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An increasing population, climate change, and diminishing natural resources present severe threats to global food security, with traditional breeding and genetic engineering methods often falling short in addressing these rapidly evolving challenges. CRISPR/Cas systems have emerged as revolutionary tools for precise genetic modifications in crops, offering significant advancements in resilience, yield, and nutritional value, particularly in staple crops like rice and maize. This review highlights the transformative potential of CRISPR/Cas technology, emphasizing recent innovations such as prime and base editing, and the development of novel CRISPR-associated proteins, which have significantly improved the specificity, efficiency, and scope of genome editing in agriculture. These advancements enable targeted genetic modifications that enhance tolerance to abiotic stresses as well as biotic stresses. Additionally, CRISPR/Cas plays a crucial role in improving crop yield and quality by enhancing photosynthetic efficiency, nutrient uptake, and resistance to lodging, while also improving taste, texture, shelf life, and nutritional content through biofortification. Despite challenges such as off-target effects, the need for more efficient delivery methods, and ethical and regulatory concerns, the review underscores the importance of CRISPR/Cas in addressing global food security and sustainability challenges. It calls for continued research and integration of CRISPR with other emerging technologies like nanotechnology, synthetic biology, and machine learning to fully realize its potential in developing resilient, productive, and sustainable agricultural systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contact time dependence of adhesion force demands clarification. Under a humid condition, with some tipless silica cantilevers, adhesion forces on silica and silica-based graphene were measured with an atomic force microscope (AFM) to investigate the dependence and the role of surface hydrophilicity in the dependence. The results show that hydrophobic graphene can shield the contact time dependence and instability with repeated contacts at a silica/silica interface. Depending on surface hydrophilicity, there are three different adhesion force behaviors with dwell time for the silica/silica contact: (1) three stages with stable-increasing-stable trends; (2) logarithmic increase; (3) independence. Furthermore, the adhesion force at the silica/silica interface is greatly influenced by repeated contacts with an unstable behavior. These behaviors are mainly attributed to the evolution process of a liquid bridge. However, adhesion forces on graphene do not depend on dwell time, and the factor of repeated contacts has little effect on the results. These behaviors at the silica/graphene interface are attributed to the hydrophobic property and chemical inertness of the graphene. The outcomes presented here can help to reveal the adhesion mechanism and promote the anti-adhesion design for silicon-based structures and devices in the microscale and nanoscale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of millimetric-range electrostatic force between a silicon cantilever and a negatively charged dielectric sample was studied by recording "suspended" force curves at a fixed distance on an atomic force microscope (AFM). Results show that the long-range force increases sharply at first with time, then increases moderately until reaching a global maximum, and at last decreases slightly and exponentially. The sharp increase was attributed to carrier drift at a high velocity. Moreover, a repelling electric field due to accumulated charges leads to the moderate increasing trend. In addition, the exponential decrease was attributed to charge decay on the sample surface. With the absence of the sample for a while (absent time) and presence again, the force increases sharply again with a lower value. The longer the absent time, the larger the decreasing rate. This was attributed to carrier diffusion due to the concentration difference. The proposed method can be used to measure millimetric-range electrostatic forces at a fixed distance, and investigate its evolution with time, and study the effect of some factors on the charge dissipation. Furthermore, the outcomes may suggest that charge carriers inside an AFM silicon cantilever play a part in the electrostatic force contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming to develop a suitable ion exchange membrane for vanadium redox flow battery (VRB), a new kind of imidazolium salt type anion exchange membrane based on the copolymer of N-vinylimidazole and 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate has been prepared. The membrane is characterized by means of water uptake, ion-exchange capacity, ionic conductivity, and thermal stability. Furthermore, a VRB with this membrane is assembled, and the performance of such VRB is evaluated. The permeability experiments show that this membrane has reasonable low permeability of vanadium ions. The coulombic efficiency (CE) and energy efficiency (EE) of VRB with the synthesized membrane are 99.5% and 75.0%, whereas the CE and EE of the VRB with Nafion® 117 membrane are 82.6% and 72.6%, respectively. The synthesized membrane shows good chemical stability in VRB via more than 4000 cycles test. Therefore, this membrane shows good applicable potential in VRB. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: By detecting the levels of proteins in the Toll-like receptor-4/nuclear factor-κB （TLR4/NF-κB） signaling pathway and downstream proinflammatory cytokines in peripheral blood of patients with Meniere's disease （MD）, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index （PSQI） scores were collected to investigate the correlation between sleep disorders and MD and the role of TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway in mediating sleep disorders inducing MD. Methods: Thirty-two MD patients and 20 family members of patients without middle ear and inner ear related diseases were selected. Basic data, PSQI and fasting peripheral blood of all subjects were collected. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.The levels of interleukin-1β（IL-1β）, tumor necrosis factor-α（TNF-α）, monocyte chemokine-1（MCP-1）, Toll-like receptor 4（TLR4） and nuclear factor-κB（NF-κB） in peripheral blood were detected by ELISA, and the data were statistically analyzed. Results: ①PSQI score of MD group was higher than that of normal control group, and the difference was statistically significant（ P <0.01）; The scores of every factors of PSQI in MD group were higher than those in normal control group, and the scores of factors 2, 4 and 6 were significantly different from those in normal control group. ②In the MD group, there were 18 patients with sleep disorders, with a prevalence rate of 56.25%, including 6 males with a prevalence rate of 50.00% and 12 females with a prevalence rate of 60.00%. ③The levels of five test indexes in MD group, sleep disorder group and non-sleep disorder group were higher than those in control group, and the levels of TLR4 and NF-κB in MD group were significantly different from those in control group（ P <0.05）. The levels of IL-1β, TNF-α, TLR4 and NF-κB in sleep disorder group were significantly different from those in control group（ P <0.05）. The levels of five test indexes in non-sleep disorder group were not statistically significant compared with those in control group. The levels of five test indexes in the MD sleep disorder group were higher than those in the MD group and the non-sleep disorder group, with no statistical significance. The levels of five test indexes in MD group were higher than those in non-sleep disorder group, with no statistical significance（ P >0.05）. Conclusion: ①Sleep disorders may be one of the important predisposing factors of some MD, and the effects of sleep disorders on MD are different between the sexes. ②Sleep disorders may activate TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway to induce MD. The selection of TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway related proteins and downstream pro-inflammatory factor inhibitors to intervene MD may provide a new idea for protecting the hearing balance function of MD., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Editorial Department of Journal of Clinical Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery.)

