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The therapeutic and pharmacological potential of isoliquiritigenin has been reported in relieving inflammation and lipid metabolism disorders, particularly in the context of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of isoliquiritigenin on NAFLD, obesity-associated metabolic symptoms in vivo and in vitro, and explore new mechanisms underlying its effects. Our study revealed that isoliquiritigenin effectively reduced lipid accumulation and suppressed inflammation factors expression in hepatocytes and high fat diet (HFD) mice. Additionally, it prevented body weight gain and liver damage in HFD mice. Importantly, RNA-sequencing results revealed that isoliquiritigenin exerts its anti-NAFLD effect may through the mTOR pathway and autophagy. Rescue experiments further confirmed that it inhibits inflammation by suppressing the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and reduces lipid accumulation by promoting autophagy. Therefore, it holds promise as a novel treatment for NAFLD.

In order to study the optimal extraction process, composition and antioxidant activity of the Litsea lancilimba Merr. volatile oil, using the extraction rate of the Litsea lancilimba Merr. volatile oil as index, based on the single factor test, the response surface method was used to investigate the extraction process; GC-MS was used to analysis the composition of volatile oil; DPPH· scavenging test was used to evaluate the in vitro antioxidant activity of Litsea lancilimba Merr. volatile oil. The results showed that the best extraction process was soak time 5 h, 5 times the material-liquid ratio, and extraction time 8 h. Under the above conditions, the extraction rate was 10.67%. 74 components were identified from the Litsea lancilimba Merr. volatile oil by GC-MS, accounting for 93.175% of the total volatile oil. Among them, the relative contents higher than 3% were 1, 8-cineole (21.854%), n-decanoic acid (12.893%), β-pinene (4.873%), p-cymene (4.579%), α-pinene (4.452%), lauric acid (3.734%), α-terpinenol (3.188%). The total antioxidant activity of Litsea lancilimba Merr. volatile oil gradually increased with the increase of the concentration. When the concentration was in the range of 1.0~6.0 mg/mL, the highest clearance rate was 92.94%. The optimized process was suitable for the extraction of Litsea lancilimba Merr. volatile oil. There were many components in the Litsea lancilimba Merr. volatile oil, among which terpenoids, hydrocarbons and acids were the main components. The antioxidant results indicate that it has a certain in vitro antioxidant capacity.

ABSTRACT To delve deeper into the phylogenetic relationships within Cicadellidae and the taxonomic arrangement of Evacanthinae, our study focuses on the mitochondrial genome sequencing of five Nivanini species: Extensus latus, Concavepiana hamulusa, Sophonia nigrilineata, Sophonia microstaina, and Sophonia fuscomarginata. The results showed that the length of the five mitochondrial genomes ranged from 15,610 to 16,032 bp and included 37 typical genes. The A + T content of Nivanini ranged from 72.5% to 78.7%, which is consistent with that of other sequenced Evacanthinae species. All transfer RNAs (tRNAs) exhibit the typical cloverleaf secondary structure, except for trnS (AGY), which lacks the dihydrouracil (DHU) arm. With regard to protein‐coding genes, all started with ATN codons, except for atp8, and most of them use TAA or TAG as termination codons. Using the Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood methods, a phylogenetic tree based on all 37 genes was constructed, with a total of 57 Cicadellidae species and two outgroups included as research objects. The analyses confirmed the monophyletic nature of each subfamily, highlighting Deltocephalinae as the oldest, distinctively parallel to the others.

In order to investigate the functional effects of superfine grinding technology on Zanthoxylum bungeanum seed, in this study, superfine grinding technology was used to prepare Zanthoxylum bungeanum superfine powder. The basic components, particle size, color, surface morphology, and the water/oil holding capacity, expansion force, compaction density were investigated and recorded using particle size analyzer, spectrophotometer, and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results showed that the soluble dietary fiber content of Zanthoxylum bungeanum seed powder gradually increased with the decrease of particle size. In comparison with the conventionally produced powder, the size of superfine powder could decrease to 7.69 μm, along with a larger specific surface area and stronger powder uniformity. As the particle size decreased, the color of the superfine powder gradually increased in L*, a*, and b* values. After superfine grinding, the water-holing capacity, oil-holding capacity, and swelling capacity would increase to 1.65 g/g, 1.16 g/g, and 2.35 mL/g, respectively. In addition, angles of repose and slide increased butthe tap density exhibited the opposite tendency. SEM images revealed that fiber bundle could be more thoroughly crushed with grinding time. In summary, the uniform Zanthoxylum bungeanum seed powder with a smaller particle size, higher powder uniformity, more soluble dietary fiber and better hydration capacity can be prepared through superfine grinding. However, to some extent, superfine grinding will also decrease the density and fluidity of Zanthoxylum bungeanum seed powder.

The mitochondrial genome is recognized for its utility in insect molecular research, due to its distinctive features, including fast evolutionary rate, low recombination, and maternal inheritance. In this study, we explored the mitochondrial genome in the context of the leafhopper subfamily Evacanthinae, which is significant in the agricultural pest sector due to the direct and indirect damage caused to plants by its species. We present complete mitochondrial genome sequences for three species: Evacanthus bivittatus, Carinata ganga, and Carinata recurvata. Comparative analyses of nucleotide composition, codon usage of protein coding genes (PCGs), nucleotide diversity, transfer RNA secondary structure, and gene overlap were conducted. To understand phylogenetic relationships among species, we constructed phylogenetic trees using nucleotide sequences from the 13 PCGs of the genomes newly sequenced in this study alongside other available leafhopper genome sequences. Phylogenetic analysis supported monophyly of the Evacanthinae subfamily and suggested a close relationship between the Evacanthini and Nirvanini tribes. Our research indicates that anticodon differences in trnS1 are insufficient to serve as taxonomic markers for distinguishing between these two tribes. This study contributes valuable genetic data supporting ongoing investigations into genetic diversity, molecular evolution, and species identification, while laying groundwork for future taxonomic and evolutionary endeavors within Cicadellidae.

Adopting drought-tolerant (DT) cultivars is an effective strategy to sustain maize (Zea mays L.) production under water shortage. Optimizing plant density is an important management practice for improving maize yield. In a two-year field trial, the response of yield, actual evapotranspiration (ETc act), and water productivity (WP) to plant density (6, 7.5, 9 plants m−2) was assessed under irrigated and rainfed conditions using a DT (ZD958) and a drought-susceptible (DS, ZY309) maize cultivar, and additionally, the comparison of soil water depletion will be conducted among soils growing different DT maize varieties. Under rainfed, average yield, ETc act, and WP were 24.7%, 8.6% and 14.8% greater in ZD958 than ZY309, respectively. When density increased from 6 to 9 plants m−2, for ZD958 and ZY309 ETc act remained relatively constant, whereas their yield and WP first increased and then decreased and ultimately reached their maximum at 7.5 plants m−2. Under irrigation, increasing density (6–9 plants m−2) significantly increased yield and WP for ZD958, but for ZY309, yield and WP were not significantly impacted. Yield across seasons did not differ between cultivars at 6 and 7.5 plants m−2, and ZD958 had a 10.2% yield advantage over ZY309 at 9 plants m−2. The findings imply that DT cultivar showed greater high density tolerance than DS cultivar and thus higher optimal density under irrigation. Under rainfed, both cultivars had similar density tolerance and optimum density, whereas DT cultivar had stronger drought tolerance than DS cultivar, which could explain DT cultivar’s greater yield and WP. This study indicate that DT cultivar showed higher and more stable yields than DS cultivar across rainfed and irrigated conditions when grown at optimal densities. Thus, sustainable maize production could be achieved by adopting DT cultivars and optimizing density for different conditions in the study region.

