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Background: Cancer patients frequently suffer pain as one of their symptoms. It includes acute and chronic pain and is one of the most feared symptoms for patients. About one-third of adults actively undergoing cancer treatment suffer from pain related to their condition. Cancer pain control remains suboptimal due to a lack of assessment, knowledge, and access. Fire needle therapy, a traditional Chinese medicine, offers a potentially beneficial addition to current pain management approaches. This protocol outlines a systematic review and meta-analysis to compile evidence and examine the pain-relieving effects and safety of fire needle therapy for cancer patients., Methods and Analysis: We will systematically search China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Database, China Biology Medicine disc (CBM), China Science and Technology Journal Database (CSTJ or VIP), PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Central Registry of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (Chictr), Opengrey, Worldcat, and Scopus from inception through July 2023. Random control trials (RCTs) include all types of cancer patients (age ≥ 18 years) complaining of pain. The primary outcome will be changes in pain intensity measured by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), Neuropathic Pain Scale (NPS), or Brief Pain Inventory (BPI). Secondary outcomes include quality of life (EORTC QLQ-C30 and GCQ), performance status (KPS), times of burst pain, treatment response rate, the dose reduction of analgesic drugs, and side effects rates. Utilizing the Cochrane risk bias measurement tool: Risk of Bias 2 (RoB 2), the trials' quality will be evaluated, and meta-analysis will be performed using RevMan software (version 5.4)., Discussion: This systematic review will be the first comprehensive review of the literature to provide a meta-analysis of fire needle therapy for cancer pain, including only Random control trials (RCTs). For the sake of transparency and to avoid future duplication, the publication of this protocol offers a clear illustration of the procedures utilized in this evaluation. The results of our future studies may provide a new approach and theoretical basis for the treatment of cancer pain by medical oncology professionals., Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD42023418609., 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 © 2024 Zhang, Ren, Wu, Yuan, Wang, Tang, Zhou, Qiao and Liu.)

Introduction: The causality between personality and psychiatric traits and lung cancer (LC) remains unclear. Therefore, we aimed to elucidate the causality between these traits and LC., Methods: Bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) and bibliometric approaches were conducted to estimate the causality between personality (neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness) and psychiatric (schizophrenia, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], major depressive disorder, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, insomnia, and anxiety) traits and LC and its subtypes (lung squamous cell carcinoma, lung adenocarcinoma, and small cell LC). Summary data of these traits were extracted from large datasets (17,375-462,341 participants). Inverse variance weighting was used as the primary MR analysis, with supplementary models, including MR-Egger and weighted medians. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to detect pleiotropy. Bibliometric data were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, and PubMed. The main mapping techniques adopted were co-word, collaboration, and citation analyses., Results: Schizophrenia was associated with an increased risk of LC (odds ratio [OR] = 1.077, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.030-1.126, P = 0.001). Moreover, LC increased the risk of ADHD (OR = 1.221, 95% CI = 1.096-1.362, P < 0.001). No significant bidirectional associations were observed between other mental traits and LC and its subtypes. Causality, psychiatry, and psychiatric comorbidity are emerging keywords. Research dynamics and landscapes were revealed., Conclusion: This study suggests that schizophrenia is a risk factor for LC and that LC is a risk factor for ADHD. Furthermore, causality, psychiatry, and psychiatric comorbidity have become emerging research trends in related fields., 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 © 2024 Chen, Du, Qin, Li, Pan, Qiao, Chen, Hou, Jin, Tao, Yu, Qin, Zhu, Wang and Liu.)

Objective: This study aims to investigate the activation of frontotemporal functional brain areas in patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) during a Verbal Fluency Task (VFT), and to compare their brain functional connectivity in a resting state with that of healthy controls. The goal is to deepen our understanding of the neuropathological mechanisms underlying OCD., Methods: 32 patients with OCD and 32 controls matched for age, gender, handedness, and years of education participated in this study, they were divided into OCD group and healthy comtrol group. We conducted VFT task tests and 10-minute resting state tests on both groups by using functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS). The VFT was utilized to assess the activation (beta values) and the integral and centroid values of the frontal and bilateral temporal lobes, including brain areas BA9 and 46 (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), BA10 (frontal pole), BA45 (inferior frontal gyrus), BA21 (middle temporal gyrus), and BA22 (superior temporal gyrus). We evaluated the functional connectivity levels of these areas during the resting state. Differences in these measures between OCD patients and healthy controls were analyzed using two-sample independent t-tests and non-parametric Mann-Whitney U tests., Results: During VFT, OCD had smaller integral values( z =5.371, p <0.001; t =4.720, p <0.001), and larger centroid values( t =-2.281, p =0.026; z =-2.182, p =0.029) compared to healthy controls, along with a reduced number of activated channels detected by fNIRS. Additionally, activation values (β) in various functional brain areas, including BA9, BA46, BA10, BA45, BA21, and BA22, were significantly lower in the OCD group (all p < 0.01). In the resting state, notable disparities in functional connectivity were observed between the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in the OCD group, in comparison to the control group. Specifically, there was a significant increase in connectivity between the left IFG and right DLPFC, suggesting the presence of altered connectivity patterns in these areas., Conclusions: The study highlights significant disparities in neural activation and functional connectivity between OCD patients and healthy controls during VFT. Specifically, reduced activation was noted in the frontal and bilateral temporal lobes of OCD patients, alongside alterations in resting-state functional connectivity between the IFG and DLPFC. These findings contribute to our understanding of the neurobiological underpinnings of OCD and may guide future therapeutic strategies., 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 © 2024 Qiao, Song, Yan, Pan, Chia, Zhao, Niu, Xie and Jin.)

Background: Pediatric cancer ranks among the leading causes of mortality in children globally. While serving as primary caregivers, certain parents may experience anxiety, depression, and other related challenges. However, not all parents succumb to such psychological distress. Resilience emerges as a potential protective factor. Assessing parental resilience holds paramount importance for healthcare professionals in identifying issues and offering tailored interventions. Yet, mainland China lacks adequate tools for this assessment. Hence, this study endeavors to translate the Resilience Scale for Parents of Children with Cancer (RSP-CC) into Chinese and scrutinize its psychometric properties., Methods: From April 2023 to January 2024, a methodological study was conducted in Chengdu, Chongqing, and Jinzhou, China, recruiting 377 eligible parents via convenience sampling for a multicenter cross-sectional survey. The translation process of the RSP-CC adhered rigorously to the Brislin model, involving forward and back-translation, followed by necessary modifications. Item analysis was assessed using the critical ratio and the item-total correlation coefficient. Validity evaluation encompassed content and internal validity assessments. Scale reliability was determined through Cronbach's α coefficient, retest reliability, and split-half reliability coefficients., Results: The Chinese version of the RSP-CC comprises 4 dimensions and 24 items, explaining a cumulative variance contribution of 63.58%. In this investigation, the content validity index attained a score of 0.97. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) yielded four factors consistent with the original scale, while confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated satisfactory fit indices. Both Cronbach's α coefficient and retest reliability stood at 0.95, with a split-half reliability coefficient of 0.82., Conclusion: After rigorous translation and verification, the RSP-CC was adapted in China, demonstrating favorable psychometric characteristics. It stands as an effective instrument for parents of children diagnosed with cancer in China. Additionally, this scale could serve as a crucial tool for clinical staff in formulating specific interventions., 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 © 2024 Zhong, Ding, Li, Qiao, Zhang and Cui.)

Background: Reaching movements are crucial for daily living and rehabilitation, for which Fitts' Law describes a speed-accuracy trade-off that movement time increases with task difficulty. This study aims to investigate whether cortical activation in motor-related areas is directly linked to task difficulty as defined by Fitts' Law. Understanding this relationship provides a physiological basis for parameter selection in therapeutic exercises., Methods: Sixteen healthy subjects performed 2D reaching movements using a rehabilitation robot, with their cortical responses detected using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Task difficulty was manipulated by varying target size and distance, resulting in 3 levels of index-of-difficulty (ID). Kinematic signals were recorded alongside cortical activity to assess the relationship among movement time, task difficulty, and cortical activation., Results: Our results showed that movement time increased with ID by 0.2974s/bit across all subjects (conditional r 2 = 0.6434, p < 0.0001), and all subjects showed individual trends conforming Fitts' Law (all p < 0.001). Neither activation in BA4 nor in BA6 showed a significant correlation with ID ( p > 0.05), while both the target size and distance, as well as the interaction between them, showed a significant relationship with BA4 or BA6 activation (all p < 0.05)., Conclusion: This study found that although kinematic measures supported Fitts' Law, cortical activity in motor-related areas during reaching movements did not correlate directly with task difficulty as defined by Fitts' Law. Additional factors such as muscle activation may call for different cortical control even when difficulty was identical., 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 © 2024 Ji, Chen, Qiao, Yan, Chen, Luo, Cui, Zong, Xie and Niu.)

