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The cationic ring-opening copolymerisation of biomass-based 2-MeTHF with another renewable monomer β-butyrolactone is realized using a Lewis acid Sc(OTf)3 as the catalyst, producing degradable random poly(ester-co-ether) with alternating tendency.

The surface functionality of three synthetic fibers including polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fiber, polypropylene (PP) fiber and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) fiber was obviously hindered by their high hydrophobicity. In this work, the three fibers were carboxylated by different surface modification methods to introduce carboxyl groups for increasing the deposition of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) on their surface. High surface carboxyl group content further enhanced RGO deposition, thus increasing electrical conductivity of these fibers. Carboxylated PET and PP fibers deposited more RGO, and show higher electrical conductivity and antibacterial activity than carboxylated PTFE fiber. Increasing temperature, acidic pH or the addition of NaCl or anionic surfactant improved RGO deposition on PTFE fiber. The increasing number of GO deposition cycles increased electrical conductivity of RGO deposited PTFE fiber and its washing resistance. Glucose was used as an environmentally benign substitute of Na2S2O4 to improve the transformation of GO into RGO on these fibers.

To understand the influence of temperature on the flow characteristics of fractured granite, high-temperature cyclic thermal treatment and flow tests on the fractured rock sample with different joint roughness coefficients and intact rock samples were conducted. The larger confining pressure and larger joint roughness coefficient will increase the resistance of fluid flow and affect the flow characteristics of the fluid. With the temperature increasing, the aperture of the fractures, the number of micro-fractures, and micropores increase which forms a large number of new connected hydraulic channels in the matrix. Forchheimer's law and Izbash equation can well describe the nonlinear flow characteristics, and the fitting coefficients are greater than 0.99. As the increasing temperature, the slope of the curve between the volumetric flow rate and pressure gradient gradually decreases, and the coefficients in Forchheimer's law and the Izbash equation decrease. The transmissivity decrease with the increasing Reynolds number and the change range of that increase with the increasing temperature. When the temperature is at the lower level (T = 200 ~ 600 °C), the contribution of split fracture to the permeability is greater than that of the matrix. When the temperature continuously increases to 800 °C, the contribution of the matrix to the permeability gradually rises and then exceeds that of split fracture. The results indicate that 400 °C is the critical temperature, after which the flow characteristics of fractured granite after high-temperature cycling change more obviously.

Plant height is one of the most important agronomic traits that affects yield in wheat, owing to that the utilization of dwarf or semi-dwarf genes is closely associated with lodging resistance. In this study, we identified a semi-dwarf mutant, jg0030, induced by γ-ray mutagenesis of the wheat variety ‘Jing411’ (wild type). Compared with the ‘Jing411’, plant height of the jg0030 mutant was reduced by 7%-18% in two years’ field experiments, and the plants showed no changes in yield-related traits. Treatment with gibberellic acid (GA) suggested that jg0030 is a GA-sensitive mutant. Analysis of the frequency distribution of plant height in 297 F3 families derived from crossing jg0030 with the ‘Jing411’ indicated that the semi-dwarf phenotype is controlled by a major gene. Using the wheat 660K SNP array-based Bulked Segregant Analysis (BSA) and the exome capture sequencing-BSA assay, the dwarf gene was mapped on the long arm of chromosome 2B. We developed a set of KASP markers and mapped the dwarf gene to a region between marker PH1 and PH7. This region encompassed a genetic distance of 55.21 cM, corresponding to a physical distance of 98.3 Mb. The results of our study provide a new genetic resource and linked markers for wheat improvement in molecular breeding programs.

Background Plant Height (PH) and Spike Compactness (SC) are important agronomic traits that affect yield improvement in wheat crops. The identification of the loci or genes responsible for these traits is thus of great importance for marker-assisted selection in wheat breeding. Results In this study, we used a RIL population with 139 lines derived from crossing between the mutant Rht8-2 and the local wheat variety NongDa5181 (ND5181) to construct a high-density genetic linkage map by applying the Wheat 40K Panel. We identified 7 stable QTLs for PH (3) and SC (4) under two environments using the RIL population, and found that Rht8-B1 is the causal gene of qPH2B.1 by further genetic mapping, gene cloning and gene editing analyses. Our results further showed that two natural variants from GC to TT in the coding region of Rht8-B1 resulted in an amino acid change from G (ND5181) to V (Rht8-2) at the 175th position, reducing PH by 3.6%~6.2% in the RIL population. Moreover, gene editing analysis suggested that the height of T2 generation in Rht8-B1 edited plants was reduced by 5.6%, and that the impact of Rht8-B1 on PH was significantly lower than Rht8-D1. Additionally, distribution analysis of Rht8-B1 in various wheat resources suggested that Rht8-B1b have not been widely utilized in modern wheat breeding Conclusions The combination of Rht8-B1b with other favorable Rht genes might be an alternative approach for developing lodging-resistant crops. Our study brings important information for marker-assisted selection in wheat breeding.