ABSTRACTIt is urgently needed to evaluate the necessity and benefits of booster vaccination against the coronavirus 2 of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron to facilitate clinical decision-making for 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) convalescents. We conducted a multicenter, prospective clinical trial (registration number: ChiCTR2100045810) in the first patients with COVID-19 from 28 January 2020 to 20 February 2020 to assess the long-term durability of neutralizing antibodies against live Omicron BA.5 and further assess the efficiency and safety of CoronaVac in the convalescent group. A total of 96 COVID-19 convalescents were enrolled in this study. Neutralizing antibody titers in convalescents were significantly reduced in 9–10 months. A dose-refreshing vaccination in 28 convalescents with an antibody titer below 96 significantly induced neutralizing antibodies against live Omicron by 4.84-fold. Meanwhile, the abundance of naive T cells increased dramatically, and TEMRA and TEM cells gradually decreased after vaccination. Activation-induced cell death and apoptosis-related genes were significantly elevated after vaccination in all T-cell subtypes. One-dose booster vaccination was effective in inducing a robust antibody response against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron in COVID-19 convalescents with low antibody titers. However, vaccine-mediated T-cell consumption and regeneration patterns may be detrimental to the antiviral response.IMPORTANCEThe globally dominant coronavirus 2 of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant raises the possibility of repeat infections among 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) convalescents with low neutralizing antibody titers. The importance of this multicenter study lies in its evaluation of the long-term durability of neutralizing antibodies in COVID-19 convalescents and the efficacy of a booster vaccination against the live Omicron. The findings suggest that a one-dose booster vaccination is effective in inducing a robust antibody response against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron in convalescents with low antibody titers. However, the study also highlights the potential detrimental effects on the antiviral response due to vaccine-mediated T-cell consumption and regeneration patterns. These results are crucial for facilitating clinical decision-making for COVID-19 convalescents and informing public health policies regarding booster vaccinations.

Deep-ultraviolet (DUV) disinfection technology provides an expeditious and efficient way to suppress the transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the influences of viral variants (Delta and Omicron) and low temperatures on the DUV virucidal efficacy are still unknown. Here, we developed a reliable and uniform planar light source comprised of 275-nm light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to investigate the effects of these two unknown factors and delineated the principle behind different disinfection performances. We found the lethal effect of DUV at the same radiation dose was reduced by the cryogenic environment, and a negative-U large-relaxation model was used to explain the difference in view of the photoelectronic nature. The chances were higher in the cryogenic environment for the capture of excited electrons within active genetic molecules back to the initial photo-ionised positions. Additionally, the variant of Omicron required a significantly higher DUV dose to achieve the same virucidal efficacy, and this was thanks to the genetic and proteinic characteristics of the Omicron. The findings in this study are important for human society using DUV disinfection in cold conditions (e.g., the food cold chain logistics and the open air in winter), and the relevant DUV disinfection suggestion against COVID-19 is provided.

Background: Acute severe hepatitis with unknown aetiology in children (ASHep-UA) has become a global health alert. This article reported clinicopathological characteristics of 3 probable ASHep-UA cases. Methods: We respectively collected serological data and liver biopsies of 3 suspected cases of ASHep-UA. Neutralizing antibodies titer for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variants were determined by virus neutralization test (VNT). Histological assessment, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), human adenoviruses (HAdV), adeno-associated virus (AAV2), human herpes virus type 6 (HHV-6) were performed to identify possible aetiologies. Results: Remarkable elevation of transaminase (median ALT level, 1100 IU/liter; median AST level, 500 IU/liter) were revealed with undetectable hepatitis A-E and non-hepatotropic virus in both sera and tissues. Weakness, jaundice, pale stools and splenomegaly were observed. Interestingly, two individuals had SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants infection. Histologically, moderate or severe lobular necroinflammation, active interface hepatitis and portal inflammatory infiltrate with lymphocytic, plasma cells, neutrophils and eosinophilic cells were noted. Conclusions: The exact aetiology of ASHep-UA was still unknown. By reporting the 3 probable cases, we expect to enrich the clinical experience in diagnosis and treatment of ASHep-UA as well as the pathological characteristics.

There are a large number of microorganisms in the gut of insects, which form a symbiotic relationship with the host during the long-term co-evolution process and have a significant impact on the host's nutrition, physiology, development, immunity, stress tolerance and other aspects. However, the composition of the gut microbes of Hyphantria cunea remains unclear. In order to investigate the difference and diversity of intestinal microbiota of H. cunea larvae feeding on different host plants, we used PacBio sequencing technology for the first time to sequence the 16S rRNA full-length gene of the intestinal microbiota of H. cunea. The species classification, β diversity and function of intestinal microflora of the 5th instar larvae of four species of H. cunea feeding on apricot, plum, redbud and Chinese ash were analysed. The results showed that a total of nine phyla and 65 genera were identified by PacBio sequencing, amongst which Firmicutes was the dominant phylum and Enterococcus was the dominant genus, with an average relative abundance of 59.29% and 52.16%, respectively. PERMANOVA analysis and cluster heat map showed that the intestinal microbiomes of H. cunea larvae, fed on different hosts, were significantly different. LEfSe analysis confirmed the effect of host diet on intestinal community structure and PICRUSt2 analysis showed that most of the predictive functions were closely related to material transport and synthetic, metabolic and cellular processes. The results of this study laid a foundation for revealing the interaction between the intestinal microorganisms of H. cunea and its hosts and provided ideas for exploring new green prevention and control strategies of H. cunea.

Abstract Background To understand the factors influencing clinical outcomes of severe hand, foot, and mouth diseases (HFMD), and to provide scientific evidence for reducing the mortality risk of severe HFMD. Methods From 2014 to 2018, children diagnosed with severe HFMD cases in Guangxi, China, were enrolled in this hospital-based study. The epidemiological data obtained through face-to-face interviews with the parents and guardians. Univariate and multivariate logistics regression models were used to analyze the factors influencing the clinical outcomes of severe HFMD. The impact of the EV-A71 vaccination on inpatient mortality was analyzed by a comparison approach. Results A total of 1565 severe HFMD cases were enrolled in this survey, including 1474 (94.19%) survival cases and 91 (5.81%) death cases. The multivariate logistic analysis demonstrated that HFMD history of playmates in the last three months, first visit to the village hospital, time from the first visit to admission less than two days, no correct diagnosis for HFMD at the first visit, and having no rash symptoms were the independent risk factors for severe HFMD cases (all p

Coccotorus beijingensis Lin et Li, 1990 belongs to Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Curculioninae, Anthonomini. It is a herbivorous insect that damages Celtis bungeana Blume (Ulmaceae) by affecting branch growth. The mitochondrial genome of C. beijingensis was sequenced and annotated to better identify C. beijingensis and related species. The total length of the C. beijingensis mitochondrial genome was 17,071 bp, contained 37 typical genes (13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA genes) and two control regions (total length: 2,292 bp). Mitochondrial genome composition, nucleotide composition and codon usage are similar to those of other sequenced Curculionidae mitogenomes. All protein-coding genes initiated with ATN and TTG codons and ended with TAA, TAG or incomplete stop codons (TA, T). In addition, analyses of pairwise genetic distances between individual PCGs in Curculionidae species showed that ATP8 was the least conserved gene, while COI was the most conserved. Twenty-one transfer RNAs had typical cloverleaf structures, while trnS1 lacked dihydrouridine (DHU) arms. ML and BI analyses, based on 13 PCGs and two rRNAs from ten species of Curculionidae, strongly support the relationships between C. beijingensis and species of the genus Anthonomus: ((An. eugenii+ An. rubi) + C. beijingensis + (An. pomorum+ An. rectirostris)) (BS = 100; PP = 1). Our phylogenetic analyses could mean that the genus Coccotorus should be sunk under Anthonomus, but more taxon sampling is needed to verify this result.