Due to the development and utilization of nuclear energy, the safe disposal of nuclear waste needs to be urgently addressed. In recent years, the utilization of microorganisms' adsorption capacity to dispose of radioactive waste has received increasing attention. When compared with conventional disposal methods, microbial adsorption exhibits the characteristics of high efficiency, low cost, and no secondary pollution. In the long term, microbial biomass shows significant promise as specific chemical-binding agents. Optimization of biosorption conditions, identification of rare earth element binding sites, and studies on the sorption capacities of immobilized cells provide compelling reasons to consider biosorption for industrial applications in heavy metal removal from solutions. However, the interaction mechanism between microorganisms and radioactive nuclides is very complex. This mini-review briefly provides an overview of the preparation methods, factors affecting the adsorption capacity, and the mechanisms of microbial adsorbents., 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 © 2024 Wang, Zhang, Qiao, Jiang, Xiao, Duan and Zhao.)

Fresh red waxy corn is consumed worldwide because of its unique flavor and rich nutrients, but it is susceptible to deterioration with a short shelf life. This study explored the effect of slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) treatment on the quality and antioxidant capacity of fresh red waxy corn during postharvest cold storage up to 40 d. The SAEW treatment exhibited lower weight loss, softer firmness, and higher total soluble solids (TSS) and moisture content than the control group. Correspondingly, the SAEW maintained the microstructure of endosperm cell wall and starch granules of fresh red waxy corn kernels well, contributing to good sensory quality. Furthermore, SAEW effectively reduced the accumulation of H 2 O 2 content, elevated the O 2 - · scavenging ability, maintained higher CAT and APX activities, and decreased the decline of the flavonoids and anthocyanin during the storage. These results revealed that the SAEW treatment could be a promising preservation method to maintain higher-quality attributes and the antioxidant capacity of fresh red waxy corn during postharvest cold storage., Competing Interests: Author WY was employed by the company Shanghai Shuneng Irradiation Technology Co., Ltd. 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 © 2024 Wang, Liu, Liu, Wei, Wang, Zhang, Wang, Chen, Yan and Qiao.)

The iron transport system plays a crucial role in the extracellular electron transfer process of Shewanella sp . In this study, we fabricated a vertically oriented α-Fe 2 O 3 nanoarray on carbon cloth to enhance interfacial electron transfer in Shewanella putrefaciens CN32 microbial fuel cells. The incorporation of the α-Fe 2 O 3 nanoarray not only resulted in a slight increase in flavin content but also significantly enhanced biofilm loading, leading to an eight-fold higher maximum power density compared to plain carbon cloth. Through expression level analyses of electron transfer-related genes in the outer membrane and core genes in the iron transport system, we propose that the α-Fe 2 O 3 nanoarray can serve as an electron mediator, facilitating direct electron transfer between the bacteria and electrodes. This finding provides important insights into the potential application of iron-containing oxide electrodes in the design of microbial fuel cells and other bioelectrochemical systems, highlighting the role of α-Fe 2 O 3 in promoting direct electron transfer., 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 © 2024 He, Lu, Fu, Zhou, Qian and Qiao.)

Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis , a well-known Chinese medicinal herb, shows a unique physiological trait characterized by the cyclic opening and closing of its anthers after pollen maturation. The aim of this study was to explore the implications of this phenomenon on breeding. RNA sequencing coupled with methylation sequencing was used to scrutinize and compare gene expression profiles and methylation alterations in pollen and seeds during anther opening and closing, along with cold exposure. Genes enriched within Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways were examined to identify gene clusters susceptible to temperature-related methylation changes in both pollen and seeds. Four pollen treatment models, namely, normal control, "pollen protected from low temperatures," "pollen from just-opened anther," and "pollen from close-blocked anther," were used to produce corresponding seeds via artificial pollination. Subsequently, qRT-PCR was used to validate modifications in the expression patterns of marker genes in pollinated seeds under diverse treatment scenarios. Genes exhibiting significant differences in expression between anthers and normal tissues, along with gene regions linked to methylation variations attributed to low-temperature-treated pollen and seeds, were identified through transcriptomic analysis. Convergence was observed in three signaling pathways: oxidative phosphorylation (ko00190), plant hormone signal transduction (Ko04075), and zeatin biosynthesis (ko00908). Notably, gene clusters prone to temperature-induced methylation changes, such as NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase chain 5, plasma membrane ATPase 4, cytochrome c oxidase subunit 2, cis-zeatin O-glucosyltransferase, ABSCISIC ACID-INSENSITIVE 5-like protein 4, and indole-3-acetic acid-amido synthetase (IAAS), were identified. Evaluation using various pollen pollination models revealed altered expression patterns of five dormancy-regulating marker genes: IAAS, sucrose synthase (SUS), gibberellin 2-oxidase (GA2ox), ABA INSENSITIVE 2 (ABI2), and auxin-repressed protein (ARP), in seeds pollinated with pollen from close-blocked anthers, cold-protected pollen, and pollen from freshly opened anthers. The close-blocked anther treatment led to significantly upregulated expression of IAAS, SUS, GA2ox, and ABI2, whereas ARP expression decreased markedly, indicating a propensity toward prolonged seed dormancy. Conversely, in the low-temperature-protected anther model, SUS, ARP, GA2ox, and IAAS exhibited reduced expression levels, whereas the expression of ABI2 was upregulated, overall facilitating seed germination., 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 © 2024 Wang, Wang, Wang, Wang, Yin, Qiao, Ma, Du and Wang.)

Introduction: This study used Bacillus amyloliquefaciens DGL1 isolated from the arid sandy land of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau as the research strain and investigated the effects of DGL1 on the biomass, physiology, and metabolites of Medicago sativa under different intensities of drought stress to provide a high-quality bacterial source and a theoretical basis for the research and development of biological fertilizer suitable for arid areas., Methods: The exopolysaccharides (EPS), 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase (ACC), and phosphorus solubilizing capacity of DGL1 were determined. The effects of a DGL1 suspension on alfalfa biomass, physiological indexes, degree of peroxidation of cell membranes, and activity of antioxidant enzymes were determined after irrigating roots under drought stress. The effects on soil physicochemical properties were also evaluated, and metabolomics analysis was performed to explore the effect of DGL1 on the metabolites of alfalfa under drought stress., Results: Strain DGL1 produced extracellular polysaccharide EPS and ACC deaminase and was capable of phosphorus solubilization. Treatment with DGL1 increased the biomass of alfalfa under different degrees of drought stress, significantly increased the activities of alfalfa antioxidant enzymes Super Oxide Dismutase (SOD), Peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT), reduced the content of MDA and H 2 O 2 , and increased the content of quick-acting phosphorus, quick-acting potassium, ammonium nitrogen, and nitrate nitrogen in the soil, thus improving soil fertility. Through metabolomics analysis, DGL1 was shown to affect amino acid metabolic pathways, such as arginine, leucine, glutamate, and tyrosine, as well as the levels of energy-providing polysaccharides and lipids, in alfalfa under 15% PEG-6000 drought stress, enhancing alfalfa's capacity to resist drought stress., Discussion: Strain DGL1 enhances the drought suitability of alfalfa and has the potential for dryland development as a biological agent., 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 © 2024 Yang, Xie, Qiao, Chang, Wang, Li, Wu, Li and Gao.)

Objective: To explore the symptom experiences and influencing factors of gastrointestinal (GI) cancer patients on chemotherapy (CTX) in China., Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 GI cancer patients undergoing CTX. Following the Colaizzi 7-step analysis method, the interview data were read carefully, meaningful statements related to the research questions were extracted, coded, collected, and described in detail, and the authenticity of the theme was verified., Results: Nine themes were grouped into two main areas including the characteristics of symptom experiences and influences on symptom experiences., Conclusion: The symptom experiences of patients undergoing CTX for GI cancer is poor and influenced by multiple factors. Nurses need to pay attention to the assessment and monitoring of CTX-related symptoms, improve symptom recognition, enhance doctor-patient communication and social support, explore intelligent management methods, and increase the efficiency of healthcare services to improve patients' symptom experience., 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 © 2024 Huang, Yang and Qiao.)

