 days after birth. Gene testing, mutation analysis, and crystal structure analysis were conducted. Cell culture and plasmid construction were conducted, followed by western blot analysis. Pathological changes, including Z-line breakage, were observed in the muscle biopsies of different tissues. Gene testing showed that UNC-45B had a novel compound heterozygous mutation (c.2357T>A/p.Met786Lys, c.2591A>C/p.His864Pro), and in vitro functional experiments showed that the variants could lead to a decrease in protein expression. This study expands the UNC-45B mutation and phenotype spectrum by reporting an MFM II case in a Chinese patient for the first time., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The dynamics of rural human-environment systems in developing countries have increasingly been attracting attention. Agent-based modeling (ABM) is a valuable simulation tool for detecting complex feedback loops in rural human-environment systems with a 'bottom-up' approach. However, such models require the prerequisite analysis of household typology to simulate households' decision-making process, where a gap exists between having accurate classification criteria and a simplified modeling framework. This study aimed to develop a household typology for two selected counties in southwest China based on multivariate analysis techniques and the classification tree method. Four categories of socioeconomic variables, including labor conditions, resource endowments, economic status, and social connections, were screened as possible factors impacting agriculture practice decisions. The results showed that household diversification in the study area was mainly determined by diversified livelihood strategies of off-farm work, livestock breeding, subsidy dependence, and traditional planting. Five distinct household types were identified: non-farm households, part-time households, livestock breed households, subsidized households, and traditional planting households. The household types were associated with specific cropland use behaviors, and their decision-making behaviors were verified with bounded rationality theory (where the maximization of profits is the primary goal). The quantitative classification criteria obtained in this study were clear and could be easily identified and used by ABMs. Our study provides a basis for further simulation of the complicated rural human-environment systems in southwest China.

Spread of antibiotic resistance or the presence of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in pathogens is a globally recognized threat to human health. Numerous studies have shown that application of organic fertilizers may increase the risk of ARGs, however, the risk of resistance genes associated with biofertilizers is largely unknown. To investigate whether biofertilizer application introduces ARGs to the soil, we used high-throughput quantitative polymerization chain reaction (HT-qPCR) to explore the effect of biofertilizer application over three years on soil ARGs in three orchards with different locations in China. Redundancy analysis showed specific and significant differences in the beta diversity of soil bacteria and fungi between treatments (fertilizer vs. no fertilizer). One-way ANOVA analysis revealed findings of the main driver of the significant difference in microbial community structure between fertilizer and control treatment was the change in soil properties following the application of biofertilizer. A total of 139 ARGs and 27 MGEs (mobile genetic elements), and 46 ARGs and 6 MGEs from 11 major taxa were detected in biofertilizer and soil samples, respectively. Only the samples from Guangxi had significant differences in the detected number of ARGs and MGEs between fertilization and control. Through structural equation modeling (SEM), we found that soil properties indirectly affected ARGs by shaping bacterial diversity, while bacterial abundance directly affected ARGs. Biofertilizer application did not significantly alter the relative abundance of ARGs in soil due to the complexity of the soil environment and competition between exogenous and native microorganisms. This study provided new insights into the spread of the antibiotic resistome of the soil through biofertilizer applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The demand for facial masks remains high. However, little is known about discarded masks as a potential refuge for contaminants and to facilitate enrichment and spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARG) in the environment. We address this issue by conducting an in-situ time-series experiment to investigate the dynamic changes of ARGs, bacteria and protozoa associated with discarded masks. Masks were incubated in an estuary for 30 days. The relative abundance of ARGs in masks increased after day 7 but levelled off after 14 days. The absolute abundance of ARGs at 30 days was 1.29 × 10 12 and 1.07 × 10 12 copies for carbon and surgical masks, respectively. According to normalized stochasticity ratio analysis, the assembly of bacterial and protistan communities was determined by stochastic (NST = 62%) and deterministic (NST = 40%) processes respectively. A network analysis highlighted potential interactions between bacteria and protozoa, which was further confirmed by culture-dependent assays, that showed masks shelter and enrich microbial communities. An antibiotic susceptibility test suggested that antibiotic resistant pathogens co-exist within protozoa. This study provides an insight into the spread of ARGs through discarded masks and highlights the importance of managing discarded masks with the potential ecological risk of mask contamination., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Kelloggia chinensis Franch. is an herbal plant species endemic to East Asia. Its complete plastid genome sequence is 155, 665 bp in length, with a large single-copy (LSC) region of 85, 788 bp, a small single-copy (SSC) region of 16, 977 bp, and a pair of inverted repeat regions (IRs) of 26, 450 bp. The whole plastid genome contains 132 genes, including 87 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. The overall GC content of K. chinensis plastid genome is 37.1%. K . chinesis i s evolutionarily close to tribe Rubieae according to the Maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis based on 12 taxa., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s)., (© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.)