Heading date (HD) is an important trait for wide adaptability and yield stability in wheat. The Vernalization 1 (VRN1) gene is a key regulatory factor controlling HD in wheat. The identification of allelic variations in VRN1 is crucial for wheat improvement as climate change becomes more of a threat to agriculture. In this study, we identified an EMS-induced late-heading wheat mutant je0155 and crossed it with wide-type (WT) Jing411 to construct an F2 population of 344 individuals. Through Bulk Segregant Analysis (BSA) of early and late-heading plants, we identified a Quantitative Trait Locus (QTL) for HD on chromosome 5A. Further genetic linkage analysis limited the QTL to a physical region of 0.8 Mb. Cloning and sequencing revealed three copies of VRN-A1 in the WT and mutant lines; one copy contained a missense mutation of C changed to T in exon 4 and another copy contained a mutation in intron 5. Genotype and phenotype analysis of the segregation population validated that the mutations in VRN-A1 contributed to the late HD phenotype in the mutant. Expression analysis of C- or T-type alleles in exon 4 of the WT and mutant lines indicated that this mutation led to lower expression of VRN-A1, which resulted in the late-heading of je0155. This study provides valuable information for the genetic regulation of HD and many important resources for HD refinement in wheat breeding programs.

2D/2D heterojunction photocatalysts with excellent photocatalytic activity highlight considerable potential in water disinfection. Here, an oxidized Sb/g-C3N4 2D/2D nanosheets heterojunction (Sb-SbOx/CNS) was constructed based on a facile one-step liquid-phase exfoliation method using concentrated sulfuric acid. By doing so, bulk Sb and g-C3N4 were exfoliated simultaneously and then, intercalated each other. Compared with CNS and Sb-SbOx, the obtained Sb-SbOx/CNS demonstrated better photocatalytic disinfection activity towards Escherichia coli K-12 (E. coli K-12) under visible light irradiation. The 5% oxidized Sb/g-C3N4 2D/2D nanosheets heterojunction (5.0% Sb-SbOx/CNS) exhibited the best photocatalytic performance and admirable cycling stability, which was ascribed to the unique structure where the interfacial charge separation was strengthened by the strong coupling effect between Sb-SbOx and CNS. Meanwhile, the fundamental mechanism of photocatalytic disinfection was also proposed. The photogenerated ROS (reactive oxygen species) violently attacked the E. coli K-12 membrane, creating massive and irreparable holes on the cell membrane. The leakage of cations (K+, Na+, Ca2+ and Mg2+), adenosine triphosphate, total soluble sugar and protein accelerated the destruction of E. coli K-12. Trapping experiments suggested that the photocatalytic disinfection process against E. coli K-12 was dominated by h+ generated on 5.0% Sb-SbOx/CNS. This work offers a new promising way to modify the 2D/2D heterojunction featuring efficient photocatalytic disinfection performance.

A second near-infrared luminescent probe for the detection and imaging of pyrophosphate in vivo was developed.

Differentiation therapy using small molecules is a promising strategy for improving the prognosis of glioblastoma (GBM). Histone acetylation plays an important role in cell fate determination. Nevertheless, whether histone acetylation in specific sites determines GBM cells fate remains to be explored. Through screening from a 349 small molecule-library, we identified that histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) MS-275 synergized with 8-CPT-cAMP was able to transdifferentiate U87MG GBM cells into neuron-like cells, which were characterized by cell cycle arrest, rich neuron biomarkers, and typical neuron electrophysiology. Intriguingly, acetylation tags of histone 3 at lysine 9 (H3K9ac) were decreased in the promoter of multiple oncogenes and cell cycle genes, while ones of H3K9ac and histone 3 at lysine 14 (H3K14ac) were increased in the promoter of neuron-specific genes. We then compiled a list of genes controlled by H3K9ac and H3K14ac, and proved that it is a good predictive power for pathologic grading and survival prediction. Moreover, cAMP agonist combined with HDACi also induced glioma stem cells (GSCs) to differentiate into neuron-like cells through the regulation of H3K9ac/K14ac, indicating that combined induction has the potential for recurrence-preventive application. Furthermore, the combination of cAMP activator plus HDACi significantly repressed the tumor growth in a subcutaneous GSC-derived tumor model, and temozolomide cooperated with the differentiation-inducing combination to prolong the survival in an orthotopic GSC-derived tumor model. These findings highlight epigenetic reprogramming through H3K9ac and H3K14ac as a novel approach for driving neuron-fate-induction of GBM cells.

Plant height is a key agronomic trait that is closely to the plant morphology and lodging resistance in wheat. However, at present, the few dwarf genes widely used in wheat breeding have narrowed wheat genetic diversity. In this study, we selected a semi-dwarf wheat mutant dwarf33 that exhibits decreased plant height with little serious negative impact on other agronomic traits. Genetic analysis and mutant gene mapping indicated that dwarf33 contains a new recessive semi-dwarf gene Rht-SN33d, which was mapped into ~1.3 Mb interval on the 3DL chromosome. The gibberellin metabolism-related gene TraesCS3D02G542800, which encodes gibberellin 2-beta-dioxygenase, is considered a potential candidate gene of Rht-SN33d. Rht-SN33d reduced plant height by approximately 22.4% in mutant dwarf33. Further study revealed that shorter stem cell length may be the main factor causing plant height decrease. In addition, the coleoptile length of dwarf33 was just 9.3% shorter than that of wild-type Shaannong33. These results will help to expand our understanding of new mechanisms of wheat height regulation, and obtain new germplasm for wheat improvement.