Introduction: Bacillus amyloliquefaciens DGL1, isolated from the arid sandy areas in Dagler, Qinghai Province, China, promotes the growth of Avena sativa variety "Qing Yan 1"., Methods: To elucidate the transcriptomic changes in the oat root system following interaction with DGL1 and to reveal the molecular mechanism by which DGL1 promotes oat growth, treatment and control groups of oat roots at 2, 4, 8, and 12 h after inoculation with a suspension of strain DGL1 were analyzed using Illumina high-throughput transcriptome sequencing technology. The differentially expressed genes were determined through Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses, and the metabolic pathways and key genes were analyzed., Results: The results showed that 7874, 13,392, 13,169, and 19,026 differentially expressed genes were significantly enriched in the glycolysis/gluconeogenesis pathway, amino acid metabolism, nitrogen metabolism, plant hormone signal transduction, and other related metabolic pathways in the oat roots at 2, 4, 8, and 12 h after inoculation with a DGL1 suspension. The GO and KEGG enrichment analyses revealed that the genes encoding plasma membrane ATPase, phosphoglycerate kinase gene PGK , ammonium transporter protein gene AMT , cellulose synthase gene CSLF6 , and growth hormone response family gene IAA18 were significantly upregulated., Discussion: It is hypothesized that the pro-growth mechanism of strain DGL1 in oats is the result of the coordination of multiple pathways through the promotion of oat energy metabolism, phytohormone signaling, secondary metabolite synthesis, and amino acid metabolism., 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 © 2024 Yang, Xie, Wang, Qiao, Li, Wu and Gao.)

Music is one of the primary ways to evoke human emotions. However, the feeling of music is subjective, making it difficult to determine which emotions music triggers in a given individual. In order to correctly identify emotional problems caused by different types of music, we first created an electroencephalogram (EEG) data set stimulated by four different types of music (fear, happiness, calm, and sadness). Secondly, the differential entropy features of EEG were extracted, and then the emotion recognition model CNN-SA-BiLSTM was established to extract the temporal features of EEG, and the recognition performance of the model was improved by using the global perception ability of the self-attention mechanism. The effectiveness of the model was further verified by the ablation experiment. The classification accuracy of this method in the valence and arousal dimensions is 93.45% and 96.36%, respectively. By applying our method to a publicly available EEG dataset DEAP, we evaluated the generalization and reliability of our method. In addition, we further investigate the effects of different EEG bands and multi-band combinations on music emotion recognition, and the results confirm relevant neuroscience studies. Compared with other representative music emotion recognition works, this method has better classification performance, and provides a promising framework for the future research of emotion recognition system based on brain computer interface., 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 © 2024 Qiao, Mu, Xie, Hu and Liu.)

Background: Previous observational studies have suggested a correlation between immune cells and Parkinson's disease (PD), yet specific investigations into the causal relationship between the two remain limited. This study aims to explore this potential causal relationship., Methods: We utilized genome-wide association study (GWAS) data on immune cells and Parkinson's Disease, conducting a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). To estimate causality, we employed inverse variance weighting (IVW), MR-Egger, and weighted median (WM) methods. For sensitivity analysis, we used Cochran's Q-test, MR-Egger intercept, leave-one-out analysis, and funnel plots., Results: After false discovery rate (FDR) correction, the effects of PD on immune cells, and vice versa, were not statistically significant. These include CX3CR1 on CD14+ CD16-monocyte (OR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.86-0.96, p  = 0.0003 PFDR = 0.152), CD62L-CD86+ myeloid DC AC (OR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.89-0.97, p  = 0.0005, PFDR = 0.152),CD11b on Mo (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.03-1.13, p  = 0.001, PFDR = 0.152), CD38 on igd+ cd24- (OR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.06-1.23, p  = 0.001, PFDR = 0.152), D14+ cd16+ monocyte %monocyte (OR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.04-1.17, p  = 0.001, PFDR = 0.159). Additionally, PD may be causally related to the immune phenotype of CM CD8br %T cell (beta = 0.10, 95% CI = 1.14-1.16, p  = 0.0004, PFDR = 0.151), SSC-A on monocyte (beta = 0.11, 95% CI = 1.15-1.18, p  = 0.0004, PFDR = 0.1 SSC-A on monocyte). No pleiotropy was determined., Conclusion: This study suggested a potential causal link between immune cells and Parkinson's Disease through the MR method, which could provide a new direction for the mechanistic research and clinical treatment of PD., 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 © 2024 Gu, Qiao and Cong.)

Introduction: Alzheimer's disease is a prevalent disease with a heavy global burden and is suggested to be a metabolic disease in the brain in recent years. The metabolome is considered to be the most promising phenotype which reflects changes in genetic, transcript, and protein profiles as well as environmental effects. Aiming to obtain a comprehensive understanding and convenient diagnosis of MCI and AD from another perspective, researchers are working on AD metabolomics. Urine is more convenient which could reflect the change of disease at an earlier stage. Thus, we conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate novel diagnostic panels., Methods: We first enrolled participants from China-Japan Friendship Hospital from April 2022 to November 2022, collected urine samples and conducted an LC-MS/MS analysis. In parallel, clinical data were collected and clinical examinations were performed. After statistical and bioinformatics analyzes, significant risk factors and differential urinary metabolites were determined. We attempt to investigate diagnostic panels based on machine learning including LASSO and SVM., Results: Fifty-seven AD patients, 43 MCI patients and 62 CN subjects were enrolled. A total of 2,140 metabolites were identified among which 125 significantly differed between the AD and CN groups, including 46 upregulated ones and 79 downregulated ones. In parallel, there were 93 significant differential metabolites between the MCI and CN groups, including 23 upregulated ones and 70 downregulated ones. AD diagnostic panel (30 metabolites+ age + APOE) achieved an AUC of 0.9575 in the test set while MCI diagnostic panel (45 metabolites+ age + APOE) achieved an AUC of 0.7333 in the test set. Atropine, S-Methyl-L-cysteine-S-oxide, D-Mannose 6-phosphate (M6P), Spiculisporic Acid, N-Acetyl-L-methionine, 13,14-dihydro-15-keto-tetranor Prostaglandin D2, Pyridoxal 5'-Phosphate (PLP) and 17(S)-HpDHA were considered valuable for both AD and MCI diagnosis and defined as hub metabolites. Besides, diagnostic metabolites were weakly correlated with cognitive functions., Discussion: In conclusion, the procedure is convenient, non-invasive, and useful for diagnosis, which could assist physicians in differentiating AD and MCI from CN. Atropine, M6P and PLP were evidence-based hub metabolites in AD., 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 © 2023 Wang, Sun, Wang, Jia, Qiao, Zhou, Shao, Zhang, Guo, Song, Niu and Peng.)

Background: The annual incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) continues to rise steadily. In recent years, adipose tissue (AT) has gained recognition as a pivotal contributor to the pathogenesis of NAFLD. Employing bibliometric analysis, we examined literature concerning AT and NAFLD. Methods: Relevant literature on AT in NAFLD from 1980 to 2022 was extracted from the Web of Science Core Collection. These records were visualized using CiteSpace and VOSviewer regarding publications, countries/regions, institutions, authors, journals, references, and keywords. Results: Since 2002, a total of 3,330 papers have been included, exhibiting an annual surge in publications. Notably, the quality of publications is superior in the USA and Europe. Kenneth Cusi stands out as the author with the highest number of publications and H-index. Hepatology is the journal boasting the highest citation and H-index. The University of California System holds the highest centrality among institutions. References specifically delve into physiological processes associated with AT in NAFLD. Currently, lipid metabolism and inflammation constitute the principal research mechanisms in the AT-based regulation of NAFLD, with pertinent keywords including microRNA, T cell, hypoxia, sarcopenia, hepatokine, gut microbiota, and autophagy. The Mediterranean diet is among the most widely recommended dietary approaches for potential NAFLD treatment. Conclusion: This paper represents the inaugural bibliometric study on the effects of AT on NAFLD, offering valuable insights and directions for future research., 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 © 2023 Gu, Qiao, Liu, Yang, Cong, Wang, Yu, Wang and Chai.)