This paper presents the development of a life-cycle assessment (LCA) framework for quantifying the carbon footprint of individual households based on detailed household survey data. According to household consumption and production patterns, the comprehensive life-cycle assessment framework is designed with clarified life-cycle boundaries. The framework covers eight types of specific living activities of rural households generated from a large-scale household survey in the Three Gorges Reservoir area in China. Both carbon emissions and carbon sequestrations of households' consumption and production activities can be assessed, and eventually the integrative carbon footprint is evaluated. The LCA framework enables comprehensive and relatively precise assessment of carbon footprint at a household level and thus adds value to studies in the fields of carbon emission reduction, carbon neutrality and climate policies., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.)

The timing of germination has long been recognized as a key seedling survival strategy for plants in highly variable alpine environments. Seed dormancy and germination mechanisms are important factors that determining the timing of germination. To gain an understanding of how these mechanisms help to synchronize the germination event to the beginning of the growing season in two of the most popular Primula species ( P. secundiflora and P. sikkimensis ) in the Hengduan Mountains, Southwest China, we explored their seed dormancy and germination characteristics in the laboratory and their soil seed bank type in the field. Germination was first tested using fresh seeds at two alternating temperatures (15/5 and 25/15°C) and five constant temperatures (5, 10, 15, 20, and 25°C) in light and dark, and again after dry after-ripening at room temperature for 6 months. Germination tests were also conducted at a range of temperatures (5-30, 25/15, and 15/5°C) in light and dark for seeds dry cold stored at 4°C for 4 years, after which they were incubated under the above-mentioned incubation conditions after different periods (4 and 8 weeks) of cold stratification. Base temperatures ( T b ) and thermal times for 50% germination ( θ 50 ) were calculated. Seeds were buried at the collection site to test persistence in the soil for 5 years. Dry storage improved germination significantly, as compared with fresh seeds, suggesting after-ripening released physiological dormancy (PD); however, it was not sufficient to break dormancy. Cold stratification released PD completely after dry storage, increasing final germination, and widening the temperature range from medium to both high and low; moreover, the T b and θ 50 for germination decreased. Fresh seeds had a light requirement for germination, facilitating formation of a persistent soil seed bank. Although the requirement reduced during treatments for dormancy release or at lower alternating temperatures (15/5°C), a high proportion of viable seeds did not germinate even after 5 years of burial, showing that the seeds of these two species could cycle back to dormancy if the conditions were unfavorable during spring. In this study, fresh seeds of the two Primula species exhibited type 3 non-deep physiological dormancy and required light for germination. After dormancy release, they had a low thermal requirement for germination control, as well as rapid seed germination in spring and at/near the soil surface from the soil seed bank. Such dormancy and germination mechanisms reflect a germination strategy of these two Primula species, adapted to the same alpine environments., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Peng, Yang, Yang and Li.)