Plant synthetic biology has emerged as a powerful and promising approach to enhance the production of value-added metabolites in plants. Flavonoids, a class of plant secondary metabolites, offer numerous health benefits and have attracted attention for their potential use in plant-based products. However, achieving high yields of specific flavonoids remains challenging due to the complex and diverse metabolic pathways involved in their biosynthesis. In recent years, synthetic biology approaches leveraging transcription factors and enzyme diversity have demonstrated promise in enhancing flavonoid yields and expanding their production repertoire. This review delves into the latest research progress in flavonoid metabolic engineering, encompassing the identification and manipulation of transcription factors and enzymes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis, as well as the deployment of synthetic biology tools for designing metabolic pathways. This review underscores the importance of employing carefully-selected transcription factors to boost plant flavonoid production and harnessing enzyme promiscuity to broaden flavonoid diversity or streamline the biosynthetic steps required for effective metabolic engineering. By harnessing the power of synthetic biology and a deeper understanding of flavonoid biosynthesis, future researchers can potentially transform the landscape of plant-based product development across the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries, ultimately benefiting consumers worldwide.

Appropriate greening design can enhance the microclimate of residential areas. This study investigated different greening cases for residential buildings in hot summer–cold winter zones. Four sorts of greening layouts were tested in a residential area in Chongqing, China. Arbor–grass mix and arbor–shrub–grass mix showed effective cooling and humidifying effects, and were chosen for further study using the ENVI-met model. The simulations were conducted in Chongqing, comparing sixteen greening cases for determinant and enclosed building forms. Results indicate that the greening design for determinant layout should give priority to ensuring the greening area and shortening the distance from the sidewalk. While enclosed layout should concentrate greening in dense populations, using arbor–shrub–grass mix to improve the wind environment. In cases where the distribution of arbors and shrubs covers a ratio of 7:4, constituting 30% of the overall green space, there is a reduction in environmental temperature by 1.4 °C and in PET by 4.8 °C. This study provides the optimal greening layout for two types of residential areas in China’s hot summer–cold winter zones, guiding landscape construction in these residential areas to optimize the microclimate.

Background: Epidemiological characteristic profile of the reinfection of the influenza virus has not been well described. Methods: This study included all influenza cases of Guangxi, China from January 2011–December 2019 that were recorded in the National Notifiable Infectious Disease Reporting Information System (NIDRIS) within 24 hours after diagnosis. Results: A total of 53,605.6 person-months and the median time of 8.7 months were observed for reinfection. The median age at the first influenza virus infection was 4.5 (interquartile range=2.0–7.5) years. The cumulative reinfection incidence was 2% at 6 months, 4% at 12 months, 5% at 24 months, and 7% after 59 months. Living in the rural area (hazard ratio [HR]=1.37 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.29-1.45]), age ≤6 years (HR=11.43 [95% CI, 9.47–13.80]) were independent risk factors associated with influenza reinfection. Among 49 patients experiencing two laboratory tests, 32 patients (65.3%) were found to be infected with different virus types. The interval between two consecutive laboratory-confirmed episodes of the four groups differed (p=0.148): the maximum was 72.9 months and the minimum was 1.2 months. Conclusions: The reinfection of the influenza virus in Guangxi was independently and positively associated with living the rural area and younger age. The unusually high frequency of reinfection points to a need for further prospective longitudinal studies to better investigate the sufficient impact on different subtypes.

IntroductionZinc (Zn) deficiency causes serious diseases in people who rely on cereals as their main food source. However, the grain zinc concentration (GZnC) in wheat is low. Biofortification is a sustainable strategy for reducing human Zn deficiency.MethodsIn this study, we constructed a population of 382 wheat accessions and determined their GZnC in three field environments. Phenotype data was used for a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using a 660K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array, and haplotype analysis identified an important candidate gene for GZnC.ResultsWe found that GZnC of the wheat accessions showed an increasing trend with their released years, indicating that the dominant allele of GZnC was not lost during the breeding process. Nine stable quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for GZnC were identified on chromosomes 3A, 4A, 5B, 6D, and 7A. And an important candidate gene for GZnC, namely, TraesCS6D01G234600, and GZnC between the haplotypes of this gene showed, significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) in three environments.DiscussionA novel QTL was first identified on chromosome 6D, this finding enriches our understanding of the genetic basis of GZnC in wheat. This study provides new insights into valuable markers and candidate genes for wheat biofortification to improve GZnC.

Modern industry has become very complex and requires an equally complex engineering technology system, which includes resource utilization, energy conversion, product research and development, technological innovation, environmental protection and industrial ecology, and other aspects of the system. Continued development of large-scale, streamlined, and continuous processes is critical; however, there are also problems such as data redundancy, overcapacity, redundant construction, and waste of resources. Based on the system synergy theory, this paper introduces the system analysis method from the perspective of flow structure, with the purpose of solving the management defects of complex industrial production systems. First, we analyze the complex industrial production system as a collaborative structure of three subsystems: material flow, energy flow, and information flow. The following concepts are clarified: “material flow is the main body, energy flow is attached to and drives material flow, material flow and energy flow generate information flow, and information flow reversely drives material flow and energy flow”. Secondly, the collaborative evolution process of the complex industrial production system is divided into three periods, which are the generation period, the stalemate period, and the maturity period, and a synergy degree evaluation model is established, which considers the Theil index and subsystem gray correlation method, and extends the dynamic differential equation model of three-stage collaborative evolution. Subsequently, we used MATLAB numerical simulation to demonstrate that the collaborative evolution of production systems is related to four aspects. They are the self-organizing ability of the system, the dominant role of order parameters, the competition and cooperation between order parameters, and whether mutations can become order parameters. At the same time, it was also found that it is basically independent of other factors, such as attenuation inertia. Then, the self-organizing map network (SOM) algorithm was used for the rapid identification of mutation data. Finally, we use the empirical research of SG enterprises to show that their production level and management system are advanced, but they were in a non-cooperative state from 2014 to 2021. In 2022, they had the basic conditions and trends to enter the synergistic generation period, and a synergistic management model is required. At the end of the article, we give a collaborative management method for complex industrial enterprises with a good management foundation. These include the management mechanism based on flow structure collaboration and the management path based on collaborative evolution. Of course, the management countermeasures given in this study are also applicable to other complex process-based industrial enterprises.

Abstract Background Patients with normoalbuminuria and a reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) account for a considerable proportion of type 2 diabetes patients. The aim of this research was to investigate the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of normoalbuminuric kidney disease in a Chinese population. Methods We included 8131 diabetic patients from a multicenter prospective study in China. Based on eGFR and urinary albumin‐to‐creatinine ratio (UACR), participants were stratified into four groups—normal albuminuria, albuminuria, normoalbuminuria with eGFR

Abstract Foliar application of micronutrient is a rapid and promising strategy to enhance the concentration and bioavailability of micronutrients in wheat grain. To explore the effects of foliar application of micronutrients on the concentration and bioavailability of zinc and iron in grain in wheat cultivars and landraces, field experiments were carried out using 65 wheat cultivars and 28 landraces to assess the effects of foliar application of zinc (iron) on phytic acid concentrations, zinc (iron) concentrations and their molar ratios. The results indicated that mean grain zinc concentration of landraces (44.83 mg kg−1) was 11.13% greater than that of cultivars (40.34 mg kg−1) on average across seasons, while grain iron concentration did not differ significantly between landraces (41.00 mg kg−1) and cultivars (39.43 mg kg−1). Foliar zinc application significantly improved the concentration and bioavailability of zinc in grains in both cultivars and landraces, while landraces had almost two-fold more increase in grain zinc and also greater improvement in zinc bioavailability compared to cultivars. While foliar iron application did not significantly affect iron concentration and bioavailability in grains in either cultivars or landraces. Our study showed that, with foliar application of zinc but not iron, wheat landraces had better performance than cultivars in terms of the increases in both concentration and bioavailability of micronutrient in grains.