A rapid growth in the population leads to a large increase in engineering construction. This means there is an inevitability in regard to building on problematic soils. Soil reinforcement becomes an important subject due to the fact that it is a concern for engineers and scientists. With the development of nanotechnology, more and more nanomaterials are being introduced within the practice of soil reinforcement engineering. In this study, the reinforcing effect of novel nanomaterial nano-silica (SiO2) applied to different kinds of soils was systematically studied. The nano-SiO2-reinforced soil possessed lower final water evaporation loss, and evaporation rates. The nano-SiO2 increased the shear strength of clayey soil and sandy soil under both cured and uncured conditions, but the reinforcing effect on clayey soil was more obvious. The addition of nano-SiO2 promotes the friction angle and cohesion of clayey soil; further, it also increases the cohesion of sandy soil. The unconfined compressive strength of clayey soil was enhanced by nano-SiO2, meanwhile, the nano-SiO2-reinforced soil possessed greater brittleness. The microstructure of nano-SiO2-reinforced soil is shown via SEM analysis, and the results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) tests show that there are no new mineral components generated during the reinforcing process. It was also found that nano-SiO2 possessed little influence on the soil pH value. Adding nano-SiO2 will not damage the original chemical environment of the soil. The microstructure of nano-SiO2-reinforced soil was observed to prove the results above. In general, nano-SiO2 is an excellent soil additive that can improve the mechanical properties of both clayey soil and sandy soil effectively. This research provides more ideas and directions for the purposes of selecting soil reinforcement materials.

Background Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) plus laparoscopic common bile duct exploration (LCBDE) is convenient in the treatment of cholelithiasis in combination with choledocholithiasis. It has the advantage of accelerated recovery. This retrospective study aimed to summarize the experience of cholelithiasis and choledocholithiasis treatment via LC plus LCBDE approach in Eastern China. Methods Patients diagnosed with cholelithiasis and choledocholithiasis between July 2019 and October 2021 at the Xishan People’s Hospital of Wuxi City were included in the study. During treatment, patients who received LC+LCBDE+primary suturing of the CBD were assigned to the LCBDE-P group, and those who received LC+LCBDE+T-tube drainage of CBD were assigned to the LCBDE-T group. The measurement data were compared between the two groups. P-values < 0.05 indicated statistical significance. Results A total number of 88 patients (48 females and 40 males) were divided into two groups: LCBDE-P (n=50) and LCBDE-T (n=38). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that LCBDE-P affected the risk-adjusted hospitalization stay (unstandardized coefficient, -5.352 days; 95% CI: -0.387 to -4.761; P < 0.001) and medical cost (unstandardized coefficient, -0.494 RMB; 95% CI: -0.712 to -0.277; P < 0.001) with significant differences. On the other hand, no significant differences were detected in the operation time, intraoperative hemorrhage, clearance rate of CBD stones, postoperative liver function, and postoperative complications (P > 0.05) between the two groups. Conclusions LCBDE is a safe and feasible strategy for the management of cholelithiasis and choledocholithiasis. Compared to LCBDE-T, LCBDE-P decreases hospital stays and medical costs during hospitalization.

A rapid growth in the population leads to a large increase in engineering construction. This means there is an inevitability in regard to building on problematic soils. Soil reinforcement becomes an important subject due to the fact that it is a concern for engineers and scientists. With the development of nanotechnology, more and more nanomaterials are being introduced within the practice of soil reinforcement engineering. In this study, the reinforcing effect of novel nanomaterial nano-silica (SiO

In a short amount of time, the COVID-19 pandemic has played havoc on social security, and people infected with coronavirus may have suffered from both physical and mental health issues requiring treatment. The purpose of our study was to examine the effect of perceived discrimination on anxiety in patients with coronavirus and to observe the role of psychological resilience as a mediator in this process. 376 patients with coronavirus were given a questionnaire, and 26 of them participated in in-depth interviews. Our results demonstrated that perceived discrimination in patients with coronavirus was predictive of anxiety and that strong perceptions of discrimination reduced patients’ psychological resilience levels, thereby triggering severe anxiety. Furthermore, psychological resilience was demonstrated to be a significant predictor of anxiety severity. Psychological resilience has been shown to act as a mediator between perceived discrimination and anxiety. As a response to COVID-19, the government, the media, and the general public should treat patients with coronavirus scientifically and rationally, minimize the secondary psychological damage caused by the perception of discrimination to the special groups of society represented by patients with coronavirus during the pandemic, correct the erroneous stigma generated by the traditional communication process, and prevent the spread of the psychosocial virus.

Plant height is a key agronomic trait that is closely to the plant morphology and lodging resistance in wheat. However, at present, the few dwarf genes widely used in wheat breeding have narrowed wheat genetic diversity. In this study, we selected a semi-dwarf wheat mutant

Regulatory systems that maintain prophage quiescence integrate phage and host gene expression with environmental conditions1,2. In the opportunistic bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pf filamentous bacteriophages play critical roles in biofilm formation and virulence3-5, but mechanisms governing Pf prophage activation in biofilms are largely unknown. Here, we report a new type of prophage regulatory module in a widely-distributed P. aeruginosa lineage that not only controls virion production of co-resident Pf prophages, but also mediates defense against diverse lytic phages. By comparing two lineages of the prototype P. aeruginosa strain PAO1 that harbor different Pf prophages, we identified a prophage-encoded kinase-kinase-phosphatase (KKP) system that controls Pf production in biofilms. KKP components exhibit dynamic stoichiometry, where high kinase levels in planktonic conditions maintain phosphorylation of the host H-NS protein MvaU, repressing prophage activation. During biofilm formation, phosphatase expression is heightened, leading to MvaU dephosphorylation and alleviating repression of prophage gene expression. KKP clusters are present in hundreds of diverse temperate prophages and other mobile elements across Gram-negative bacteria. Characterization of KKP modules from different species revealed that, in addition to regulating Pf phage lysogeny, KKP functions as a tripartite toxin-antitoxin system that mediates host defense from predatory lytic phages. KKP represents a new phosphorylation-based mechanism for prophage regulation and for phage defense. The dual function of this module raises the question of whether other newly described phage defense systems6-9 also regulate intrinsic prophage biology in diverse hosts.