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) in general and Natural Language Processing (NLP) in particular are paving the new way forward for the automated detection and prediction of mental health disorders among the population. Recent research in this area has prioritized predictive accuracy over model interpretability by relying on deep learning methods. However, prioritizing predictive accuracy over model interpretability can result in a lack of transparency in the decision-making process, which is critical in sensitive applications such as healthcare. There is thus a growing need for explainable AI (XAI) approaches to psychiatric diagnosis and prediction. The main aim of this work is to address a gap by conducting a systematic investigation of XAI approaches in the realm of automatic detection of mental disorders from language behavior leveraging textual data from social media. In pursuit of this aim, we perform extensive experiments to evaluate the balance between accuracy and interpretability across predictive mental health models. More specifically, we build BiLSTM models trained on a comprehensive set of human-interpretable features, encompassing syntactic complexity, lexical sophistication, readability, cohesion, stylistics, as well as topics and sentiment/emotions derived from lexicon-based dictionaries to capture multiple dimensions of language production. We conduct extensive feature ablation experiments to determine the most informative feature groups associated with specific mental health conditions. We juxtapose the performance of these models against a "black-box" domain-specific pretrained transformer adapted for mental health applications. To enhance the interpretability of the transformers models, we utilize a multi-task fusion learning framework infusing information from two relevant domains (emotion and personality traits). Moreover, we employ two distinct explanation techniques: the local interpretable model-agnostic explanations (LIME) method and a model-specific self-explaining method (AGRAD). These methods allow us to discern the specific categories of words that the information-infused models rely on when generating predictions. Our proposed approaches are evaluated on two public English benchmark datasets, subsuming five mental health conditions (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression and psychological stress)., 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 © 2023 Kerz, Zanwar, Qiao and Wiechmann.)

Medicago ruthenica is closely related to Medicago sativa, a commonly cultivated forage. Characterized by its high tolerance to environmental stress, M. ruthenica is a valuable genetic resource. However, low yield limits its large-scale utilization. Leaf morphology, an important agronomic trait, is closely related to forage yield and photosynthetic efficiency. In the presented study, "Correlation of Leaf Morphology and Photosynthetic Performance with Forage Yield in Medicago ruthenica : The Underlying Molecular Mechanisms," comprehensive data analysis revealed a significant positive association between leaf width and leaf area with forage yield in Medicago ruthenica ( p < 0.05). The specific cultivar "Mengnong No.1 (MN No.1) had a large leaf area, and its physiological parameters related to photosynthetic characteristics were superior. Anatomical examination revealed that the leaves of MN No.1 had strong palisade tissue and compact cell structure. Subsequent investigations, utilizing small RNA and transcriptome sequencing, discerned critical miRNA-target gene networks that underpin the high photosynthetic efficiency in M. ruthenica . A total of 63 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) were identified, inclusive of several well-characterized miRNAs such as miR408, miR171, and miR398. These miRNAs were predicted to target 55 genes (mRNAs), of which 6 miRNA-target gene pairs, particularly those involving miR408and miR171, exhibited inverse expression patterns. Among the six postulated miRNA-target gene pairs, the targeted cleavage of LACCASE5 ( LAC5 ) by miR408 was conclusively validated through degradome sequencing, with the cleavage site pinpointed between the 9th and 10th nucleotides from the 5'end of miR408 via the 5'-RLM-RACE assay. Therefore, it is posited that the miR408- MrLAC5 module constitutes a central mechanism in fostering high photosynthetic efficiency in M. ruthenica . Moreover, these findings also provide valuable information for further study of the regulatory genes and miRNA functions of forage yield in legume forage., 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 © 2023 Zhang, Yan, Qiao, Gao, Tang, Gao and Shi.)

Older individuals are easily prone to chronic pain. Due to the complexity of chronic pain, most elderly often have difficulty expressing pain to others to seek assistance, especially those with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The caregivers cannot instantly discover the patients' pain condition and provide timely pain management. This project applies physiological signal sensing technology to help AD patients express the presence of pain non-verbally. We embed sensors on patients' handkerchiefs to identify the patient's abnormal physical activity when pain occurs. Next, we translate the physiological signal into qualitative light alert to send to caregivers and indicate the pain occurrence condition. Then, utilizing multi-sensory stimulation intervention, we create an electronic textile (e-textile) tool to help caregivers effectively support patients in pain. And thus to create a two-way pain communication between caregivers and the patients. Pain perception can be independent of subjective expressions and tangibly perceived by others through our textile prototype. The e-textile handkerchiefs also bring up a new guide to facilitate communication for caregivers when their patients. We contribute the design insights of building a bio-sensing and e-textile system with considering the pain communication needs, patients' pain behaviors and preference of objects. Our e-textile system may contribute to pain communication bio-sensing tool design for special elderly groups, especially those with weakened cognition and communication abilities. We provide a new approach to dealing with the pain of AD patients for healthcare professionals., 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 © 2023 Li, Bai, Mao, Ren, Qiao, Tong and Lc.)

Infectious bursal disease (IBD) classical virus strain (cIBDV) can cause morbidity and mortality in young chickens with severe long-term immunosuppression. However, since the emergence and widespread prevalence of very virulent strain (vvIBDV) in China from 1991, reports of cIBDV have become rare. A novel reassortant and recombinant strain GXYL211225 (genotype A1aB1a) with segment A originating from the classical strain (A1a) and segment B from the attenuated vaccine strain (B1a) was characterized in the study. Notably, segment A resulted from recombination between the cIBDV strains 150127-0.2 and Faragher52-70, expressing as a backbone from 150127-0.2, where a fragment located at the position of nucleotide (nt) 519-1 410 was replaced by the corresponding region of Faragher52-70. The infection of GXYL211225 caused mortality in SPF chicken embryos, despite lacking the critical amino acid (aa) residues 253H, 279 N and 284A associated with the cellular tropism, and induced significant cytopathic effect (CPE) on a wide range of cells, confirming its natural cell-adapted character. Furthermore, the challenge experiment of GXYL211225 was performed on the commercial Three-yellow chickens of 4-week-old, and with the vvIBDV HLJ-0504-like strain NN1172 and the novel variant (nv) IBDV strain QZ191002 as the comparison. All the challenged birds experienced reduced body-weight gain. QZ191002 infected birds showed no obvious clinical symptoms or mortality, while those of NN1172 and GXYL211225 showed typical IBD symptoms and resulted in 20% (2/10) and 10% (1/10) of mortality rates, respectively. At 7 days post-challenge (dpc), the damages of bursal of Fabricius (BF) varied among groups, with NN1172 causing the most severe lesions, followed by GXYL211225, and then QZ191002. It was also found that the pathogenicity was correlated positively with the viral load, aligning with the histopathological severity in BF. The study confirms the rapid and diverse evolution of the re-emerged classical strains in the field and emphasizes the need to monitor the changes of IBDV on both the genetic and pathogenic aspects for the effective control of the disease., 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 © 2023 Wang, Shi, Zhang, Qiao, Zuo, Wang, Nong, Hu, Chen, Kong, He and Wei.)

Introduction: The photosynthetic electron transport chain (ETC) is the bridge that links energy harvesting during the photophysical reactions at one end and energy consumption during the biochemical reactions at the other. Its functioning is thus fundamental for the proper balance between energy supply and demand in photosynthesis. Currently, there is a lack of understanding regarding how the structural properties of the ETC are affected by nutrient availability and plant developmental stages, which is a major roadblock to comprehensive modeling of photosynthesis., Methods: Redox parameters reflect the structural controls of ETC on the photochemical reactions and electron transport. We conducted joint measurements of chlorophyll fluorescence (ChlF) and gas exchange under systematically varying environmental conditions and growth stages of maize and sampled foliar nutrient contents. We utilized the recently developed steady-state photochemical model to infer redox parameters of electron transport from these measurements., Results and Discussion: We found that the inferred values of these photochemical redox parameters varied with leaf macronutrient content. These variations may be caused either directly by these nutrients being components of protein complexes on the ETC or indirectly by their impacts on the structural integrity of the thylakoid and feedback from the biochemical reactions. Also, the redox parameters varied with plant morphology and developmental stage, reflecting seasonal changes in the structural properties of the ETC. Our findings will facilitate the parameterization and simulation of complete models of photosynthesis., 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 © 2023 Liu, Qiao, Zhou, Dong and Gu.)