Since it was first identified in 1956, the H11 subvariant influenza virus has been reported worldwide. However, due to the low pathogenicity of the H11 subvariant and the absence of its widespread transmission among humans, there are only a few reports on the etiology of the H11 subvariant influenza virus. Therefore, in the present study, we isolated a strain of the H11N3 avian influenza virus (AIV) from poultry feces from the live poultry market in the southeast coastal region of China. Considering that the H11 subvariant is known to cause infections in humans and to enrich the knowledge of the H11 subvariant of the avian influenza virus, the genetics, pathogenicity, and transmissibility of the isolate were studied. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that the H11N3 isolate was of Eurasian origin and carried genes closely related to duck H7N2 and H4N6. The receptor binding analysis revealed that the H11N3 isolate only acquired a binding affinity for avian-derived receptors. In the respiratory system of mice, the isolate could directly cause infection without adaptation. In addition, the results from transmission experiments and antibody detection in guinea pigs demonstrated that H11N3 influenza viruses can efficiently transmit through the respiratory tract in mammalian models. Direct infection of the H11N3 influenza virus without adaptation in the mouse models and aerosol transmission between guinea pig models confirms its pandemic potential in mammals, underscoring the importance of monitoring rare influenza virus subtypes in future studies.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Cyrtacanthacris tatarica was firstly sequenced and analyzed. The circular mitogenome was 15,679 bp long, showing a bias of AT rich on the majority strand (42.34% of A, 29.99% of T, 11.19% of G, and 16.18% of C). It consisted of the typical 37 genes (13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, and 22 transfer tRNA genes) and one longest non-coding region (called as control region). All PCGs used standard ATN initiation codons, and most PCGs were terminated with complete codons (TAA/TAG), apart from cox1 and nad5. Phylogenetic analyses based on the concatenated nucleotide sequences of PCGs supported that Cyrtacanthacridinae was monophyletic, and the sister group relationship between C. tatarica and Schistocerca gregaria gregaria was determined. Our results may provide molecular information for the genetic evolution and taxonomy of the acridid species.

The complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Sinopodisma hengshanica (Orthoptera: Acrididae) was firstly determined and analyzed in the present study. Assembled mitogenome sequence of S. hengshanica is 15,623 bp in size, containing 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), as well as one A + T-rich region. Its gene component and arrangement are identical with other Acrididae species. The overall nucleotide composition is as follows: A (42.89%), G (10.34%), T (33.07%), and C (13.70%). All PCGs are initiated by typical ATN codons, and terminated with harboring complete stop codons TAA and TAG. Furthermore, phylogenetic trees were reconstructed based on 13 PCGs to validate the taxonomic status of S. hengshanica, exhibiting a close relationship with Sinopodisma rostellocerca.

Alkyl and hydrido scandium complexes of the dianionic pentadentate ligand B2Pz4Py are reported. The key starting material (B2Pz4Py)ScCl is readily prepared and alkylated with organolithium reagents RLi (R = CH3, CH2SiMe3, CH2SiMe2Ph, CH2CH2CH3 and CH2CHMe2) to form alkyl derivatives in 61-93% yields. These compounds are very thermally stable and do not undergo sigma bond metathesis reactions with dihydrogen. The hydrido complex was prepared from (B2Pz4Py)ScCl and NaHBEt3 in 80% yield and was found to be more stable by 28 kcal mol-1 as a dimer, rather than a monomeric hydrido complex. However, the monomer is accessible through dissociation of the dimer at 80 °C. All of the compounds (B2Pz4Py)ScR react with water to form the bridging oxo dimer (B2Pz4Py)ScOSc(B2Pz4Py). The reactivity of the hydrido and methyl complexes towards carbon dioxide was explored; heating to 80 °C results in the formation of κ2 formato and acetate complexes, respectively. The mechanisms were studied via density functional theory and distinct transition states for insertion of CO2 into the Sc-R (R = H, CH3) were found, with the insertion into Sc-CH3 being more enthalpically difficult (by 18 kcal mol-1) than insertion into Sc-H. The slow rate of reaction between [(B2Pz4Py)ScH]2 and CO2 is attributed to the barrier associated with dimer dissociation. In both insertion reactions, the kinetic products are κ1 formato or acetate complexes that are only slightly less stable than the observed κ2 derivatives. The κ1 compounds can therefore be trapped by treating the κ2 isomers with tris-pentafluorophenyl borane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development and production of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) are widely affected by drought stress worldwide. Many NAC transcription factors (TFs) of stress-associated group (SNAC) are functionally proven to regulate drought tolerance. In this study, we identified 41 TaSNACs that were classified into 14 groups, and the expression of TaSNAC4-3D was induced in the leaf tissue via osmotic or abscisic acid (ABA) treatment. TaSNAC4-3D was localized to the nucleus through the transient expression assay, and the C-terminal region exhibited transcriptional activity via transactivation assays. TaSNAC4-3D was overexpressed in common wheat. The wheat plants with TaSNAC4-3D overexpression was more sensitive to drought stress compared with wild-type (WT) plants. The water loss rate showed no difference between transgenic lines and WT plants. However, drought stress increased H2O2 and O2– accumulation and promoted programmed cell death (PCD) in the leaf tissue of TaSNAC4-3D overexpression lines compared with WT plants. RNA-seq analysis was performed under well-watered and drought conditions, and four strong potential target genes, encoding senescence regulators, were identified by analyzing their promoters containing the NAC recognition sequence (NACRS). Based on these results, our findings revealed that TaSNAC4-3D negatively regulates drought tolerance by inducing oxidative damage in bread wheat.

Abstract The mortality rate of critically ill patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is 30.9% to 46.1%. The emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) has become a global issue with raising dire concerns. Patients with severe Covid-19 may progress toward ARDS. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be derived from bone marrow, umbilical cord, adipose tissue and so on. The easy accessibility and low immunogenicity enable MSCs for allogeneic administration, and thus they were widely used in animal and clinical studies. Accumulating evidence suggests that mesenchymal stem cell infusion can ameliorate ARDS. However, the underlying mechanisms of MSCs need to be discussed. Recent studies showed MSCs can modulate immune/inflammatory cells, attenuate endoplasmic reticulum stress, and inhibit pulmonary fibrosis. The paracrine cytokines and exosomes may account for these beneficial effects. In this review, we summarize the therapeutic mechanisms of MSCs in ARDS, analyzed the most recent animal experiments and Covid-19 clinical trial results, discussed the adverse effects and prospects in the recent studies, and highlight the potential roles of MSC therapy for Covid-19 patients with ARDS.

Building an effective automatic speech recognition system typically requires a large amount of high-quality labeled data; However, this can be challenging for low-resource languages. Currently, self-supervised contrastive learning has shown promising results in low-resource automatic speech recognition, but there is no discussion on the quality of negative sample sets in speech contrastive learning. In this paper, we propose the false negatives impact elimination (FNIE) method to filter false negative samples and improve the quality of the negative sample set in speech. FNIE compares the support vector with the negative sample vector set and optimizes the corresponding loss function, allowing the model to learn better speech representations and achieve superior results in low-resource speech recognition. Experiments demonstrate that FNIE effectively filters negative samples, enhances the quality of the negative sample set, and improves the accuracy of speech recognition. The quality of the negative sample set significantly affects the model’s learning ability, and using too many negative samples can deteriorate it. In a low-resource setting, our FNIE method achieved a relative improvement of 2.98% in WER on the English dataset, 14.3% in WER on the Uyghur dataset, and 4.04% in CER on the Mandarin dataset compared to the baseline model.