Several health benefits are obtained from resistant starch, also known as healthy starch. Enhancing resistant starch with genetic modification has huge commercial importance. The variation of resistant starch content is narrow in wheat, in relation to which limited improvement has been attained. Hence, there is a need to produce a wheat population that has a wide range of variations in resistant starch content. In the present study, stable mutants were screened that showed significant variation in the resistant starch content. A megazyme kit was used for measuring the resistant starch content, digestible starch, and total starch. The analysis of variance showed a significant difference in the mutant population for resistant starch. Furthermore, four diverse mutant lines for resistant starch content were used to study the quantitative expression patterns of 21 starch metabolic pathway genes; and to evaluate the candidate genes for resistant starch biosynthesis. The expression pattern of 21 starch metabolic pathway genes in two diverse mutant lines showed a higher expression of key genes regulating resistant starch biosynthesis (GBSSI and their isoforms) in the high resistant starch mutant lines, in comparison to the parent variety (J411). The expression of SBEs genes was higher in the low resistant starch mutants. The other three candidate genes showed overexpression (BMY, Pho1, Pho2) and four had reduced (SSIII, SBEI, SBEIII, ISA3) expression in high resistant starch mutants. The overexpression of AMY and ISA1 in the high resistant starch mutant line JE0146 may be due to missense mutations in these genes. Similarly, there was a stop_gained mutation for PHO2; it also showed overexpression. In addition, the gene expression analysis of 21 starch metabolizing genes in four different mutants (low and high resistant starch mutants) shows that in addition to the important genes, several other genes (phosphorylase, isoamylases) may be involved and contribute to the biosynthesis of resistant starch. There is a need to do further study about these new genes, which are responsible for the fluctuation of resistant starch in the mutants.

Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) promote the proliferation of

Liver fibrosis is a chronic disease without effective treatment in the clinic. Gene editing systems such as the well-known CRISPR/Cas9 have shown great potential in the biomedical field. However, the delivery of the ribonucleoprotein is challenged by the large size of Cas9 (> 160 kDa) and the instable RNA probe. Recently, a structure-guided endonuclease (SGN) has been reported as an effectigene-editinging system composed of 35 kDa nuclease and stable DNA probes, which can regulate the protein expression by targeting specific mRNA outside the nucleus. Here, we conjugated the SGN to a nanomicelle as the delivery system. In the resulting material, the chance of the collision between the endonuclease and the probe was raised due to the confinement of the two components within the 40-nm nanomicelle, thus the mRNA can be cleaved immediately after being captured by the probe, resulting in a space-induced nucleotide identification-cleavage acceleration effect. The delivery system was used to treat liver fibrosis via the co-delivery of SGN and a drug rosiglitazone to the hepatic stellate cells, which separately downregulated the expression of tissue inhibitor of metalloprotease-1 and inactivated the hepatic stellate cells. The system successfully reversed the liver fibrosis in mice through the bidirectional regulatory that simultaneously promoted the degradation and inhibited the production of the collagen, demonstrating the great potency of the SGN system as gene medicine.

Background Lactulose was one of the earliest prebiotics to be identified. To assess the potential risk of large intakes of lactulose to the intestinal microbiota, mice were fed a diet containing lactulose (0%, 5% and 15%, w/w) for 2 weeks and the changes in the fecal microbiota were evaluated by 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing. Results Lactulose intervention decreased the α-diversity of the fecal microbiota in both low-dose and high-dose groups. The relative abundance of Actinobacteria was significantly increased, while that of Bacteroidetes was significantly decreased after lactulose intervention. At the genus level, the relative abundance of Bifidobacterium belonging to Actinobacteria was significantly increased, and that of Alistipes belonging to Bacteroidetes was decreased in both low-dose and high-dose groups. The relative abundance of Blautia was significantly increased from 0.2% to 7.9% in the high-dose group and one strain of Blautia producta was isolated from the mice feces. However, the strain could not utilize lactulose. Conclusion Overall, the microbial diversity was decreased after lactulose treatment, with significant increases in the relative abundance of Bifidobacterium. We also provide a strategy to increase the relative abundance of Blautia in the intestine by lactulose feeding at high doses, although the mechanism is not revealed. This will help us understand the prebiotic effect of lactulose on the host health. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Objective: To explore the clinical effect of and the method and nursing strategy for sellar reconstruction for intraoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage in pituitary adenoma resection under neuroendoscopy. Methods: The data from 20 cases of intraoperative CSF leak caused by transsphenoidal pituitary adenoma resection were retrospectively analyzed. Six patients were treated with mucosal flap and artificial dural reconstruction of sellar (simple sellar floor reconstruction). In 45 patients, autologous fat, fascia lata, and artificial dura were used to repair and reconstruct the sellar floor (multilayer sellar floor reconstruction). After the operation, all patients underwent follow-up for 6 - 24 months. Results: Fifty patients were followed up without CSF leakage. One patient was cured after leakage of CSF through the lumbar cistern 1 month after discharge. Conclusion: For patients with CSF leakage during neuroendoscopic transsphenoidal pituitary adenoma resection, individualized sellar floor reconstruction should be adopted according to the degree of CSF leakage and the size of the sellar floor defect. Strict nursing measures can effectively prevent CSF leakage and reduce postoperative complications.