Introduction: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) with a positive amyloid burden has been recognized as the earliest clinical symptom of the preclinical phase of Alzheimers disease (AD), providing invaluable opportunities to improve our understanding of the natural history of AD and determine strategies for early therapeutic interventions., Methods: The microstructure of white matter in patients showing SCD in the preclinical phase of AD (SCD of pre-AD) was evaluated using diffusion images, and voxel-wise fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), and axial and radial diffusivities were assessed and compared among participant groups. Significant clusters in the tracts were extracted to determine their associations with alterations in the cognitive domains., Results: We found that individuals with SCD of pre-AD may have subclinical episodic memory impairment associated with the global amyloid burden. Meanwhile, we found significantly reduced FA and λ1 in the right cingulum (cingulate and hippocampus) in AD dementia, while significantly increased FA and decreased MD as well as λ23 in the SCD of pre-AD group in comparison with the HC group., Discussion: In conclusion, increased white matter microstructural integrity in the right cingulum (cingulate and hippocampus) may indicate compensation for short-term episodic memory in individuals with SCD of pre-AD in comparison with individuals with AD and healthy elderly individuals., 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 © 2023 Sun, Qiao, Guo, Hou, Chen and Peng.)

Optimal management of nitrogen fertilizer profoundly impacts sustainable development by influencing nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and seed cotton yield. However, the effect of long-term gradient nitrogen application on the sandy loam soil is unclear. Therefore, we conducted an 8-year field study (2014-2021) using six nitrogen levels: 0 kg/hm 2 (N0), 75 kg/hm 2 (N1), 150 kg/hm 2 (N2), 225 kg/hm 2 (N3), 300 kg/hm 2 (N4), and 375 kg/hm 2 (N5). The experiment showed that 1) Although nitrogen application had insignificantly affected basic soil fertility, the soil total nitrogen (STN) content had decreased by 5.71%-19.67%, 6.67%-16.98%, and 13.64%-21.74% at 0-cm-20-cm, 20-cm-40-cm, and 40-cm-60-cm soil layers, respectively. 2) The reproductive organs of N3 plants showed the highest nitrogen accumulation and dry matter accumulation in both years. Increasing the nitrogen application rate gradually decreased the dry matter allocation ratio to the reproductive organs. 3) The boll number per unit area of N3 was the largest among all treatments in both years. On sandy loam, the most optional nitrogen rate was 190 kg/hm 2 -270 kg/hm 2 for high seed cotton yield with minimal nitrogen loss and reduced soil environment pollution., 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 © 2023 Ma, Sun, Yang, Li, Li, Qiao, Zhang, Zhang, Bai, Li, Li and Liu.)

Optimizing the N application amount and topdressing ratio can increase crop yield and decrease N loss, but its internal mechanisms have not been well studied, especially from the aspects of population dynamics and structure, ear fruiting traits. Here, field experiments, with three N rates 120 (N1), 180 (N2), and 240 (N3) kg N ha -1 and three N topdressing ratios T1 (7:3), T2 (6:4), and T3 (5:5) were conducted. At the same N level, results showed that the N accumulation amounts in the leaf, grain, and plant in T2 were higher than in T3 and T1, and increasing 60 kg N ha -1 (N3 compared to N2, N2 compared to N1) significantly enhanced N accumulation amounts. The effect of the N topdressing ratio on partial factor productivity of applied N was consistently T2 > T3 > T1, but T1 was more conducive to improving N utilization efficiency for grain and biomass production. After the jointing stage, compared to T1 and T3, T2 was more conducive to increasing the population growth rate of plant height, leaf area index, leaf area growth rate, dry matter weight, dry matter accumulation rate, light interception rate, and spikelets of population, and the above-mentioned indexes of population could be significantly enhanced by increasing 120 kg N ha -1 . T2 increased the fruiting spikelets per ear, grains per ear, grain weight per ear, fruiting rate per ear, grain filling rate per ear, and yield but decreased the sterile spikelets at the top and bottom and imperfect grains per ear. Increasing N from 120 kg ha -1 to 180 kg ha -1 or from 180 kg ha -1 to 240 kg ha -1 significantly enhanced yield. The N accumulation amount in the grain, leaf, plant, leaf area growth rate, dry matter accumulation rate, light interception rate, population spikelets, fruiting spikelets per ear, grain filling rate, and yield were significantly positively correlated with each other. This study demonstrates a suitable N application rate with a N topdressing ratio 6:4 would more effectively improve N efficiency, population dynamics, structure, ear fruiting traits, and yield, but the effect of the N topdressing ratio is not as significant as that of increasing 60 kg N ha -1 ., 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 © 2023 Zhang, Xu, Du, Qiao, Cao and Chen.)

Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by motor impairment. In this study, we aimed to describe the characteristics of amino acids (AA) in the plasma of children with CP and identify AA that could play a potential role in the auxiliary diagnosis and treatment of CP., Methods: Using high performance liquid chromatography, we performed metabolomics analysis of AA in plasma from 62 CP children and 60 healthy controls. Univariate and multivariate analyses were then applied to characterize different AA. AA markers associated with CP were then identified by machine learning based on the Lasso regression model for the validation of intra-sample interactions. Next, we calculated a discriminant formula and generated a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve based on the marker combination in the discriminant diagnostic model., Results: A total of 33 AA were detected in the plasma of CP children and controls. Compared with controls, 5, 7, and 10 different AA were identified in total participants, premature infants, and full-term infants, respectively. Of these, β-amino-isobutyric acid [ p  = 2.9*10 (-4) , Fold change (FC) = 0.76, Variable importance of protection (VIP) = 1.75], tryptophan [ p  = 5.4*10 (-4) , FC = 0.87, VIP = 2.22], and asparagine [ p  = 3.6*10 (-3) , FC = 0.82, VIP = 1.64], were significantly lower in the three groups of CP patients than that in controls. The combination of β-amino-isobutyric acid, tryptophan, and taurine, provided high levels of diagnostic classification and risk prediction efficacy for preterm children with an area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.8741 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.7322-1.000]. The discriminant diagnostic formula for preterm infant with CP based on the potential marker combination was defined by p  = 1/(1 + e -(8.295-0.3848* BAIBA-0.1120*Trp + 0.0108*Tau) )., Conclusion: Full-spectrum analysis of amino acid metabolomics revealed a distinct profile in CP, including reductions in the levels of β-amino-isobutyric acid, tryptophan, and taurine. Our findings shed new light on the pathogenesis and diagnosis of premature infants with CP., 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 © 2023 Wang, Song, Cheng, Xu, Song, Qiao, Li, Xia, Li, Zhang, Su, Wang, Ding, Wang, Wang, Zhu and Xing.)

In this study, we propose a high-throughput and low-cost automatic detection method based on deep learning to replace the inefficient manual counting of rapeseed siliques. First, a video is captured with a smartphone around the rapeseed plants in the silique stage. Feature point detection and matching based on SIFT operators are applied to the extracted video frames, and sparse point clouds are recovered using epipolar geometry and triangulation principles. The depth map is obtained by calculating the disparity of the matched images, and the dense point cloud is fused. The plant model of the whole rapeseed plant in the silique stage is reconstructed based on the structure-from-motion (SfM) algorithm, and the background is removed by using the passthrough filter. The downsampled 3D point cloud data is processed by the DGCNN network, and the point cloud is divided into two categories: sparse rapeseed canopy siliques and rapeseed stems. The sparse canopy siliques are then segmented from the original whole rapeseed siliques point cloud using the sparse-dense point cloud mapping method, which can effectively save running time and improve efficiency. Finally, Euclidean clustering segmentation is performed on the rapeseed canopy siliques, and the RANSAC algorithm is used to perform line segmentation on the connected siliques after clustering, obtaining the three-dimensional spatial position of each silique and counting the number of siliques. The proposed method was applied to identify 1457 siliques from 12 rapeseed plants, and the experimental results showed a recognition accuracy greater than 97.80%. The proposed method achieved good results in rapeseed silique recognition and provided a useful example for the application of deep learning networks in dense 3D point cloud segmentation., 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 © 2023 Qiao, Liao, Zhang, Han, Peng, Huang, Wang, Zhou and Xu.)