Sustainable farmland intensification is necessary in order to harmonize relationships between food security, socioeconomic development, and ecological civilization. However, the degradation of farmland sustainability because of biological disasters represents a major challenge if we are to achieve this intensification. Our understanding of farmland vulnerability to biological disasters (FVBD) remains relatively rudimentary and subjective, limiting its effectiveness as a tool for farmland sustainability analysis. Limited research has also been carried out on FVBD changes taking into account human decisions on farmland use. The aim of this study is to achieve a novel understanding of FVBD change and its implications for sustainable intensification using evidence from Chinese farmland use. A theoretical framework based on an inverted U-shaped curve that depicts FVBD as well as an assessment framework for FVBD were established using induced substitution of agricultural production. Across China and considering 15 provincial districts with scarce farmland, the relationship between FVBD and socio-economic development was identified as consistent with an inverted U-shaped curve at both national and provincial levels. FVBD values in 2016 across Southern China, on the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, and on the middle-lower Yangtze Plain were 45.44, 40.58, and 37.22, respectively. These values also decreased in provinces on the middle-lower Yangtze Plain between 1995 and 2016, but increased markedly across provinces in Southern China and on the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain. Contributions to FVBD changes during stages of growth and decline were also analyzed between 1995 and 2016. An inverted U-shaped curve was effective in investigating the responses of farmland sustainability to a range of alternative future socioeconomic development pathways. Thus, in the Chinese settings, a typical country with scarce farmland, policies on FVBD control are essential if we are to promote sustainable farmland intensification. The findings of this work are important and present us with a new way to understand FVBD from a human perspective., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The cosmopolitan red algal genus Pyropia sensu lato is the most speciose of the bladed Bangiales genera. In a major revision of the Bangiales, Pyropia was resurrected from Porphyra, although there was evidence at the time that species of Pyropia could be separated into several genera. Subsequent global phylogenetic analyses continued to resolve species assigned to Pyropia into several major clades with strong support, and the latest biogeographic analyses indicated that species distribution was also a pointer to the underlying phylogeny of Pyropia sensu lato. Therefore, in the present study, we have redefined the genus Pyropia, resurrected Porphyrella, and proposed four new genera: Calidia, Neoporphyra, Neopyropia, and Uedaea. Based on a molecular phylogenetic study of the bladed Bangiales of China, a species which did not match any known taxa was resolved in the new genus Calidia. The species, Calidia pseudolobata sp. nov., is described based on both morphological and molecular data. Molecular sequence data for rbcL, 18S, and COI-5P were amplified for 15 samples in the present study. All the obtained rbcL sequences were identical to each other except for one (LYCN117) with one base pair difference. Two haplotypes of 18S (V9 region) were observed with one base pair difference (C/T 30 ). All the obtained COI-5P sequences were identical. Morphological comparisons were conducted not only with species in Calidia, but also with generically uncertain species currently assigned to Porphyra., (© 2020 Phycological Society of America.)

Purpose: We aimed to examine the associations of platelet parameters with the presence of metabolic syndrome in community-dwelling older Chinese adults., Methods: Study sample was from the Weitang Geriatric Diseases Study, which included 4338 individuals aged 60 years or above. The mean age of the participants was 68 years. Metabolic syndrome was defined based on the Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. Platelet parameters were assessed using an automated hematology analyzer. Multiple logistic regression models were fitted to examine relationships between the platelet parameters and the presence of metabolic syndrome after adjusting for potential confounders., Results: The adjusted odds ratio (95% CI) of metabolic syndrome for the highest quartile of platelet parameters (platelet count, mean platelet volume, plateletcrit, platelet distribution width, platelet larger cell ratio) when compared to the lowest quartile were 1.32 (1.06, 1.64), 1.00 (0.81, 1.24), 1.37 (1.10, 1.71), 1.45 (1.14, 1.83), 1.11 (0.89, 1.39), respectively. Hypertension and diabetes modified the relationship between platelet distribution width and metabolic syndrome with the associations being significant in hypertensive and non-diabetic groups. The levels of platelet distribution width increased with the risk of metabolic syndrome in men but not in women., Conclusion: The levels of platelet count, plateletcrit and platelet distribution width increased in older adults with metabolic syndrome, suggesting that these parameters may be useful biomarkers for further risk appraisal of metabolic syndrome in aged population.