ObjectivesAlthough several studies have reviewed the suicidal risk of antidepressants, the conclusions remain inconsistent. We, therefore, performed a meta-analysis of observational studies to address the association between exposure to antidepressants, especially selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and the risk of suicide and suicide attempt in children and adolescents.MethodsMEDLINE and Embase were searched from January 1990 to April 2021. Seventeen cohort and case-control studies were identified that reported suicide or suicide attempt in children and young adults (aged 5–25 years) who were exposed to any antidepressants. We extracted the estimates and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) from each publication.ResultsThe results showed that antidepressant exposure significantly increased the risk of suicide and suicide attempt when compared with no antidepressant usage among children and adolescents. The pooled relative risk (RR) was 1.38 (95% CI: 1.16–1.64; I2 = 83.1%). Among the antidepressants, SSRI use was associated with an increased risk of suicide and suicide attempt, and the pooled RR was 1.28 (95% CI: 1.09–1.51; I2 = 68.8%). In subgroup analysis, the attempted suicidal risk of antidepressant and SSRI was significantly increased (RR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.13–1.61; I2 = 86.2% for all antidepressants; and RR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.06–1.48; I2 = 73.8% for SSRIs), while the completed suicidal risk of antidepressant and SSRI was not statistically significant (RR = 2.32, 95% CI: 0.82–6.53; I2 = 6.28% for all antidepressants; and RR = 1.88, 95% CI: 0.74–4.79; I2 = 52.0% for SSRIs). In addition, the risk of suicide and suicide attempt between SSRIs and other antidepressants was similar (RR 1.13, 95% CI: 0.87–1.46, I2 = 32.4%).ConclusionThe main findings of this meta-analysis provide some evidence that antidepressant exposure seems to have an increased suicidal risk among children and young adults. Since untreated depression remains one of the largest risk factors for suicide and the efficacy of antidepressants is proven, clinicians should evaluate carefully their patients and be cautious with patients at risk to have treatment emergence or worsening of suicidal ideation (TESI/TWOSI) when prescribing antidepressants to children and young patients.

Novel genetic variations can be obtained by inducing mutations in the plant which help to achieve novel traits. The useful mutant can be obtained through radiation mutation in a short period which can be used as a new material to produce new varieties with high yield and good quality wheat. In this paper, the proteomic analysis of wheat treated with different doses of 12C and 7Li ion beam radiation at the seedling stage was carried out through a Tandem Mass Tag (TMT) tagging quantitative proteomic analysis platform based on high-resolution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and the traditional 60Co-γ-ray radiation treatment for reference. A total of 4,764 up-regulated and 5,542 down-regulated differentially expressed proteins were identified. These proteins were mainly enriched in the KEGG pathway associated with amino acid metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, carbon metabolism, photosynthesis, signal transduction, protein synthesis, and DNA replication. Functional analysis of the differentially expressed proteins showed that the oxidative defense system in the plant defense system was fully involved in the defense response after 12C ion beam and 7Li ion beam radiation treatments. Photosynthesis and photorespiration were inhibited after 12C ion beam and 60Co-γ-ray irradiation treatments, while there was no effect on the plant with 7Li ion beam treatment. In addition, the synthesis of biomolecules such as proteins, as well as multiple signal transduction pathways also respond to radiations. Some selected differentially expressed proteins were verified by Parallel Reaction Monitoring (PRM) and qPCR, and the experimental results were consistent with the quantitative results of TMT. The present study shows that the physiological effect of 12C ion beam radiation treatment is different as compared to the 7Li ion beam, but its similar to the 60Co-γ ray depicting a significant effect on the plant by using the same dose. The results of this study will provide a theoretical basis for the application of 12C and 7Li ion beam radiation in the mutation breeding of wheat and other major crops and promote the development of heavy ion beam radiation mutation breeding technology.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important opportunistic pathogen in cystic fibrosis patients and immunocompromised individuals, and the toxin–antitoxin (TA) system is involved in bacterial virulence and phage resistance. However, the roles of TA systems in P. aeruginosa are relatively less studied and no phage Cro-like regulators were identified as TA components. Here, we identified and characterized a chromosome-encoded prophage Cro-like antitoxin (CrlA) in the clinical isolate P. aeruginosa WK172. CrlA neutralized the toxicity of the toxin CrlA (CrlT) which cleaves mRNA, and they formed a type II TA system. Specifically, crlA and crlT are co-transcribed and their protein products interact with each other directly. The autorepression of CrlA is abolished by CrlT through the formation of the CrlTA complex. Furthermore, crlTA is induced in the stationary phase, and crlA is expressed at higher levels than crlT. The excess CrlA inhibits the infection of lytic Pseudomonas phages. CrlA is widely distributed among Pseudomonas and in other bacterial strains and may provide antiphage activities.

Background Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) plus laparoscopic common bile duct exploration (LCBDE) in combination with choledocholithiasis is convenient in the treatment of cholelithiasis. It has the advantage of accelerated recovery. This retrospective study aimed to summarize the experience of cholelithiasis and choledocholithiasis treatment via LC plus LCBDE approach in Eastern China. Methods Patients diagnosed with cholelithiasis and choledocholithiasis between July 2019 and October 2021 at the Xishan People’s Hospital of Wuxi City were included in the study. During treatment, patients who received LC + LCBDE + primary suturing of the CBD were assigned to the LCBDE-P group, and those who received LC + LCBDE + T-tube drainage of CBD were assigned to the LCBDE-T group. The measurement data were compared between the two groups. P-values P P P > 0.05) between the two groups. Conclusions LCBDE is a safe and feasible strategy for the management of cholelithiasis and choledocholithiasis. Compared to LCBDE-T, LCBDE-P is an independent factor associated with the days and medical costs during hospitalization.