Abstract Background This study aimed to establish and validate a novel clinical model to differentiate between benign and malignant solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs). Methods Records from 295 patients with SPNs in Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center were retrospectively reviewed. The novel prediction model was established using LASSO logistic regression analysis by integrating clinical features, radiologic characteristics and laboratory test data, the calibration of model was analyzed using the Hosmer-Lemeshow test (HL test). Subsequently, the model was compared with PKUPH, Shanghai and Mayo models using receiver-operating characteristics curve (ROC), decision curve analysis (DCA), net reclassification improvement index (NRI), and integrated discrimination improvement index (IDI) with the same data. Other 101 SPNs patients in Henan Tumor Hospital were used for external validation cohort. Results A total of 11 variables were screened out and then aggregated to generate new prediction model. The model showed good calibration with the HL test (P = 0.964). The AUC for our model was 0.768, which was higher than other three reported models. DCA also showed our model was superior to the other three reported models. In our model, sensitivity = 78.84%, specificity = 61.32%. Compared with the PKUPH, Shanghai and Mayo models, the NRI of our model increased by 0.177, 0.127, and 0.396 respectively, and the IDI changed − 0.019, -0.076, and 0.112, respectively. Furthermore, the model was significant positive correlation with PKUPH, Shanghai and Mayo models. Conclusions The novel model in our study had a high clinical value in diagnose of MSPNs.

Biofortification of wheat with mineral through crop breeding is a sustainable and cost-effective approach to address human mineral malnutrition. A better understanding of the trends of grain concentrations of mineral nutrients in wheat over the breeding period may help to assess the breeding progress to date. A 2-year field experiment using 138 Chinese wheat landraces and 154 cultivars was conducted. Grain concentrations of micronutrients (Cu and Mn) and macronutrients (N, P, and K) were measured and corrected for a yield level to elucidate the trends of these mineral nutrients over the 80 years of cultivar releasing and identify genetic variation for these mineral nutrients in cultivars and landraces. Large genetic variation exists for grain mineral nutrients concentrations among tested genotypes, indicating that selection for enhancing mineral nutrient concentrations in wheat is possible. Landraces showed a slightly wide genetic variation of grain Cu concentration and a much narrow variation of Mn concentration when compared to modern cultivars. Grain concentrations of Cu and Mn decreased slightly with increasing grain yield with a weak correlation, while N, P, and K concentrations declined obviously with increasing yield with a strong correlation, revealing that increased grain yield had a strong negative effect on grain concentration of macronutrients, but a relative weak negative effect on micronutrients concentrations. When considering the impact of the variation in yield on mineral concentrations, grain concentrations of Cu, Mn, N, P, and K in wheat cultivars released from 1933 to 2017 exhibited different trends with a year of variety release. Grain Cu, N, and P concentrations showed significant decreasing trends over a breeding period, while grain Mn and K concentrations showed no clear trend, suggesting wheat breeding in China over the past 80 years has decreased grain concentrations of Cu, N, and P, and did not alter Mn and K concentrations. Finally, a total of 14 outstanding accessions with high grain mineral nutrients concentrations/contents were identified, and these genotypes can be considered as promising donors for developing mineral-dense wheat cultivars.

Smad3 signaling and transgelin expression are often activated during puromycin aminonucleoside (PAN)‐induced podocyte injury. Here, we investigated whether the Smad3 inhibitor SIS3 can ameliorate damage to injured podocytes. A model of PAN‐induced podocyte injury was constructed using the MPC5 cell line. The effects of SIS3 on the expression of the podocyte cytoskeletal proteins transgelin, p15INK4B, phosphor‐smad3, phosphor‐JAK/stat3, the apoptotic marker cleaved caspase 3, and c‐myc were investigated using western blot. The distribution of F‐actin in PAN‐induced podocyte injury was observed under an immunofluorescence microscope. PAN‐induced podocyte injury altered the distribution of F‐actin and transgelin, and colocalization of these two proteins was observed. Transgelin expression and Smad3 phosphorylation were increased in the MPC5 cell line with prolonged PAN treatment. In addition, c‐myc expression, p15INK4B, and JAK phosphorylation were all increased after treatment with PAN. Treatment with the Smad3 inhibitor SIS3 reversed these phenomena and protected against PAN‐induced podocyte injury. Moreover, stimulating podocytes directly with TGFβ‐1 also led to enhanced expression of transgelin or phosphor‐JAK/stat3, and this could be inhibited by SIS3. In conclusion, transgelin expression was induced through the Smad3 signaling pathway during PAN‐induced podocyte injury, and the resulting abnormal distribution of F‐actin and the enhanced expression of transgelin could be reversed by blockade of this pathway.

Abstract Background Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2-induced coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is a pandemic disease that affects > 2.8 million people worldwide, with numbers increasing dramatically daily. However, there is no specific treatment for COVID-19 and much remains unknown about this disease. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)2 is a cellular receptor of SARS-CoV-2. It is cleaved by type II transmembrane serine protease (TMPRSS)2 and disintegrin and metallopeptidase domain (ADAM)17 to assist viral entry into host cells. Clinically, SARS-CoV-2 infection may result in acute lung injury and lung fibrosis, but the underlying mechanisms of COVID-19 induced lung fibrosis are not fully understood. Methods The networks of ACE2 and its interacting molecules were identified using bioinformatic methods. Their gene and protein expressions were measured in human epithelial cells after 24 h SARS-CoV-2 infection, or in existing datasets of lung fibrosis patients. Results We confirmed the binding of SARS-CoV-2 and ACE2 by bioinformatic analysis. TMPRSS2, ADAM17, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)3, angiotensinogen (AGT), transformation growth factor beta (TGFB1), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) A and fibronectin (FN) were interacted with ACE2, and the mRNA and protein of these molecules were expressed in lung epithelial cells. SARS-CoV-2 infection increased ACE2, TGFB1, CTGF and FN1 mRNA that were drivers of lung fibrosis. These changes were also found in lung tissues from lung fibrosis patients. Conclusions Therefore, SARS-CoV-2 binds with ACE2 and activates fibrosis-related genes and processes to induce lung fibrosis.

Abstract Overuse of nitrogen (N) fertilizer has led to low N use efficiency (NUE) and high N loss in single rice cropping systems in southeast China. Application of controlled-release urea (CRU) is considered as an effective N fertilizer practice for improving crop yields and NUE. Here, field experiments were conducted during 2015–2017 to assess the effects of two CRUs (resin-coated urea (RCU) and polyurethane-coated urea (PCU)) on rice yields, NUE and soil fertility at two sites (Lincheng town (LC) and Xintang town (XT)). Four treatments were established at each site: (1) control with no N application (CK), (2) split application of conventional urea (U, 270 kg N ha−1), (3) single basal application of RCU (RCU, 216 kg N ha−1), and (4) single basal application of PCU (PCU, 216 kg N ha−1). The N application rate in the CRU treatment compared to the U treatment was reduced by 20%. However, the results showed that, compared to split application of urea, single basal application of CRU led to similar rice grain yields and aboveground biomass at both sites. No significant difference in the N uptake by rice plant was observed between the U and CRU treatments at either site. There were no significant differences in the N apparent recovery efficiency (NARE) among the U, RCU and PCU treatments, with the exception of that in XT in 2015. Compared to application of U, application of CRU increased the N agronomic efficiency (NAE) and N partial factor productivity (NPFP) by 17.4–52.6% and 23.4–29.8% at the LC site, and 15.0–84.1% and 23.2–33.4% at the XT site, respectively, during 2015–2017. Yield component analysis revealed that greater rice grain yield in response to N fertilizer was attributed mainly to the number of panicles per m2, which increased in the fertilized treatments compared to the CK treatment. The application of CRU did not affect the soil fertility after rice harvest in 2016. Overall, these results suggest that single basal application of CRU constitutes a promising alternative N management practice for reducing N application rates, time- and labor-consuming in rice production in southeast China.