Objective: To analyze the coagulation status and prognosis of sudden deafness patients with total deafness accompanied by vertigo, and to provide basis for improving the treatment of this disease. Methods: From January 2017 to December 2020, 33 patients with total deafness and vertigo sudden deafness who were hospitalized in the Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Hebei Provincial People's Hospital were selected as the research group. During the same period, 33 cases of low frequency type, full frequency type, total deafness and 26 cases of high frequency type were treated as control group.Thirty-three cases of inpatients without history of middle ear and inner ear diseases were treated as normal control group. The levels of fibrinogen（FIB）, D-Dimer（D-D）, Prothrombin Time（PT）, Activated Partial Thrombin Time（APTT） between the research group and the control group were analyzed, and the therapeutic effects of different types of sudden deafness patients were analyzed. Results: FIB and D-D of total deafness with vertigo were 2.50（2.11, 2.95）and 0.27（0.16, 0.51） respectively, which were higher than 2.31（1.92, 2.50） and 0.17（0.12, 0.21） of normal group. APTT was 25.2（23.1, 28.1）, lower than 27.3（26.4, 29.7） in the normal group, the differences were statistically significant（ P <0.01）. ② FIB of total deafness with vertigo was 2.50（2.11, 2.95）, which was higher than that of low frequency group 2.37（1.81, 2.68）. D-D was 0.27（0.16, 0.51）, higher than low frequency group 0.16（0.12, 0.25）, high frequency group of 0.13（0.11, 0.23）, the whole frequency group 0.16（0.11, 0.28）, total of 0.18（1.45, 0.30）. APTT was 25.75±3.18/25.2（23.1, 28.1）, lower than 27.72±2.22 in low frequency group and 26.7（25.8, 28.7） in full frequency group, with statistical significance（ P <0.05）. ③ The total deafness with vertigo group had the worst curative effect（ineffective rate was 63.6%）, and the low frequency group had the best curative effect（recovery rate was 75.8%）. The difference of curative effect among different types of sudden deafness groups was statistically significant（ P <0.05）. Conclusion: Hypercoagulability and thrombosis may be one of the influencing factors of total sudden deafness. The hypercoagulable state of sudden deafness patients with total deafness and vertigo is more serious than that of total deafness and other types of sudden deafness, and the prognosis is the worst., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Editorial Department of Journal of Clinical Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery.)

