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Abstract: Fruit ripening is a developmental process and is associated with increased susceptibility to mechanical injury, which favours Botrytis cinerea infection. Using ‘Gala’ apples harvested at different stages of ripening, we demonstrated that wounding can activate initial H2O2 accumulation and wound healing ability to defend against B. cinerea penetration. Delaying the harvest date attenuated those responses. Superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and catalase, which are all involved in H2O2 metabolism, were differentially activated by wound stress depending on the stage of fruit maturity. Mature fruit were less able to respond to wounding by increasing phenylalanine ammonia lyase and peroxidase activity, which are associated with reduced phenolics and lignin content in local wound sites. The reduced response in late-harvested fruit contributes to the fruit ripening-induced loss of wound healing ability and increases susceptibility to B. cinerea. In addition, the rapid increase of H2O2 content immediately after wounding in early-harvested fruit was followed by increased phenylalanine ammonia lyase and peroxidase activity. In late-harvested fruit, the reduced ability to increase phenylalanine ammonia lyase and peroxidase activity in response to wounding was consistent with ripening-reduced generation of H2O2 early after wounding, leading to reduced resistance to B. cinerea. Thus, H2O2 accumulation in response to wounding is modulated by fruit maturity and is required for efficient wound healing and resistance to B. cinerea. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Luminescent Eu II complexes with a characteristic 5d-4f transition have potential applications in many fields. However, their instability in ambient conditions impedes further exploration and application. Herein, we report two new Eu II complexes, bis[hydrotris(3-trifluoromethylpyrazolyl)borate]europium(II) (Eu-1) and bis[hydrotris(3-methylpyrazolyl)borate]europium(II) (Eu-2). Intriguingly, the blue emissive Eu-1 showed high air stability arising from fluorine protection and close molecular packing, as maintaining a photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of 91 % (initial 96 %) upon exposure to air over 2200 hours. While the orange emissive Eu-2 showed a maximum luminance of 30620 cd m -2 , and a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 6.5 %, corresponding to an exciton utilization efficiency around 100 % in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). These results could inspire further research on stable and efficient Eu II complexes and their application in OLEDs., (© 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

In the field of RGB diodes, development of a blue organic light-emitting diode (OLED) is a challenge because of the lack of an emitter which simultaneously has a short excited state lifetime and a high theoretical external quantum efficiency (EQE). We demonstrate herein a blue emissive rare earth cerium(III) complex Ce-2 showing a high photoluminescence quantum yield of 95% and a short excited state lifetime of 52.0 ns in doped film, which is considerably faster than that achieved in typical efficient phosphorescence or thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitters (typical lifetimes >1 μs). The corresponding OLED shows a maximum EQE up to 20.8% and a still high EQE of 18.2% at 1000 cd m -2 , as well as an operation lifetime 70 times longer than that of a classic phosphorescence OLED. The excellent performance indicates that cerium(III) complex could be a candidate for efficient and stable blue OLEDs because of its spin- and parity-allowed d-f transition from the Ce 3+ ion., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of China Science Publishing & Media Ltd.)

Current approaches to profiling tissue-specific gene expression in C. elegans require delicate manipulation and are difficult under certain conditions, e.g. from dauer or aging worms. We have developed an easy and robust method for tissue-specific RNA-seq by taking advantage of the endogenous trans-splicing process. In this method, transgenic worms are generated in which a spliced leader (SL) RNA gene is fused with a sequence tag and driven by a tissue-specific promoter. Only in the tissue of interest, the tagged SL RNA gene is transcribed and then trans-spliced onto mRNAs. The tag allows enrichment and sequencing of mRNAs from that tissue only. As a proof of principle, we profiled the muscle transcriptome, which showed high coverage and efficient enrichment of muscle specific genes, with low background noise. To demonstrate the robustness of our method, we profiled muscle gene expression in dauer larvae and aging worms, revealing gene expression changes consistent with the physiology of these stages. The resulting muscle transcriptome also revealed 461 novel RNA transcripts, likely muscle-expressed long non-coding RNAs. In summary, the splicing-based RNA tagging (SRT) method provides a convenient and robust tool to profile trans-spliced genes and identify novel transcripts in a tissue-specific manner, with a low false positive rate., (© The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.)