Primula beesiana Forr. is an attractive wildflower endemically distributed in the wet habitats of subalpine/alpine regions of southwestern China. This study is an attempt to understand how this plant adapts to wet habitats and high altitudes. Specifically, we examined the effects of cold stratification, light, GA 3 , KNO 3 , and temperature on P. beesiana seed germination. KNO 3 and GA 3 increased germination percentage and germination rate compared to control treatments at 15/5 and 25/15 °C. Untreated seeds germinated well (> 80%) at higher temperatures (20, 25 and 28 °C), whereas at lower (5, 10 and 15 °C) and extremely high temperatures (30 and 32 °C) germination decreased significantly. However, after cold stratification (4-16 weeks), the germination percentage of P. beesiana seeds at low temperatures (5-15 °C) and the germination rate at high temperatures (30 °C) increased significantly, suggesting that P. beesiana has type 3 non-deep physiological dormancy. The base temperature and thermal time for germination decreased in seeds that were cold stratified for 16 weeks. Cold-stratified seeds incubated at fluctuating temperatures (especially at 15/5 °C) had significantly high germination percentages and germination rates in light, but not in dark, compared to the corresponding constant temperature (10 °C). Seeds had a strict light requirement at all temperatures, even after experiencing cold stratification; however, the combinations of cold stratification and fluctuating temperature increased germination when seeds were transferred from dark to light. Such dormancy/germination responses to light and temperature are likely mechanisms that ensure germination occurs only in spring and at/near the soil surface, thus avoiding seedling death by freezing, inundation and/or germination deep in the soil., Competing Interests: We declare that we have no financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that can inappropriately influence our work, there is no professional or other personal interest of any nature or kind in any product, service and/or company that could be construed as influencing the position presented in, or the review of, the manuscript entitled “Cold stratification, temperature, light, and plant growth regulators effects on seed germination of P. beesiana from Yunnan, China”., (© 2020 Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.)

The metabolic switch from oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis is required for tumorigenesis in order to provide cancer cells with energy and substrates of biosynthesis. Therefore, it is important to elucidate mechanisms controlling the cancer metabolic switch. MTR4 is a RNA helicase associated with a nuclear exosome that plays key roles in RNA processing and surveillance. We demonstrate that MTR4 is frequently overexpressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and is an independent diagnostic marker predicting the poor prognosis of HCC patients. MTR4 drives cancer metabolism by ensuring correct alternative splicing of pre-mRNAs of critical glycolytic genes such as GLUT1 and PKM2. c-Myc binds to the promoter of the MTR4 gene and is important for MTR4 expression in HCC cells, indicating that MTR4 is a mediator of the functions of c-Myc in cancer metabolism. These findings reveal important roles of MTR4 in the cancer metabolic switch and present MTR4 as a promising therapeutic target for treating HCC.

Carotenoids are essential phytonutrients synthesized by all photosynthetic organisms. Acyclic lycopene is the first branching point for carotenoid biosynthesis. Lycopene β- and ε-cyclases (LCYB and LCYE, respectively) catalyze the cyclization of its open ends and direct the metabolic flux into different downstream branches. Carotenoids of the β,β-branch (e.g., β-carotene) are found in all photosynthetic organisms, but those of the β,ε-branch (e.g., lutein) are generally absent in cyanobacteria, heterokonts, and some red algae. Although both LCYBs and LCYEs have been characterized from land plants, there are only a few reports on LCYs from cyanobacteria and algae. Here, we cloned four LCY genes from Porphyra umbilicalis and Pyropia yezoensis (susabi-nori) of Bangiales, the most primitive red algal order that synthesizes lutein. Our functional characterization in both Escherichia coli and Arabidopsis thaliana demonstrated that each species has a pair of LCYB and LCYE. Similar to LCYs from higher plants, red algal LCYBs cyclize both ends of lycopene, and their LCYEs only cyclize a single end. The characterization of LCYEs from red algae resolved the first bifurcation step toward β-carotene and lutein biosynthesis. Our phylogenetic analysis suggests that LCYEs of the green lineage and the red algae originated separately during evolution.

The light field display can provide vivid and natural 3D performance, which can find many applications, such as relics research and exhibition. However, current light field displays are constrained by the viewing angle, which cannot meet the expectations. With three groups directional backlights and a fast-switching LCD panel, a time-multiplexed light field display with a 120-degree wide viewing angle is demonstrated. Up to 192 views are constructed within the viewing range to ensure the right geometric occlusion and smooth parallax motion. Clear 3D images can be perceived at the entire range of viewing angle. Additionally, the designed holographic functional screen is used to recompose the light distribution and the compound aspheric lens array is optimized to balance the aberrations and improve the 3D display quality. Experimental results verify that the proposed light field display has the capability to present realistic 3D images of historical relics in 120-degree wide viewing angle.