The leaf maximum rate of carboxylation (V cmax ) is a key parameter of plant photosynthetic capacity. The accurate estimation of V cmax is crucial for correctly predicting the carbon flux in the terrestrial carbon cycle. V cmax is correlated with plant traits including leaf nitrogen (N area ) and leaf photosynthetic pigments. Proxies for leaf chlorophyll (Chl area ) and carotenoid contents (Car area ) need to be explored in different ecosystems. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between leaf maximum rate of carboxylation (scaled to 25°C; V cmax25 ) and both leaf N area and photosynthetic pigments (Chl area and Car area ) in winter wheat in a farmland ecosystem. Our results showed that V cmax25 followed the same trends as leaf Chl area . However, leaf N area showed smaller dynamic changes before the flowering stage, and there were smaller seasonal variations in leaf Car area . The correlation between leaf V cmax25 and leaf Chl area was the strongest, followed by leaf Car area and leaf N area (R 2  = 0.69, R 2  = 0.47 and R 2  = 0.36, respectively). The random forest regression analysis also showed that leaf Chl area and leaf Car area were more important than leaf N area for V cmax25 . The correlation between leaf V cmax25 and N area can be weaker since nitrogen allocation is dynamic. The estimation accuracy of the V cmax25 model based on N area , Chl area , and Car area (R 2  = 0.75) was only 0.05 higher than that of the V cmax25 model based on Chl area and Car area (R 2  = 0.70). However, the estimation accuracy of the V cmax25 model based on Chl area and Car area (R 2  = 0.70) was 0.34 higher than that of the V cmax25 model based on N area (R 2  = 0.36). These results highlight that leaf photosynthetic pigments can be a predictor for estimating V cmax25 , expanding a new way to estimate spatially continuous V cmax25 on a regional scale, and to improve model simulation accuracy., 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 © 2023 Li, Wang, Fu, Qiao, Hao and Qi.)

Seed coat color is a typical morphological trait that can be used to reveal the evolution of soybean. The study of seed coat color-related traits in soybeans is of great significance for both evolutionary theory and breeding practices. In this study, 180 F 10 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from the cross between the yellow-seed coat cultivar Jidou12 (ZDD23040, JD12) and the wild black-seed coat accession Y9 (ZYD02739) were used as materials. Three methods, single-marker analysis (SMA), interval mapping (IM), and inclusive composite interval mapping (ICIM), were used to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) controlling seed coat color and seed hilum color. Simultaneously, two genome-wide association study (GWAS) models, the generalized linear model (GLM) and mixed linear model (MLM), were used to jointly identify seed coat color and seed hilum color QTLs in 250 natural populations. By integrating the results from QTL mapping and GWAS analysis, we identified two stable QTLs ( qSCC02 and qSCC08 ) associated with seed coat color and one stable QTL ( qSHC08 ) related to seed hilum color. By combining the results of linkage analysis and association analysis, two stable QTLs ( qSCC02 , qSCC08 ) for seed coat color and one stable QTL ( qSHC08 ) for seed hilum color were identified. Upon further investigation using Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis, we validated the previous findings that two candidate genes ( CHS3C and CHS4A ) reside within the qSCC08 region and identified a new QTL, qSCC02 . There were a total of 28 candidate genes in the interval, among which Glyma.02G024600 , Glyma.02G024700 , and Glyma.02G024800 were mapped to the glutathione metabolic pathway, which is related to the transport or accumulation of anthocyanin. We considered the three genes as potential candidate genes for soybean seed coat-related traits. The QTLs and candidate genes detected in this study provide a foundation for further understanding the genetic mechanisms underlying soybean seed coat color and seed hilum color and are of significant value in marker-assisted breeding., 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 © 2023 Yang, Zhao, Wang, Liu, Liu, Zhang, Qin, Yang and Qiao.)

Osteoporosis (OP) is a metabolic disease that affects bone, resulting in a progressive decrease in bone mass, quality, and micro-architectural degeneration. Natural products have become popular for managing OP in recent years due to their minimal adverse side effects and suitability for prolonged use compared to chemically synthesized products. These natural products are known to modulate multiple OP-related gene expressions, making epigenetics an important tool for optimal therapeutic development. In this study, we investigated the role of epigenetics in OP and reviewed existing research on using natural products for OP management. Our analysis identified around twenty natural products involved in epigenetics-based OP modulation, and we discussed potential mechanisms. These findings highlight the clinical significance of natural products and their potential as novel anti-OP therapeutics., 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 © 2023 Zhang, Liu, Li, Zhang, Yao and Qiao.)

Competing Interests: Guangxi Institute of Oceanology Co., Ltd. was the employer of authors Shengping Zhong, Yan Jiang, Xujia Liu, and Mengqing Zeng. The remaining authors state that no business or financial relationships that may be considered as a potential conflict of interest existed during the study.

Purpose: Brain glymphatic dysfunction is involved in the pathologic process of acute ischemic stroke (IS). The relationship between brain glymphatic activity and dysfunction in subacute IS has not been fully elucidated. Diffusion tensor image analysis along the perivascular space (DTI-ALPS) index was used in this study to explore whether glymphatic activity was related to motor dysfunction in subacute IS patients., Methods: Twenty-six subacute IS patients with a single lesion in the left subcortical region and 32 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited in this study. The DTI-ALPS index and DTI metrics (fractional anisotropy, FA, and mean diffusivity, MD) were compared within and between groups. Spearman's and Pearson's partial correlation analyses were performed to analyze the relationships of the DTI-ALPS index with Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) scores and with corticospinal tract (CST) integrity in the IS group, respectively., Results: Six IS patients and two HCs were excluded. The left DTI-ALPS index of the IS group was significantly lower than that of the HC group ( t = -3.02, p = 0.004). In the IS group, a positive correlation between the left DTI-ALPS index and the simple Fugl-Meyer motor function score (ρ = 0.52, p = 0.019) and a significant negative correlation between the left DTI-ALPS index and the FA ( R = -0.55, p = 0.023) and MD ( R = -0.48, p = 0.032) values of the right CST were found., Conclusions: Glymphatic dysfunction is involved in subacute IS. DTI-ALPS could be a potential magnetic resonance (MR) biomarker of motor dysfunction in subacute IS patients. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms of IS and provide a new target for alternative treatments for IS., 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 © 2023 Qin, Li, Qiao, Zou, Qian, Li, Zhu, Huo, Wang and Zhang.)

The MYB transcription factors regulate plant growth, development, and defense responses. However, information about the MYB gene family in Ipomoea species is rare. Herein, we performed a comprehensive genome-wide comparative analysis of this gene family among seven Ipomoea species, sweet potato ( I. batatas ), I. trifida , I. triloba , I. nil , I. purpurea , I. cairica , and I. aquatic , and identified 296, 430, 411, 291, 226, 281, and 277 MYB genes, respectively. The identified MYB genes were classified into five types: 1R - MYB ( MYB -related), 2R - MYB ( R2R3 - MYB ), 3R - MYB ( R1R2R3 - MYB ), 4R - MYB , and 5R-MYB , and the MYB-related or R2R3 - MYB type was the most abundant MYB genes in the seven species. The Ipomoea MYB genes were classed into distinct subgroups based on the phylogenetic topology and the classification of the MYB superfamily in Arabidopsis. Analysis of gene structure and protein motifs revealed that members within the same phylogenetic group presented similar exon/intron and motif organization. The identified MYB genes were unevenly mapped on the chromosomes of each Ipomoea species. Duplication analysis indicated that segmental and tandem duplications contribute to expanding the Ipomoea MYB genes. Non-synonymous substitution (Ka) to synonymous substitution (Ks) [Ka/Ks] analysis showed that the duplicated Ipomoea MYB genes are mainly under purifying selection. Numerous cis -regulatory elements related to stress responses were detected in the MYB promoters. Six sweet potato transcriptome datasets referring to abiotic and biotic stresses were analyzed, and MYB different expression genes' (DEGs') responses to stress treatments were detected. Moreover, 10 sweet potato MYB DEGs were selected for qRT-PCR analysis. The results revealed that four responded to biotic stress (stem nematodes and Ceratocystis fimbriata pathogen infection) and six responded to the biotic stress (cold, drought, and salt). The results may provide new insights into the evolution of MYB genes in the Ipomoea genome and contribute to the future molecular breeding of sweet potatoes., 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 © 2023 Si, Wang, Ji, Zhao, Zhang and Qiao.)