Objective: To screen the effective acupoints for anti-depression in depression rats and to explore the mechanisms of acupuncture for relieving depression., Methods: Fifty rats were randomly divided into normal control, model, "Yin-tang" (EX-HN 3)-"Baihui" (GV 20, 2-acupoints), EX-HN 3-GV 20-"Fengchi" (GB 20)-"Shenshu" (BL 23, 4-acupoints) and medication groups, with 10 rats in each group. The depression model was established by unpredictable chronic mild stress (UCMS) for 28 days. For rats of the 2-acupoints and 4-acupoints groups, EX-HN 3 and GV 20, and EX-HN 3, GV 20, GB 20 and BL 23 were punctured with filiform needles respectively before performing mild stress every time. The acupuncture needles were retained for 30 min during each intervention and the treatment was conducted once daily for 28 days. The rats of the medication group were treated by intragastric administration of Fluoxetine (0.18 mg/kg) once a day for 28 days. The rats' anxiety-like behavior (rearing and crossing times) was detected by open-field test. The contents of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) in the pituitary, 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in the hippocampus, the cortisol (CORT) in the adrenal gland, and the brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the serum were examined by ELISA., Results: Compared to the normal control group, the numbers of both rearing and crossing motions in the model group were significantly decreased (P<0.01, P<0.05), while in comparison with the model group, the rearing and crossing numbers of rats in the 2-acupoints and 4-acupoints and medication groups were significantly increased (P<0.01). ELISA showed that after modeling, the content of adrenal CORT was significantly increased (P<0.01), and those of hippocampal 5-HT and serum BDNF were obviously down-regulated in the model group (P<0.01). After the treatment, the adrenal CORT levels in the three intervention groups were notably down-regulated, and hippocampal 5-HT and serum BONE evidently up-regulated in these 3 intervention groups (P<0.05, P<0.01). No marked changes were found in the pituitary ACTH contents of the model and 3 intervention groups (P>0.05), and no significant differences were shown among the three intervention groups in the levels of the aforementioned 6 indexes (P>0.05)., Conclusion: Acupuncture intervention can effectively improve the unprompted activates of the depression rats, which may be related to its effects in up-regulating hippocampal 5-HT and serum BONE levels, and in down-regulating adrenal CORT content.

Background: The most significant biological change in intervertebral disc degeneration is the decrease of chondrocyte specific gene and protein expression of Sox9 and collagen type II. Interleukin-1 (IL-1) is not expressed in the normal intervertebral disc tissue but increases in the degenerated intervertebral disc tissue. This suggests that IL-1 may play a role in regulation of the expression of Sox9 and collagen type II., Methods: Human intervertebral disc cells were isolated and cultured. Sox9 and collagen type II expression during treatment with IL-1, with or without the nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) activity inhibitor curcumin, were detected by using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blotting, and the activity of the NF-kappaB signaling pathway was detected by the electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA)., Results: IL-1 lowered the mRNA level and protein expression of Sox9 and collagen type II in the cultured intervertebral disc cells in a dose dependent manner (P < 0.05), and this effect was attenuated by curcumin. Curcumin alone had no effect on Sox9 and collagen type II expression (P > 0.05). IL-1 at concentrations of 0.1 ng/ml, 1 ng/ml and 10 ng/ml could stimulate the activity of NF-kappaB in the intervertebral disc cells in a dose dependent manner (P < 0.05) that was inhibited by curcumin., Conclusions: We demonstrated the previously unknown function of IL-1 in inhibiting Sox9 and collagen type II via NF-kappaB in the intervertebral disc cells. This inhibition can be attenuated by curcumin, which is an effective NF-kappaB activity inhibitor.

Objective: To assess the regulating effects of interleukin-1 (IL-1) on gene expression of cartilage specificity gene Sox9 and type II collagen mRNA in the human intervertebral discs., Methods: RT-PCR were used to investigate the effects of IL-1 on gene expression of Sox9 and type II collagen mRNA in intervertebral discs cells cultures of embryo., Results: The Sox9 and type II collagen mRNA in intervertebral discs were decreased progressively along with the addition concentrations of IL-1 than the controls. And the mRNA of Sox9 and type II collagen also markedly decreased with the time of culture., Conclusions: IL-1 could cause dose-dependent and time-dependent inhibition effects on Sox9 and type II collagen gene expression in human intervertebral discs.

Objective: To explore a more effective therapy for retention of urine induced by spinal cord injury., Methods: Eighty-four cases were randomly divided into a treatment group of 46 cases and a control group of 38 cases. The treatment group were treated with electroacupuncture at Baliao and Huiyang (BL 35), and the control group with electroacupuncture at acupoints routinely selected., Results: The total effective rate and the cured rate were 82.6% and 43.5% in the treatment group and 63.2% and 23.7% in the control group respectively, with a very significant difference between the two groups (P < 0. 01)., Conclusion: Electroacupuncture at Baliao and Huiyang (BL 35) has obvious therapeutic effect on retention of urine induced by spinal cord injury.