Due to lack of the accommodation stimulus, an inherent drawback for the conventional glasses-free stereoscopic display is that precise depth cues for the human monocular vision is rent, which results in the well-known convergence-accommodation conflict for the human visual system. Here, a super multi-view light field display with the vertically-collimated programmable directional backlight (VC-PDB) and the light control module (LCM) is demonstrated. The VC-PDB and the LCM are used to form the super multi-view light field display with low crosstalk, which can provide precisely detectable accommodation depth for human monocular vision. Meanwhile, the VC-PDB cooperates with the refreshable liquid-crystal display panel to provide the convergence depth matching the accommodation depth. In addition, the proposed method of light field pick-up and reconstruction is implemented to ensure the perceived three dimensional (3D) images with accurate depth cues and correct geometric occlusion, and the eye tracker is used to enlarge the viewing angle of 3D images with smooth motion parallax. In the experiments, the reconstructed high quality fatigue-free 3D images can be perceived with the clear focus depth of 13 cm in the viewing angle of ± 20°, where 352 viewpoints with the viewpoint density of 1 mm -1 and the crosstalk of less than 6% are presented.

Neuroinflammatory microenvironment, regulating neurite regrowth and neuronal survival, plays a critical role in Alzheimer's disease (AD). During neuroinflammation, microglia are activated, inducing the release of inflammatory or anti-inflammatory factors depending on their polarization into classical M1 microglia or alternative M2 phenotype. Therefore, optimizing brain microenvironment by small molecule-targeted microglia polarization and promoting neurite regeneration might be a potential therapeutic strategy for AD. In this study, we found platycodigenin, a naturally occurring triterpenoid, promoted M2 polarization and inhibited M1 polarization in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BV2 and primary microglia. Platycodigenin downregulated pro-inflammatory molecules such as interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, IL-6 and nitric oxide (NO), while upregulated anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. Further investigation confirmed that platycodigenin inhibited cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox2) positive M1 but increased Ym1/2 positive M2 microglial polarization in primary microglia. In addition, platycodigenin significantly decreased LPS-induced the hyperphosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) p38 and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) p65 subunits. Furthermore, the inactivation of peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) induced by LPS was completely ameliorated by platycodigenin. Platycodigenin also promoted neurite regeneration and neuronal survival after Aβ treatment in primary cortical neurons. Taken together, our study for the first time clarified that platycodigenin effectively ameliorated LPS-induced inflammation and Aβ-induced neurite atrophy and neuronal death.

Self-assembled Ni(OH) 2 nanosheet-decorated hierarchical flower-like MnCo 2 O 4.5 nanoneedles were synthesized via a cost-effective and facile hydrothermal strategy, aiming to realize a high-capacity advanced electrode of a battery-supercapacitor hybrid (BSH) device. It is demonstrated that the as-synthesized hierarchical flower-like MnCo 2 O 4.5 @Ni(OH) 2 -nanosheet electrode exhibits a high specific capacity of 318 mAh g -1 at a current density of 3 A g -1 and still maintains a capacity of 263.5 mAh g -1 at a higher current density of 20 A g -1 , with an extremely long cycle lifespan of 87.7% capacity retention after 5000 cycles. Moreover, using the unique core-shell structure as the cathode and hollow Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles/reduced graphene oxide as the anode, the BSH device delivers a high energy density of 56.53 Wh kg -1 when the power density reaches 1.9 kW kg -1 , and there is an extraordinarily good cycling stability with the capacity retention rate of 90.4% after 3000 cycles. It is believed that the superior properties originate from desirable core-shell structures alleviating the impact of volume changes as well as the existence of two-dimensional Ni(OH) 2 nanosheets with more active sites, thereby improving the cycle stability and achieving ultrahigh capacity. These results will provide more access to the rational material design of diverse nanostructures toward high-performance energy storage devices.