Background: Several blood-based biomarkers are promising to be used in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) including Aβ42/40, p-tau181, and neurofilament light (NfL). The kidney is associated with the clearance of proteins. It is crucial to evaluate the effect of renal function on the diagnostic performance of these biomarkers before clinical implementation, which is important for the establishment of reference ranges and the interpretation of results., Methods: This study is a cross-sectional analysis based on ADNI cohort. Renal function was determined by the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Plasma Aβ42/40 was measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Plasma p-tau181 and NfL were analyzed by Single Molecule array (Simoa) technique. [18F] florbetapir-PET (Aβ-PET) was used as a reference standard to estimate the brain amyloid load. The cutoff of Aβ-PET positivity was defined as ≥1.11. Linear regression models were used to investigate the associations of continuous eGFR with each plasma biomarker separately. The diagnostic accuracies of plasma biomarkers for positive brain amyloid across different renal function groups were analyzed by Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Youden-Index was used to determine the cutoff levels., Results: A total of 645 participants were included in this study. The levels and diagnostic performance of Aβ42/40 were not affected by renal function. eGFR was only found negatively associated with p-tau181 levels in Aβ-PET negetive sample ( β = -0.09, p = 0.039). eGFR was found negatively associated with NfL levels both in whole sample and Aβ-PET stratified groups ( β = -0.27, p < 0.001 in whole sample; β = -0.28, p = 0.004 in A - ; β = -0.27, p < 0.001 in A + ). The diagnostic accuracies of p-tau181 and NfL were not affected by renal function. But the cutoff values of p-tau181 and NfL changed in participants with mild to moderate eGFR decline compared to participants with normal eGFR., Conclusion: Plasma Aβ42/40 was a robust biomarker for AD which was not affected by renal function. Plasma p-tau181 and NfL levels were affected by renal function, specific reference values of them should be considered in populations with different renal function stages., 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 © 2023 Zhang, Zhang, Wang, Chen, Qiao, Wang, Peng and for the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative.)

The frame of corn harvester is prone to vibration bending and torsional deformation due to the vibration caused by field road bumps and fluctuations. It poses a serious challenge to the reliability of machinery. Therefore it is critical to explore the vibration mechanism, and to identify the vibration states under different working conditions. To address the above problem, a vibration state identification method is proposed in this paper. An improved empirical mode decomposition (EMD) algorithm was used to decrease noise for signals of high noise and non-stationary vibration in the field. The support vector machine (SVM) model was used for identification of frame vibration states under different working conditions. The results showed that: (1) an improved EMD algorithm could effectively reduce noise interference and restore the effective information of the original signal. (2) based on improved EMD - SVM method identify the vibration states of the frame with the accuracy of 99.21%. (3) The corn ears in grain tank were not sensitive to low order vibration, but had an absorption effect on high order vibration. The proposed method has the potential to be applied for accurately identifying vibration state and improving frame safety., 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 © 2023 Fu, Chen, Zhao, Chen, Li and Qiao.)

Fruits are derived from flowers and play an important role in human food, nutrition, and health. In general, flowers determine the crop yield, and ripening affects the fruit quality. Although transcription factors (TFs) only account for a small part of plant transcriptomes, they control the global gene expression and regulation. The plant-specific NAC (NAM, ATAF, and CUC) TFs constitute a large family evolving concurrently with the transition of both aquatic-to-terrestrial plants and vegetative-to-reproductive growth. Thus, NACs play an important role in fruit yield and quality by determining shoot apical meristem (SAM) inflorescence and controlling ripening. The present review focuses on the various properties of NACs together with their function and regulation in flower formation and fruit ripening. Hitherto, we have a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of NACs in ripening through abscisic acid (ABA) and ethylene (ETH), but how NACs regulate the expression of the inflorescence formation-related genes is largely unknown. In the future, we should focus on the analysis of NAC redundancy and identify the pivotal regulators of flowering and ripening. NACs are potentially vital manipulation targets for improving fruit quantity and quality., 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 © 2023 Liu, Qiao, Li and Hou.)

Introduction: Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a group of chronic conscious fatigue that is not easily relieved by rest and is accompanied by corresponding physiological dysfunction and psychological symptoms. However, due to the insufficient understanding of the pathogenesis of ME/CFS, there is currently a lack of effective treatment methods. In addition, there are few surveys on the current status of ME/CFS in the central region of China, and the data on ME/CFS among university students in the central region are lacking. This group conducted a survey on university students in Wuhan, Hubei Province in 2022 to collect and analyze the current status of ME/CFS among university students in central China for the first time, aiming to understand the current development of ME/CFS among university students, investigate the influencing factors of its prevalence, fill the data gaps, and provide a reliable basis for developing interventions for chronic fatigue syndrome among university students., Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among university students in a university in Hubei province. Data were collected via online questionnaire surveys. The contents included demographic characteristics, lifestyles, disease history, depression, anxiety, sleep, ME/CFS and other associated factors. SAS 9.4 statistical software was used to analyze and estimate the effect of associated factors on ME/CFS., Results: A total of 1826 subjects were included in the final analysis. The results showed that the prevalence of ME/CFS in university students was 6.25%. Univariate analysis showed that exercise, alcohol consumption, study, overnights, diet, anxiety, depression, and sleep quality were associated with ME/CFS ( P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that overnights, overeating, anxiety, and sleep quality were independent risk factors, while learning was a protective factor., Conclusion: College students should pay enough attention to ME/CFS, improve their understanding of ME/CFS, and improve people's ability to understand ME/CFS., 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 © 2023 Luo, Zhang, Huang, Zhou, Xiong, Liu, Zhai, Wang, Tan, Jiao, Chen, Yu, Qiao, Ren, Hu, Zhan and Cheng.)

Introduction: The two-spotted spider mite (TSSM) is a devastating pest of cassava production in China. Lignin is considered as an important defensive barrier against pests and diseases, several genes participate in lignin biosynthesis, however, how these genes modulate lignin accumulation in cassava and shape TSSM-resistance is largely unknown., Methods: To fill this knowledge gap, while under TSSM infestation, the cassava lignin biosynthesis related genes were subjected to expression pattern analysis followed by family identification, and genes with significant induction were used for further function exploration., Results: Most genes involved in lignin biosynthesis were up-regulated when the mite-resistant cassava cultivars were infested by TSSM, noticeably, the MePAL gene presented the most vigorous induction among these genes. Therefore, we paid more attention to dissect the function of MePAL gene during cassava-TSSM interaction. Gene family identification showed that there are 6 MePAL members identified in cassava genome, further phylogenetic analysis, gene duplication, cis-elements and conserved motif prediction speculated that these genes may probably contribute to biotic stress responses in cassava. The transcription profile of the 6 MePAL genes in TSSM-resistant cassava cultivar SC9 indicated a universal up-regulation pattern. To further elucidate the potential correlation between MePAL expression and TSSM-resistance, the most strongly induced gene MePAL6 were silenced using virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) assay, we found that silencing of MePAL6 in SC9 not only simultaneously suppressed the expression of other lignin biosynthesis genes such as 4-coumarate--CoA ligase (4CL), hydroxycinnamoyltransferase (HCT) and cinnamoyl-CoA reductase (CCR), but also resulted in decrease of lignin content. Ultimately, the suppression of MePAL6 in SC9 can lead to significant deterioration of TSSM-resistance., Discussion: This study accurately identified MePAL6 as critical genes in conferring cassava resistance to TSSM, which could be considered as promising marker gene for evaluating cassava resistance to insect pest., 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 © 2023 Yao, Liang, Chen, Liu, Wu, Wu, Shui, Qiao, Zhang and Geng.)

Osteoporosis (OP) is a severe systemic bone metabolic disease that occurs worldwide. During the coronavirus pandemic, prioritization of urgent services and delay of elective care attenuated routine screening and monitoring of OP patients. There is an urgent need for novel and effective screening diagnostic biomarkers that require minimal technical and time investments. Several studies have indicated that N6-methyladenosine (m6A) regulators play essential roles in metabolic diseases, including OP. The aim of this study was to identify key m6A regulators as biomarkers of OP through gene expression data analysis and experimental verification. GSE56815 dataset was served as the training dataset for 40 women with high bone mineral density (BMD) and 40 women with low BMD. The expression levels of 14 major m6A regulators were analyzed to screen for differentially expressed m6A regulators in the two groups. The impact of m6A modification on bone metabolism microenvironment characteristics was explored, including osteoblast-related and osteoclast-related gene sets. Most m6A regulators and bone metabolism-related gene sets were dysregulated in the low-BMD samples, and their relationship was also tightly linked. In addition, consensus cluster analysis was performed, and two distinct m6A modification patterns were identified in the low-BMD samples. Subsequently, by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses, we identified four key m6A regulators, namely, METTL16 , CBLL1 , FTO , and YTHDF2 . We built a diagnostic model based on the four m6A regulators. CBLL1 and YTHDF2 were protective factors, whereas METTL16 and FTO were risk factors, and the ROC curve and test dataset validated that this model had moderate accuracy in distinguishing high- and low-BMD samples. Furthermore, a regulatory network was constructed of the four hub m6A regulators and 26 m6A target bone metabolism-related genes, which enhanced our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of m6A modification in OP. Finally, the expression of the four key m6A regulators was validated in vivo and in vitro , which is consistent with the bioinformatic analysis results. Our findings identified four key m6A regulators that are essential for bone metabolism and have specific diagnostic value in OP. These modules could be used as biomarkers of OP in the future., 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 © 2023 Qiao, Li, Liu, Zhang, Liu and Zheng.)