Particle surface morphology is an important factor influencing sand structure and mechanical properties. In this study, the effect of sand particle sphericity on sand direct shear performance is investigated by using the discrete element method (DEM). Two ways are adapted to simulate different approaching methods from round particles to irregular sand. The macroresponse shows that irregular sand has a higher shear strength at lower normal stress than round particles. The shape of the particle has less influence on shear strength at higher normal stress. The irregular shape of sand leads to an increase in the shear band proportion. However, the shear band proportion is not related to the sphericity. Under all conditions, particles within the shear band have a larger average rotation angle than those outside the shear band. When the particle shape approaches round (regardless of the round particle proportion and particle shape), the average rotation angle of particles within and without shear bands increase, while the coordinate number and contact anisotropy decrease.

Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) are a kind of prebiotic. Previous studies concerning the effect of FOS on intestinal microbiota have focused on Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus. However, the presence of other FOS-utilizing bacteria makes it necessary to investigate the quantitative changes in these bacterial species in the intestine after FOS intake. In this study, the composition of cecal and fecal microbiota was analyzed using MiSeq sequencing, and the abundance of FOS-utilizing bacteria was detected using quantitative polymerase chain reaction after the oral administration of FOS.Species-specific primers for FOS-utilizing bacteria were designed with superior amplification efficiency for quantification. After FOS intervention, the relative abundance of Bifidobacterium pseudolongum in feces increased to 17.37% and the abundance reached 2.28 × 10Species-specific primers for FOS-utilizing bacteria were successfully developed, and we confirmed that FOS significantly increased the relative abundance and the abundance of B. pseudolongum in mice, while decreasing the proportion of Lactobacillus. The detection of these species using 16S ribosomal DNA sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction showed the same results. Further investigations are needed to reveal the response of the intestinal microbiota to different FOS compositions. These techniques will contribute to future studies about the composition and dynamics of the intestinal microflora. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Background Lactobacillus plantarum is an important probiotic with a variety of physiologic functions. Studies have focused on the effects of L. plantarum on host physiology and microbiota, but studies on the fate of strains after they enter the intestine are lacking. In this study, L. plantarum ST-III was genetically engineered to express green fluorescent protein (GFP). Mice were administered ST-III-GFP, and fluorescence imaging was used to study the distribution, location, and quantity of strains within 8 h after entry into the intestine. Results The results indicated that genetic modification did not affect the growth of ST-III, tolerance to simulated gastric juice and intestinal fluid, or tolerance to antibiotics (with the exception of chloramphenicol). Fluorescence imaging and colony counting indicated that ST-III-GFP can be detected in the small intestine 5 min after oral gavage. After 30 min, nearly all ST-III-GFP was located in the small intestine. After 1.5 h, ST-III-GFP was detected in both the cecum and large intestine. After 4 h and 8 h, ST-III-GFP was mainly concentrated in the cecum and large intestine. Compared to the initial amount ingested, the survival rate of ST-III-GFP within the intestine of mice was 10% after 8 h. In addition, a strong linear relationship was shown between the fluorescence intensity and the viable count of ST-III-GFP. Conclusion The obtained data indicates that the amount of ST-III-GFP can be estimated by measuring the fluorescence intensity of this novel strain within the intestinal tract. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

TAZ (transcriptional coactivator with PDZ‑binding motif), which is also known as WW domain‑containing transcription regulator 1 (WWTR1), a downstream effector of the Hippo pathway, has been reported to regulate cancer cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis by acting as a transcriptional coactivator. However, the function of TAZ in prostate cancer cells has not been investigated. In the present study, TAZ expression in prostate cancer (PCa) and benign prostatic hyperplasia tissues, PCa cell lines, and normal prostate epithelial cells was determined with the use of immunohistochemistry. TAZ was knocked down by shRNA in the PC3 cells, a prostate cancer cell line, and cell viability and migration assays were performed to determine the biological functions of TAZ. A mouse subcutaneous xenograft model was used to determine the in vivo effects of TAZ knockdown on tumor growth. We demonstrated that TAZ is overexpressed in PCa tissues, and the expression levels were found to be positively correlated with the Gleason scores of cancer grade. Moreover, TAZ knockdown inhibited PC3 cell proliferation, reduced cell migration, and induced apoptosis. Further experiments demonstrated that TAZ knockdown may lead to PC3 cell apoptosis through the exogenous apoptotic pathway by inducing the expression and cleavage of caspase‑4 and ‑7. In the tumor xenograft model, TAZ knockdown led to a decreased tumor growth rate. Taken together, the experimental results indicate that TAZ plays a significant role in the proliferation, migration and apoptosis of prostate cancer cells. TAZ could be a useful biomarker for PCa diagnosis/prognosis, and it could be a potential target for the treatment of prostate cancers.