Galium L. is the largest genus in the tribe Rubieae, with about 667 species distributed worldwide. Previous researches mainly focused on species from the Americas and Europe. In the present paper, we greatly increased the number of samples examined from eastern Asia (especially China), representing the most comprehensive sampling of Galium to date. A total of 194 species and variations (subspecies) of Galium were sampled to determine phylogenetic relationships, using two nuclear and five chloroplast markers. Our data are largely consistent with all previous phylogenetic results and confirmed that Galium is non-monophyletic, as are most of its sections. Most members of Galium, including the Chinese taxa, fall into three large clades mixed with other genera from the Galium s.l. group; the exception being the distinct Galium paradoxum Maxim., the first diverged lineage in the Galium s.l. group, which was treated as a new genus (Pseudogalium L.-E. Yang, Z.-L. Nie & H. Sun, gen. nov.). The Galium s.s is a well-supported clade comprised entirely of Galium species, usually with six or more leaves per whorl, mostly from the Old World. Samples from G. maximowiczii (Kom.) Pobed, G. sect. Depauperata and sect. Aparinoides, together with a few from Asperula sect. Glabella and Microphysa (Schrenk ex Fisch. & C.A. Mey.) Pobed., form the second clade. The third clade comprises taxa purely from Galium that usually have four leaves per whorl, from both the New and Old World. Our results also indicated that the monotypic genus Microphysa should be retained and clarified phylogenetic relationships of some specific confused taxa from China. Unlike prior inferences, the combination of opposite leaves associated with two stipules is proposed as the ancestral characteristic of the Galium s.l. group and even the tribe. In addition, the shapes of different corolla and inflorescence types are important for distinguishing some taxa within Rubieae., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

A molecular taxonomic study was undertaken for the first time of the bladed Bangiales of the mainland coast of China (Northwest Pacific) based on sequence data of 201 plastid rbcL and 148 nuclear 18S sequences of historical and contemporary specimens. The results revealed that only one genus of bladed Bangiales, Pyropia, was present along Chinese coast. Species delimitation was determined using two empirical methods: the Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery (ABGD) and General Mixed Yule Coalescence (GMYC) coupled with detection of monophyly in tree reconstruction. At least fourteen species of Pyropia were recovered. Six species were confirmed that had been recorded previously based on morphology (Py. suborbiculata, Py. yezoensis, Py. haitanensis, Py. katadae, Py. tenera and Py. acanthophora), three species were recorded from China for the first time (Py. kinositae, Py. pseudolinearis and Py. tanegashimensis), and five cryptic species that did not match any molecular sequences were also discovered. The phylogeny of the concatenated rbcL and 18S dataset resolved three singletons and four clades. Each clades has a strong trend towards occupying a biogeographic region, but they are not confined to them. A transoceanic and antitropical pattern of distribution was found for Pyropia at both the subgeneric and species level. This together with high biodiversity (ca. 30% of all known Pyropia species) indicates that the Northwest Pacific might act as a centre of origin for modern distribution of Pyropia since the early Cenozoic., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Acorssocheilus beijiangensis is an endemic south China stream-dwelling cyprinid species. Its complete mitochondrial genome is 16,596 bp in length, consisting of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes (ranging from 67 bp in tRNA Cys to 76 bp in tRNA Leu and tRNA Lys ), two rRNA genes (959 bp in 12S rRNA and 1683 bp in 16S rRNA), and one control region (937 bp). Its overall base composition is A: 31.1%, C: 27.9%, G: 16.2%, and T: 124.8%. The complete mitogenome of the Chinese barred species of Cyprinidae could provide a basic data for further phylogenetics analysis., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper., (© 2017 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.)

Acrossocheilus jishouensis is an endemic south China stream-dwelling cyprinid species. Its complete mitochondrial genome is 16,587 bp in length, consisting of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes (ranging from 67 bp in tRNA Cys to 76 bp in tRNA Leu and tRNA Lys ), two rRNA genes (956 bp in 12S rRNA and 1673 bp in 16S rRNA), and one control region (942 bp). Its overall base composition is A: 31.2%, C: 27.6%, G: 16.2%, and T: 25.1%. The complete mitogenome of the Chinese barred species of Cpynidae could provide a basic data for further phylogenetics analysis., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper., (© 2017 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.)