The scientific selection of a third-party reverse logistics service provider (3PRLP) is helpful for enterprises to obtain the expected ecological and economic benefits. Different enterprises have different requirements for 3PRLP selection and, thus, should adopt personalized and simplified evaluation criteria. However, there is a lack of research on criteria screening. Therefore, this paper proposes a criteria screening method based on a rough set for the first time. The 3PRLP selection is a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) problem in essence, and different criteria can be expressed in different forms. The existing research mostly uses one method for 3PRLP selection, lacking the comprehensive application of various methods. In this paper, various criteria values are transformed into intuitionistic fuzzy numbers (IFNs) for the comparison and combination of various intuitionistic fuzzy MCDM methods. In terms of criteria weighting, a subjective weighting method based on an analytical network process (ANP) is proposed due to the possible correlation between the criteria at the same level. Meanwhile, an objective weighting method based on intuitionistic fuzzy entropy is proposed. The subjective and objective weights are integrated to form the more scientific combination weights. Combining the modeling principles of different intuitionistic fuzzy MCDM methods, the representative methods under each principle are chosen to build a combination evaluation idea that integrates multiple single evaluation models, and the specific evaluation steps are given, including the single evaluation, Kendall compatibility test, combination evaluation, and Spearman consistency test. An illustrative example of 3PRLP selection is provided to verify the feasibility of the methods of criteria screening and weighting and the combination evaluation idea.

The purpose is to explore the positive role of PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) cycle theory in the hospital information management system to avoid intravenous drug bacterial infection of nursing staff based 360-degree quantitative evaluation model. The research focus is to promote the rational application of intravenous drugs among nursing staff, and the application data of intravenous drug among nursing staff under the same background and different management schemes are selected as the research objects, which are divided into the PDCA cycle theory pre-intervention group and post-intervention group. Through the statistical comparison of the error data of medical advice and nursing work, the role of PDCA circulation theory intervention in promoting the rational application of intravenous drugs in nursing staff is analyzed. The work performance of nursing staff is managed through the application of 360-degree quantitative evaluation model. The results show that after the one-year PDCA cycle theoretical intervention, both the number of unreasonable medical advice and the rate of unreasonable medical advice show a decreasing trend, the rate of correction of medical advice of nursing staff increases from 54.5% to 87.8%, the overall incidence of nursing errors significantly decreases, and the difference is statistically significant (P

The stoichiometric characteristics of plant tissue (living or dead) can influence carbon (C) and nutrient dynamics in forest ecosystems. Numerous investigations have focused on green leaves in site or regional areas, but few on leaf litter, especially for tree species with a wide distribution. Here, we collected 57 leaf litter samples of Chinese fir from 19 sites across subtropical China and determined the C, N and P concentrations and stoichiometric ratios, and related these leaf litter variables with geographical and climatic variables, as well as with soil chemistry, which were assessed through soil sampling at the 19 sites. The results showed that the mean leaf litter C, N and P concentrations (namely nutrient resorption proficiency, NuRP) were 458.3 ± 4.0 mg g−1, 8.9 ± 0.3 mg g−1, and 0.46 ± 0.02 mg g−1, respectively. The mean C:N, C:P, and N:P ratios were 52.9 ± 1.9, 1049.8 ± 43.8, and 19.8 ± 0.6, respectively. Concentrations of leaf litter N and P were strongly positively correlated with each other (p 0.05). The leaf litter stoichiometry showed linear or nonlinear relationships with the geographical, climatic and soil chemical variables. Hierarchical partitioning (HP) analysis showed that the geographical and climatic variables explained most of the variation in leaf litter C and N concentrations and in the N:P ratio. Variation in the leaf litter P concentration was mainly regulated by soil chemical variables. Overall, our findings indicated that the resorption proficiency of the leaf litter was at intermediate level for both N and P. The leaf litter stoichiometry of Chinese fir was driven by the geographical location, mean temperature and precipitation conditions and soil nutrient status at a regional scale. Our results provided new insights into the ability of Chinese fir to adapt to future climate conditions, and also increased our understandings of drivers of the elemental biogeochemical cycle.

Aminophenols, which are widely used as components of hair dye and medicine, may function as environmental endocrine disruptors by regulating the proliferation of endocrine-related cancers. Estrogen receptor α (ERα) is a key regulator of breast cancer. Recently, it was found that ERα may also participate in the transformation and progression of thyroid tumors, but its interaction with aminophenols and its function in thyroid tumors is not clear. In this study, the transcription factor activity of ERα in BHP10-3 cells (a thyroid tumor cell line) was examined using luciferase assays. The promoter recruitment of ERα was examined using chromatin co-precipitation (ChIP). Additionally, in an in vivo study, BHP10-3 cells were transplanted into nude mice. Upon administration of aminophenols, the transcription factor activity of ERα was significantly increased in BHP10-3 cells, and the recruitment of ERα to the promoter of its target gene was increased. Aminophenols enhanced the in vitro and in vivo proliferation of BHP10-3 cells. By discovering that aminophenols induce the onco-promoting activity of ERα, our study extends the understanding of the function of aminophenols and suggests that ERα is a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of thyroid tumors.

In the era of internet connection and IOT, data-driven decision-making has become a new trend of decision-making and shows the characteristics of multi-granularity. Because three-way decision-making considers the uncertainty of decision-making for complex problems and the cost sensitivity of classification, it is becoming an important branch of modern decision-making. In practice, decision-making problems usually have the characteristics of hybrid multi-attributes, which can be expressed in the forms of real numbers, interval numbers, fuzzy numbers, intuitionistic fuzzy numbers and interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy numbers (IVIFNs). Since other forms can be regarded as special forms of IVIFNs, transforming all forms into IVIFNs can minimize information distortion and effectively set expert weights and attribute weights. We propose a hybrid multi-attribute three-way group decision-making method and give detailed steps. Firstly, we transform all attribute values of each expert into IVIFNs. Secondly, we determine expert weights based on interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy entropy and cross-entropy and use interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy weighted average operator to obtain a group comprehensive evaluation matrix. Thirdly, we determine the weights of each attribute based on interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy entropy and use the VIKOR method improved by grey correlation analysis to determine the conditional probability. Fourthly, based on the risk loss matrix expressed by IVIFNs, we use the optimization method to determine the decision threshold and give the classification rules of the three-way decisions. Finally, an example verifies the feasibility of the hybrid multi-attribute three-way group decision-making method, which provides a systematic and standard solution for this kind of decision-making problem.

Objects: Inflammation is one of the hallmarks of cancer. Tumor-associated inflammatory response plays a crucial role in enhancing tumorigenesis. This study aimed to establish an effective predictive nomogram based on inflammation factors in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 887 patients with advanced NSCLC between November 2004 and December 2015 and randomly divided them into primary (n = 520) and validation cohorts (n = 367). Cox regression analysis was used to identify prognostic factors for building the nomogram. The predictive accuracy and discriminative ability of the nomogram were determined using a concordance index (C-index), calibration plot, and decision curve analysis and were compared to the TNM staging system. Results: The nomogram was established using independent risk factors ( P < 0.05): age, TNM stage, C reaction protein-to-albumin ratio (CAR), and neutrophils (NEU). The C-index of the model for predicting OS had a superior discrimination power compared to that of the TNM staging system both in the primary [0.711 (95% CI: 0.675-0.747) vs 0.531 (95% CI: 0.488-0.574), P < 0.01] and validation cohorts [0.703, 95% CI: 0.671 -0.735 vs 0.582, 95% CI: 0.545-0.619, P < 0.01]. Decision curves also demonstrated that the nomogram had higher overall net benefits than that of the TNM staging system. Subgroup analyses revealed that the nomogram was a favorable prognostic parameter in advanced NSCLC ( P < 0.05). The results were internally validated using the validation cohorts. Conclusions: The proposed nomogram with inflammatory factors resulted in an accurate prognostic prediction in patients with advanced NSCLC.