The utilizing of traditional chemical stabilizers could improve soil engineering properties but also results in brittle behavior and causes environmental problems. This study investigates the feasibility of the combined utilization of an ecofriendly biopolymer and fiber inclusions as an alternative to traditional cement for reinforcing soft soil. A series of unconfined compression tests were conducted to examine the combined effect of the biopolymer and fibers on the stress–strain characteristics, strength improvement, failure pattern, and reinforcement mechanism of soft soil. The results show that the biopolymer associated with fibers has an unconfined compressive strength similar to that of fiber-reinforced soil. However, it then increases with different curing times and conditions, which can be up to 1.5 MPa–2.5 MPa. The combined effect of fibers and the biopolymer is not simply equivalent to the sum of the effects of each individual material. The fiber shows its role instantly after being mixed into soil, whereas the effect of biopolymer gradually appears with sample curing time. The biopolymer plays a dominant role in increasing the peak unconfined compressive strength and brittleness of soil, while the amount of fiber is crucial for reducing soil brittleness and increasing ductility. It is shown that the biopolymer not only contributes to the particle bonding force but also facilitates the reinforcement efficiency of fibers in the soil. The fibers in return assist in reducing the soil brittleness arising from biopolymer cementation and provide residual resistance after post-peak failure.

Induced mutagenesis is a powerful approach for the creation of novel germplasm and the improvement of agronomic traits. The evaluation of mutagenic effects and functional variations in crops is needed for breeding mutant strains. To investigate the mutagenic effects of gamma-ray irradiation in wheat, this study characterized genomic variations of wheat early heading mutant (eh1) as compared to wild-type (WT) Zhongyuan 9 (ZY9). Whole-genome resequencing of eh1 and ZY9 produced 737.7 Gb sequencing data and identified a total of 23,537,117 homozygous single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and 1,608,468 Indel. Analysis of SNP distribution across the chromosome suggests that mutation hotspots existed in certain chromosomal regions. Among the three subgenomes, the variation frequency in subgenome D was significantly lower than in subgenomes A and B. A total of 27.8 Gb data were obtained by exome-capturing sequencing, while 217,948 SNP and 13,554 Indel were identified. Variation annotation in the gene-coding sequences demonstrated that 5.0% of the SNP and 5.3% of the Indel were functionally important. Characterization of exomic variations in 12 additional gamma-ray-induced mutant lines further provided additional insights into the mutagenic effects of this approach. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome (KEGG) analysis suggested that genes with functional variations were enriched in several metabolic pathways, including plant–pathogen interactions and ADP binding. Kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) genotyping with selected SNP within functional genes indicated that 85.7% of the SNPs were polymorphic between the eh1 and wild type. This study provides a basic understanding of the mechanism behind gamma-ray irradiation in hexaploid wheat.

The wheat AP2 family gene Q controls domestication traits, including spike morphology and threshability, which are critical for the widespread cultivation and yield improvement of wheat. Although many studies have investigated the molecular mechanisms of the Q gene, its direct target genes, especially those controlling spike morphology, are not clear, and its regulatory pathways are not well established. In this study, we conducted gene mapping of a wheat speltoid spike mutant and found that a new allele of the Q gene with protein truncation played a role in spike morphology variation in the mutant. Dynamic expression levels of the Q gene throughout the spike development process suggested that the transcript abundances of the mutant were decreased at the W6 and W7 scales compared to those of the WT. We identified several mutation sites on the Q gene and showed that mutations in different domains resulted in distinct phenotypes. In addition, we found that the Q gene produced three transcripts via alternative splicing and that they exhibited differential expression patterns in nodes, internodes, flag leaves, and spikes. Finally, we identified several target genes directly downstream of Q, including TaGRF1-2D and TaMGD-6B, and proposed a possible regulatory network. This study uncovered the target genes of Q, and the results can help to clarify the mechanism of wheat spike morphology and thereby improve wheat grain yield.

Induced mutation is an important approach for creating novel plant germplasms. The introduction of dwarf or semi-dwarf genes into wheat has led to great advancements in yield improvement. In this study, four elite dwarf wheat mutants, named dm1–dm4, induced from γ-ray irradiation or ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) mutagenesis, were used to identify transcriptome variations and dwarfing mechanisms. The results showed that the hotspot regions of mutations distributed on the chromosomes were consistent among the four mutant lines and these regions were mainly located around the 50, 360 and 400 Mb positions of chromosome 1A and the distal regions of chromosomes 2A and 2BL. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses suggested that ‘protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum’ was the most common significantly enriched pathway based on the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between wildtype (WT) and the mutants. Notably, 18 out of 20 genes involved in this process encode heat shock proteins (HSPs). The results implied that HSPs might participate in wheat dwarfism response and function in the dwarfism process through protein folding and/or degradation. Moreover, seven genes in dm4 involved in modulating auxin levels were down-regulated and dm4 was more sensitive to auxin treatment compared with WT, indicating the important roles of auxin in regulation of dwarf phenotype in dm4. This study not only identified transcriptome sequence variation induced by physical and chemical mutagenesis but also revealed potential dwarfing mechanisms in the wheat mutant lines.