Objective: To investigate the expression of Wnt5b in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and its correlation with the clinicopathological parameters., Methods: Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemical staining were employed to measure Wnt5b mRNA and protein expressions in two groups of HBV-related HCC patients (100 cases in each) selected from a cohort of 289 cases with HBV-related HCC using simple random sampling method. The correlation of Wnt5b expression with the clinicopathological parameters and the prognosis of HCC patients was analyzed., Results: Wnt5b mRNA expression was significantly higher in HCC tissues than that of adjacent noncancerous tissues in 65.0% (65/100) of the cases, and the positivity rate of Wnt5b protein was significantly higher in HCC tissues than that of adjacent noncancerous tissues (58.0% vs 22.0%, P<0.05). Wnt5b expression was significantly correlated with the tumor size (P<0.05), tumor number (P<0.01, only at the protein level), tumor differentiation (P<0.01, only at the protein level), TNM stage (P<0.05), BCLC stage (P<0.05), metastasis (P<0.05) and recurrence (P<0.01). The patients with up-regulated Wnt5b mRNA and protein had a shorter relapse-free survival (P<0.01)., Conclusion: s Up-regulated Wnt5b might contribute to the progression of HBV-related HCC and predicts a poor prognosis.

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common histological type of primary liver cancer, which represents the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality. MiR-126 was reported to be downregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues, compared with its levels in noncancerous tissues. However, baseline miR-126 expression levels in hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma patients who did not undergo pre-operational treatment remains unknown since hepatitis B virus infection and pre-operational transcatheter arterial chemoembolization were shown to upregulate miR-126 expression. Here, we demonstrated that miR-126 is generally downregulated in a homogeneous population of pre-operational treatment-naïve hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma patients (84.0%, 84/100), and its expression is significantly associated with pre-operational alpha-fetoprotein levels ( p < 0.05), microvascular invasion ( p < 0.05), tumor metastasis ( p < 0.05), as well as early recurrence (12 months after surgery; p < 0.01). Furthermore, the results of our study revealed that miR-126 is negatively correlated with ADAM9 expression in hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma patients. Overexpression of miR-126 was shown to attenuate ADAM9 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma cells, which subsequently inhibits cell migration and invasion in vitro. In addition, Cox proportional hazards regression model analysis showed that ADAM9 levels, tumor number, microvascular invasion, and tumor metastasis rate represent independent prognostic factors for shorter recurrence-free survival. In conclusion, we demonstrated that the loss of tumor suppressor miR-126 in hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma cells contributes to the development of metastases through the upregulated expression of its target gene, ADAM9. MiR-126-ADAM9 pathway-based therapeutic targeting may represent a novel approach for the inhibition of hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma metastases.

In complex genomes, there are a large number of duplicated genes in the coding regions and many more repetitive sequences in the non-coding regions. Repetitive sequences can exert great impacts on the heredity and evolution of the organisms, as well as their genome 3D architecture and transcriptional regulation. The high homology nature of repetitive sequences renders their editing by CRISPR/Cas9 very complex. At diploid or polyploid situations, such repetitive sequences could be edited differently on each chromosome or chromatid. To explore such possibilities, we had studied the editing of two highly homologous DNA fragments (L1 and L2), each about 300 bp in size and 11 kb apart on the same chromosome. We designed a pair of sgRNAs targeting the upstream and downstream of the two DNA fragments to guide the Cas9 cleavage of the two fragments in the human HepG2 cells. We further established single-cell CRISPR clones for DNA-fragment-edited cells. A total of 22 CRISPR cell clones were characterized for their DNA fragment editing patterns. In addition to the deletion of L1/L2 fragments, we had also identified the deletion of the large internal fragment between L1 and L2 fragments, and the various combinations of inversions and deletions of the three DNA fragments. Our results have demonstrated the potential issues with important implications for using CRISPR/Cas9 to edit duplicated genes or repetitive sequences in diploid or polyploid species or cell lines.