The anti-thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb) has been suggested to be more common in patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). Here, we performed a retrospective study investigated the correlation between TgAb level and PTC in Chinese patients between 2011 and 2015. Patients with goiter who underwent thyroidectomy and received a confirmed pathological diagnosis were enrolled into the study. Clinical characteristics and preoperative thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb) level data were collected from all enrolled patients. Based on the preoperative TgAb test results, patients were divided into a TgAb negative (TgAb–) group (

The root tissues play important roles in water and nutrient acquisition, environmental adaptation, and plant development. In this study, a diversity panel of 388 wheat accessions was collected to investigate nine root system architecture (RSA) traits at the three-leaf stage under two growing environments: outdoor pot culture (OPC) and indoor pot culture (IPC). Phenotypic analysis revealed that root development was faster under OPC than that under IPC and a significant correlation was observed between the nine RSA traits. The 660K single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip was used for a genome-wide association study (GWAS). Significant SNPs with a threshold of −log10 (p-value) ≥ 4 were considered. Thus, 36 quantitative trait loci (QTLs), including 13 QTL clusters that were associated with more than one trait, were detected, and 31 QTLs were first identified. The QTL clusters on chromosomes 3D and 5B were associated with four and five RSA traits, respectively. Two candidate genes, TraesCS2A01G516200 and TraesCS7B01G036900, were found to be associated with more than one RSA trait using haplotype analysis, and preferentially expressed in the root tissues. These favourable alleles for RSA traits identified in this study may be useful to optimise the root system in wheat.

Dehydration-responsive element-binding protein (DREB) plays an important role in response to osmotic stress. In this study, DREB2, DREB6 and Wdreb2 are isolated from wheat AK58, yet they belong to different types of DREB transcription factors. Under osmotic stress, the transcript expression of DREB2, DREB6 and Wdreb2 has tissue specificity and is generally higher in leaves, but their expression trends are different along with the increase of osmotic stress. Furthermore, some elements related to stresses are found in their promoters, promoters of DREB2 and Wdreb2 are slightly methylated, but DREB6’s promoter is moderately methylated. Compared with the control, the level of promoter methylation in Wdreb2 is significantly lower under osmotic stress and is also lower at CG site in DREB2, yet is significantly higher at CHG and CHH sites in DREB2, which is also found at a CHG site in DREB6. The status of promoter methylation in DREB2, DREB6 and Wdreb2 also undergoes significant changes under osmotic stress; further analysis showed that promoter methylation of Wdreb2 is negatively correlated with their expression. Therefore, the results of this research suggest the different functions of DREB2, DREB6 and Wdreb2 in response to osmotic stress and demonstrate the effects of promoter methylation on the expression regulation of Wdreb2.

Background and objective Eye is a rare site of lung cancer metastasis, and ocular metastasis is one of the largest challenges to cancer patients' quality of life (QOL). Here we present our experience on ocular metastasis of lung cancer and review relevant literature in an attempt to investigate the clinical features, treatment, and prognosis of these tumors. Methods The records of 9 patients with ocular metastasis of lung cancer treated at our hospital were analyzed. A literature review identified 42 cases reported in the last 10 years and their medical records were retrospectively estimated. Results The median age of our patients was 51 years (range 41-61). Diagnosis of lung cancer included non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) in 7 patients, in which adenocarcinoma (ADC) were recorded in 6 patients, small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) in 1 patient, and unknown in 1 patient. The site of ocular metastasis included choroid (n=8) and iris (n=1). In the literature review, SCLC constituted 21.4% (n=9) and ADC constituted 47.6% (n=20). Choroid presented to be the most common site for eye metastasis (66.7%, n=28). As for disease control rate, systemic chemotherapy for lung cancer patients with ocular metastasis presented to be only 28%. Meanwhile, combination of systemic treatment with ocular treatment could improve patients’ eye symptoms effectively. Conclusion The most common lung cancer that metastasizes to the eye is ADC. The choroid is the most common site for ocular metastasis. Ocular treatment can improve patients’ eye symptoms, while the effect of systemic chemotherapy treatment is limited.

PURPOSE: To evaluate lesion enhancement performance of Multi-Arterial CAIPIRINHA-Dixon-TWIST–Volume-Interpolated Breath-Hold Examination (MA-CDT-VIBE) for the detection of hepatic metastases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-one patients with suspicious hepatic metastases were enrolled in this retrospective study. Two independent radiologists scored visualization of each lesion on a scale of 1 (poor visualization) to 11 (excellent visualization) on 11 sets of images. These included 6 hepatic arterial sub-phases acquired in one breath-hold, 1 series of the mean of 6 hepatic arterial sub-phases, 3 subtracted arterial sub-phases, and 1 portal venous phase. The phases with good (score 8–10) and excellent (score 11) lesion visualization were identified, and the number of lesions seen on each of these phases was compared to the number of lesions that was seen best on the equivalent-to-conventional single arterial phase as well as to those that were see best on the mean of 6 hepatic arterial sub-phases. Inter-reader agreement was also calculated. RESULTS: The MA-CDT-VIBE was successfully acquired in 25 patients with hypervascular metastases (96 lesions) and 6 patients with hypovascular metastases (13 lesions). In case of hypervascular metastases, the 6th/6 arterial sub-phase had excellent lesion visualization (sore of 11) in 56 and 44 lesions for the 2 readers, respectively. Good lesion visualization (score of 8-10) was recorded in 5th/6 arterial subphases, in 81 and 67 lesions for the 2 readers, respectively. In case of hypovascular metastases, the portal venous phase had excellent lesion visualization (sore of 11) in all 13 lesions for the 2 readers. Good lesion visualization (score of 8–10) was recorded in 12 and 13 lesions on the 5th/6 and 6th/6 arterial subphases, respectively. More hypervascular lesions scored good (score of 8–10) and excellent (score of 11) on the 5th/6 and 6th/6 phases of MA-CDT-VIBE compared with the equivalent-to-conventional single arterial phase (3rd/6) and the set with mean of 6 hepatic arterial sub-phases. The results were statistically significant (t test, P

Bread wheat is one of the most important crops in the world. However, osmotic stress significantly inhibits wheat growth and development, and reduces crop yield and quality. Plants respond to osmotic stress mainly through abscisic acid (ABA)-dependent and -independent pathways. In this study, root transcriptome profiles of wheat seedlings exposed to osmotic stress and exogenous ABA were analysed to identify osmotic-responsive genes belonging to the ABA-dependent or -independent pathways. We found that osmotic stress promoted proline biosynthesis in the ABA-dependent pathway, and trehalose biosynthesis is likely promoted among soluble sugars to maintain protein bioactivity under osmotic stress. In wheat roots subjected to osmotic stress, calcium ions, and glutathione exert their functions mainly through calcium-binding protein (CaM/CML) and glutathione-S-transferase, respectively, depending on both pathways. In addition, a complex relationship among phytohormones signal transduction was observed in response to osmotic stress. The findings of this study deepen our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of osmotic-stress resistance, and provide several candidate osmotic-responsive genes for further study.