Background Wheat mutant resources with phenotypic variation have been developed in recent years. These mutants might carry favorable mutation alleles, which have the potential to be utilized in the breeding process. Plant architecture and yield-related features are important agronomic traits for wheat breeders and mining favorable alleles of these traits will improve wheat characteristics. Results Here we used 190 wheat phenotypic mutants as material and by analyzing their SNP variation and phenotypic data, mutation alleles for plant architecture and yield-related traits were identified, and the genetic effects of these alleles were evaluated. In total, 32 mutation alleles, including three pleiotropic alleles, significantly associated with agronomic traits were identified from the 190 wheat mutant lines. The SNPs were distributed on 12 chromosomes and were associated with plant height (PH), tiller number, flag leaf angle (FLA), thousand grain weight (TGW), and other yield-related traits. Further phenotypic analysis of multiple lines carrying the same mutant allele was performed to determine the effect of the allele on the traits of interest. PH-associated SNPs on chromosomes 2BL, 3BS, 3DL, and 5DL might show additive effects, reducing PH by 10.0 cm to 31.3 cm compared with wild type, which means that these alleles may be favorable for wheat improvement. Only unfavorable mutation alleles that reduced TGW and tiller number were identified. A region on chromosome 5DL with mutation alleles for PH and TGW contained several long ncRNAs, and their sequences shared more than 90% identity with cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase genes. Some of the mutation alleles we mined were colocalized with previously reported QTLs or genes while others were novel; these novel alleles could also result in phenotypic variation. Conclusion Our results demonstrate that favorable mutation alleles are present in mutant resources, and the region between 409.5 to 419.8 Mb on chromosome 5DL affects wheat plant height and thousand grain weight.

Multi-ovary wheat (three pistil) is a unique germplasm for the seed production of hybrid wheat. The purpose of the present study was to transfer the multi-ovary trait to semi-dwarf plants to increase the production of grains in wheat crops. Therefore, tall, semi-dwarf, and dwarf plants were crossed with plants with the three-pistil trait. A three-pistil tall plant was used as the female parent, while tall (Synthetic hexaploid), semi-dwarf, and dwarf plants were used as male parents. F1 and F2 progenies with parents were planted in 2015-16 using RCBD. The outcome of the crosses showed that multi-ovary tall plants gave significant difference for all five traits (days to maturity, plant height, number of seeds per spike, grain weight per spike, and grain yield per unit area) in both generations. The greatest number of grains per spike and grain yield per unit area were obtained from the cross of three-pistil tall and dwarf parent (P1/P6) in the F1 and F2 generations. The cross also resulted in a significant reduction in height (96 cm). Further heterosis studies conducted with crosses between three-pistil tall and dwarf parent (P1/P6) showed the greatest heterosis and heterobeltiosis for the number of grains per spike (60.0 and 26.19%, respectively) and grain yield per m2 (27.68 and 2.85%, respectively). In the case of grain weight per spike, the heterosis value was also positive and significant (17.7). Meanwhile, for other traits, their values were negative for heterosis and heterobeltiosis. High numbers of grains and grain weight were found to be associated with positive heterobeltiosis and in turn the grain yield per m2, but plant height and maturity had negative affirmation with heterobeltiosis. Heterosis studies also indicated the dominant gene action for the three-pistil trait. Thus, the study clearly signified that grain yield can be increased by using the multi-ovary genotype with the semi-dwarf height. This new germplasm will be helpful for breeders to increase the production of wheat crops in the southern climate of Pakistan.

Background Prolactinoma is the major cause of hyperprolactinemia, and dopamine agonists (DAs) are generally the first-line treatment for them. Several studies have reviewed the recurrent rate of hyperprolactinemia after DAs withdrawal. However, few of them have concerned the recurrence risk of prolactinoma following the withdrawal of DAs. Methods Three medical databases, PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane library, were retrieved up to February, 14, 2021 to identify studies related to recurrence of prolactinoma and withdrawal of DAs. Statistical analyses including meta-analysis, sensitivity analysis, meta-regression, funnel plot and Egger test were performed through software R. Results A total of 3225 studies were retrieved from the three data bases, and 13 studies consisted of 616 patients and 19 arms were finally included in this systematic analysis. There was no significant heterogeneity among the included studies, and fixed effect model was thus used. The pooled recurrence proportion of prolactinoma after withdrawal of DA was 2% with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1–3%. Conclusion Our study showed a very low recurrent rate of prolactinomas after DAs withdrawal. Much more prospective studies with larger cases and longer follow-up period are encouraged to confirm our finding. Trial registration Registration numberCRD42021245888 (PROSPERO).

Stem elongation is a critical phase for yield determination and, as a major trait, is targeted for manipulation for improvement in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). In a previous study, we characterized a mutant showing rapid stem elongation but with no effect on plant height at maturity. The present study aimed to finely map the underlying mutated gene, qd1, in this mutant. By analyzing an F2 segregating population consisting of 606 individuals, we found that the qd1 gene behaved in a dominant manner. Moreover, by using the bulked segregant RNA sequencing (BSR-seq)-based linkage analysis method, we initially mapped the qd1 gene to a 13.55 Mb region on chromosome 4B (from 15.41 to 28.96 Mb). This result was further confirmed in F2 and BC3F2 segregating populations. Furthermore, by using transcriptome sequencing data, we developed 14 Kompetitive Allele-Specific PCR (KASP) markers and then mapped the qd1 gene to a smaller and more precise 5.08 Mb interval from 26.80 to 31.88 Mb. To develop additional markers to finely map the qd1 gene, a total of 4,481 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the 5.08 Mb interval were screened, and 25 KASP markers were developed based on 10x-depth genome resequencing data from both wild-type (WT) and mutant plants. The qd1 gene was finally mapped to a 1.33 Mb interval from 28.86 to 30.19 Mb on chromosome 4B. Four candidate genes were identified in this region. Among them, the expression pattern of only TraesCS4B02G042300 in the stems was concurrent with the stem development of the mutant and WT. The qd1 gene could be used in conjunction with molecular markers to manipulate stem development in the future.