Maize is susceptible to infect pest disease, and early disease detection is key to preventing the reduction of maize yields. The raw data used for plant disease detection are commonly RGB images and hyperspectral images (HSI). RGB images can be acquired rapidly and low-costly, but the detection accuracy is not satisfactory. On the contrary, using HSIs tends to obtain higher detection accuracy, but HSIs are difficult and high-cost to obtain in field. To overcome this contradiction, we have proposed the maize spectral recovery disease detection framework which includes two parts: the maize spectral recovery network based on the advanced hyperspectral recovery convolutional neural network (HSCNN+) and the maize disease detection network based on the convolutional neural network (CNN). Taking raw RGB data as input of the framework, the output reconstructed HSIs are used as input of disease detection network to achieve disease detection task. As a result, the detection accuracy obtained by using the low-cost raw RGB data almost as same as that obtained by using HSIs directly. The HSCNN+ is found to be fit to our spectral recovery model and the reconstruction fidelity was satisfactory. Experimental results demonstrate that the reconstructed HSIs efficiently improve detection accuracy compared with raw RGB image in tested scenarios, especially in complex environment scenario, for which the detection accuracy increases by 6.14%. The proposed framework has the advantages of fast, low cost and high detection precision. Moreover, the framework offers the possibility of real-time and precise field disease detection and can be applied in agricultural robots., 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 © 2022 Fu, Liu, Zhao, Chen, Qiao and Li.)

Introduction: Utilization of resistant germplasm is considered as an effective, economical and eco-friendly strategy for cassava pest management. Tetranychus urticae , known as the two-spotted spider mite (TSSM), is a devastating pest in Asian cassava planting countries as well as in China. However, the resistant levels of abundant cassava germplasms to TSSM remains largely unknown., Methods: To fill this knowledge gap, we conducted screening of 202 cassava germplasm for resistance to TSSM in China based on the classification of mite damage phenotype, under both greenhouse and field conditions., Results: The three rounds of large-scale greenhouse experiments had identified two highly resistant (HR) varieties (C1115 and MIANDIAN), five resistant (R) varieties (SC5, SC9, SC15, COLUMBIA-4D and LIMIN) and five highly susceptible (HS) varieties (KU50, BREAD, SC205, TMS60444 and BRA900), besides, these 'HR' and 'R' varieties would significantly repress the normal development and reproduction of TSSM. In addition, the 12 cassava varieties selected from the greenhouse screening were further subjected to consecutive five years of field validation at Danzhou, Wuming and Baoshan. The seven resistant varieties not only exhibited stable TSSM-resistance performance across the three field environments, but also possessed the same resistant levels as the greenhouse identification, while the resistant varieties SC5 was an exception, which was identified as moderate resistant in Baoshan, indicating the variety-environment interaction may affect its resistance. Furthermore, regional yield estimation suggested that the higher the resistance level was, the better capacity in reducing the yield losses., Discussion: This study demonstrated that the TSSM-resistant varieties could be considered as ideal materials in mite control or in future breeding programme of mite-resistant cassava plant., 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 © 2022 Liang, Chen, Liu, Wu, Li, Wu, Yao, Qiao, Zhang and Geng.)

Edge detection is of great importance to the middle and high-level vision task in computer vision, and it is useful to improve its performance. This paper is different from previous edge detection methods designed only for decoding networks. We propose a new edge detection network composed of modulation coding network and decoding network. Among them, modulation coding network is the combination of modulation enhancement network and coding network designed by using the self-attention mechanism in Transformer, which is inspired by the selective attention mechanism of V1, V2, and V4 in biological vision. The modulation enhancement network effectively enhances the feature extraction ability of the encoding network, realizes the selective extraction of the global features of the input image, and improves the performance of the entire model. In addition, we designed a new decoding network based on the function of integrating feature information in the IT layer of the biological vision system. Unlike previous decoding networks, it combines top-down decoding and bottom-up decoding, uses down-sampling decoding to extract more features, and then achieves better performance by fusing up-sampling decoding features. We evaluated the proposed method experimentally on multiple publicly available datasets BSDS500, NYUD-V2, and barcelona images for perceptual edge detection (BIPED). Among them, the best performance is achieved on the NYUD and BIPED datasets, and the second result is achieved on the BSDS500. Experimental results show that this method is highly competitive among all methods., 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 © 2022 Zhang, Lin, Qiao and Pan.)

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.

Nitrogen (N) deposition tends to accompany precipitation in temperate forests, and vegetation productivity is mostly controlled by water and N availability. Many studies showed that tree species response to precipitation or N deposition alone influences, while the N deposition and precipitation interactive effects on the traits of tree physiology, especially in non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) and long-term water use efficiency (WUE), are still unclear. In this study, we measured carbon stable isotope (δ 13 C), total soluble sugar and starch content, total phenols, and other physiological traits ( e . g ., leaf C:N:P stoichiometry, lignin, and cellulose content) of two dominant tree species ( Quercus variabilis Blume and Liquidambar formosana Hance) under canopy-simulated N deposition and precipitation addition to analyze the changes of long-term WUE and NSC contents and to explain the response strategies of dominant trees to abiotic environmental changes. This study showed that N deposition decreased the root NSC concentrations of L. formosana and the leaf lignin content of Q. variabilis . The increased precipitation showed a negative effect on specific leaf area (SLA) and a positive effect on leaf WUE of Q. variabilis , while it increased the leaf C and N content and decreased the leaf cellulose content of L. formosana . The nitrogen-water interaction reduced the leaf lignin and total phenol content of Q. variabilis and decreased the leaf total phenol content of L. formosana , but it increased the leaf C and N content of L. formosana . Moreover, the response of L. formosana to the nitrogen-water interaction was greater than that of Q. variabilis , highlighting the differences between the two dominant tree species. The results showed that N deposition and precipitation obviously affected the tree growth strategies by affecting the NSC contents and long-term WUE. Canopy-simulated N deposition and precipitation provide a new insight into the effect of the nitrogen-water interaction on tree growth traits in a temperate forest ecosystem, enabling a better prediction of the response of dominant tree species to global change., 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 © 2022 Jiang, Song, Qiao, Liu, Ma and Fu.)

Background: Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome bunyavirus (SFTSV) is a tick-borne virus that causes severe communicable fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) with an average case fatality rate of 10%. In the study, we aimed to identify the cross-neutralizing antibody (nAb) against different genotype strains from sera of SFTSV infected patients., Methods: Firstly the genotype of SFTSV was identified by constructing a phylogenetic tree based on the M segments epidemic in the Jiaodong area of Shandong province, then different sera of subjects cross reactive with recombinant Gn (rGn-Fc) or recombinant Gc (rGc-Fc) of 0921 strain were examined. The levels of polyclonal nAbs from sera of 25 convalescents were measured by a pseudovirus-based neutralizing experiment., Results: We found local endemic strains were mainly C2 and C3 isolates of SFTSV. 14 of 15 sera from donors reacted with 0921 rGn-Fc, and 9 of 15 sera from donors reacted with 0921 rGc-Fc. Cross nAbs were produced by 10 of 25 sera from donors during the period of 2019-2021. Among these, five nAbs (A2, A4, A5, L9, and L10) neutralized the pseudoviruses of HB29, Gangwon, HN13, HN20, SPL030A, and SD4 strains., Conclusion: Our data suggested that epidemic strains showed relatively stable heredity. Some blood sources from patients produced cross nAbs that could neutralize all of the strains examined. These findings highlight the important role played by humoral immunity in combatting SFTSV., 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 © 2022 Xu, Liu, Zhang, Wang, Huang, Wu, Li, Zhuang, Bing, Wang and Qiao.)