The NAC genes, a large plant-specific family of transcription factors, regulate a wide range of pathways involved in development and response to biotic and abiotic stress. In this study, the NAC transcription factors were identified in 27 green plants, and the results showed that NAC transcription factors in plants undergo an appearance stage from water to land and a number expansion stage from gymnosperm to angiosperm. Investigating the evolutionary process of the NAC transcription factors from diploid species to hexaploid wheat revealed that tandem replications during the polyploidization process is an important event for increasing the number of NAC transcription factors in wheat. Then, the molecular characteristics, phylogenetic relationships, and expression patterns of 462 NAC transcription factors of hexaploid wheat (TaNACs) were analyzed. The protein structure results showed that TaNAC was relatively conservative at the N-terminal that contains five subdomains. All these TaNACs were divided into Group I and Group II by phylogenetic analysis, and the TaNACs in Group I should undergo strong artificial selection based on single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis. Through genome synteny and phylogenetic analysis, these TaNACs were classified into 88 groups and 9 clusters. The biased expression results of these TaNACs showed that there are 24 groups and 67 groups of neofunctionalization genes under biotic and abiotic stress, respectively, and 16 groups and 59 groups of subfunctionalization genes. This shows that neofunctionalization plays an important role in coping with different stresses. Our study provides new insights into the evolution of NAC transcription factors in hexaploid wheat.

Shrub biomass estimation is valuable in assessing ecological health, soil, and water conservation capacity, and carbon storage in arid areas, where trees are scattered, and shrubs are usually dominant. Most shrub biomass estimation models are derived from trees designed for trees, yet shrubs and trees show significant differences in morphology. However, current biomass estimation methods specifically for shrubs are still lacking. This study aimed to test various predictors’ performance in estimating shrub biomass, particularly providing an improved cone frustum volume model as a new predictor. Seven different variables, including three univariates and four composite variables, were selected as predictors in allometric models. Six dominant shrub species of different sizes and morphology in the semi-arid Hunshandake Sandy Land in Inner Mongolia were selected as samples to test the seven predictors’ performances in above-ground biomass estimation. Results showed that the single measurements performed poorly and were not suitable for shrub biomass estimation. The allometric models, including crown-related volumes as predictors, performed much better and were considered ideal for common shrub biomass estimation. The improved cone frustum volume model had more flexible geometric for shrubs of different shapes and sizes, with high fitting accuracy and stability among all the volume predictors. Therefore, we recommend the volume of an inverted cone frustum with a crown diameter and ground diameter as the long and short diameters as an excellent predictor of shrub biomass estimation, especially when studies involve various shrub species, and a general model would be needed.

Shrub encroachment, i.e., shrub emergence or an increase in woody plant cover, has been widely observed in arid and semiarid grasslands and savannas worldwide since the 2000s. However, until now, there has been a clear division of opinion regarding its ecological implications. One view is that shrub encroachment is an indicator of ecological degradation, and the other is that shrub encroachment is a sign of the restoration of degraded ecosystems. This division leads to completely different judgments about the states and transition phases of shrub-encroached ecosystems, which further affects decisions about their conservation and management. To determine whether ecosystems experiencing shrub encroachment are degrading or are in a postdegraded restoration stage, the spatial distributions and interactions of woody plants after shrub encroachment were investigated in this study. An Ulmus pumila-dominated temperate savanna-like ecosystem with significant shrub encroachment in the Otindag Sandy Land, Inner Mongolia, China, was selected as the research area, and woody plants were surveyed within a 25-hectare (500 × 500 m) plot. Spatial point pattern analysis was employed to analyze the distribution patterns of the woody plants. The results indicated different patterns for U. pumila trees, i.e., a random distribution pattern for old trees (with a diameter at breast height (DBH) of more than 20 cm) and aggregated distribution patterns for medium (5 cm ≤ DBH < 20 cm) and juvenile trees (DBH < 5 cm) at scales of 0–9 and 0–12 m, respectively. For most shrubs, there was significant aggregation at a scale of 0–6 m. However, there were significant negative relationships between old U. pumila trees (DBH ≥ 20 cm) and most shrub species, such as Caragana microphylla and Spiraea aquilegifolia. In contrast, there were positive relationships between juvenile trees (DBH < 5 cm) and most shrub species. These results suggest that, to some extent, shrub encroachment may have disrupted the normal succession pattern in the U. pumila community in this area, and without conservation, the original tree-dominated temperate savanna-like ecosystem may continue to deteriorate and eventually become a shrub-dominated temperate savanna-like ecosystem.

As a superfamily of transcription factors, the tryptophan-arginine-lysine-tyrosine (WRKY) transcription factors have been found to be essential for abiotic and biotic stress responses in plants. Currently, only 76 WRKY transcription factors in wheat could be identified in the NCBI database, among which only a few have been functionally analyzed. Herein, a total of 188 WRKY transcription factors were identified from the wheat genome database, which included 123 full-length coding sequences, and all of them were used for detailed evolution studies. By bioinformatics analysis, a WRKY transcription factor, named TaWRKY146, was found to be the homologous gene of AtWRKY46, overexpression of which leads to hypersensitivity to drought and salt stress in Arabidopsis. Consequently, the full length of TaWRKY146 was cloned, and the expression levels of TaWRKY146 were found significantly up-regulated in the leaves and roots of wheat seedlings, which were subjected to osmotic stress. Overexpression of TaWRKY146 in Arabidopsis was shown to enhance drought tolerance by the induction of stomatal closure that reduced the transpiration rate. All these results provide a firm foundation for further identification of WRKY transcription factors with important functions in wheat.

To explore whether TLR2/TLR4 could be involved in the maturation of dendritic cells and polarization of CD4+ T cells induced by dendritic cells stimulated with MBP and BCG, in vitro and in vivo experiments using TLR2−/− or TLR4−/− mice were employed. MBP and BCG elevated CD80, CD86 and MHC class II expressed on dendritic cells and increased IL-12 protein, induced DC maturation, and indirectly promoted Th1 activation. Moreover, MBP and BCG upregulated costimulatory molecules on DCs in a TLR2- and TLR4-dependent manner. The levels of IFN-γ, IL-4, and IL-10 in CD4+ T cells cocultured with dendritic cells from different types of mice were determined with ELISPOT or ELISA method. TLR2/TLR4 is important in the maturation and activation of dendritic cells and the activation of Th1 cells induced by stimulation with MBP and BCG. In conclusion, TLR2 and TLR4 play an important role in the upregulation of costimulatory molecules and MHC class II molecules on dendritic cells and the activation of Th1 cells induced by stimulation with MBP and BCG. The results above indicate that the combination of MBP and BCG induced the maturation and activation of dendritic cells and promoted Th1 activation via TLR2/TLR4.

In order to improve the flame retardancy of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fabrics, glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) was first grafted onto the surface of PAN fabric (PAN-g-GMA) by means of UV-induced photo grafting polymerization process. Then, PAN-g-GMA was chemically grafted with chitosan to obtain a bigrafted PAN fabric (PAN-g-GMA-g-CS). Finally, the flame-retardant PAN fabric (FR-PAN) was prepared by phosphorylation. The structure and elemental analysis of the samples were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The thermal degradation properties and combustion characteristics of the fabrics were accessed by thermogravimetric analysis (TG), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and cone calorimeter (CC). The results show that the onset thermal decomposition temperature of FR-PAN fabric is lower than that of the control sample due to the degradation of the grafting groups. The combustion test indicates that the FR-PAN fabric has an excellent flame-retardant property and the combustion rate is significantly reduced. In addition, the char residue of the burned FR-PAN fabric is over 97%, indicating excellent char-forming ability.