Objective: To study the clinical characteristics of early tinnitus in patients with sudden deafness., Method: Forty-seven patients with sudden deafness and early tinnitus recieved subjective review and filled out classified questionnaire of tinnitus. By pure tone audiometry and tinnitus matching test, we obtain the distribution, quantity and matching loudness of tinnitus patients., Result: (1) Objective examination: the most common frequencies of tinnitus were 8000 Hz and 4000 Hz. The most common numbers were two frequencies. The matching loudness was (16.63 ± 8.37) dB. (2) Subjective examination: the tinnitus was monotone (74.0%), sustained (89.0%), third level loudness (45.0%), third level annoying (60.0%), high frequency (83.0%), sound of cicadas (66.7%). The most influencing factors were hearing (28.2%) and mood (29.5%). (3) Relationship between tinnitus and pure tone hearing threshold curve: there was a significant correlation between the frequency of pure tone audiometry and the matching loudness of tinnitus (r = -0. 370, P < 0.01). There was no significant correlation between the frequency of pure tone tinnitus and the matching loudness of tinnitus (r = -0.083, P > 0.05)., Conclusion: (1) The results of subjective examination were consistent with those of objective examination. (2) The tinnitus should be considered in the early treatment of sudden deafness.

Objective: To explore the treatment of sudden sensorineural hearing loss with steroid from different administration routes., Method: One hundred and eighty-eight patients with diagnosis of sudden sensorineural hearing loss were selected, in accordance with the random number table, and all patients were divided into three groups. With different administration routes, they were devided into systemic steroid therapy group, intratympanic steroid therapy group and postauricular steroid therapy group,and the curative effects were collected and analyzed., Result: The total effective rate was 78.26% in systemic steroid therapy group, 80.70% in intratympanic steroid therapy group and 80.65% in postauricularsteroid therapy group,and no statistical difference was detected among these three groups (P > 0.05)., Conclusion: The treatment of sudden sensorineural hearing loss with steroid from different adminsthation routes all can achieve a relatively favorable prognosis, and there were no obvious different among those different treatments.

Objective: To Study the personality characteristics in patients with sudden deafness., Method: Thirty-eight sudden deafness patients and 45 healthy volunteers were assessed by Eysenck personality questionnaire (EPQ)., Result: The standard scores of P, E, N dimensions of patients with sudden deafness were greater than healthy volunteers. The standard score in L dimensions of patients with sudden deafness was less than healthy volunteers. The difference of the standard score of P dimension revealed statistical significance (P < 0.05). The difference of the standard score of N dimension revealed statistical significance (P < 0.01). The difference of the standard scores of E, L dimensions revealed no statistical significance (P > 0.05)., Conclusion: Sudden deafness patients have emotional instability and psychoticism personality characteristics.

A male patient, 55 years old, suffered from intermittent sound,voice depression and shortness of breath for one year,and from dysphagia for 3-4 months. Through fiber laryngoscopy,we could see tumor in the left posterior aryepiglottic fold. The tumor's surface was smooth. A portion of the tumor protruded to the laryngeal cavity and the aryepiglottic fold external,it also covered most of the glottis. Bilateral vocal cord were smooth and had good mobility. Throat CT demonstrated an irregular soft tissue mass on the left side of the aryepiglottic fold in supraglottic area with obscure normal boundary from adjacent structure. The left side of pyriform sinus became shallow without obvious bone destruction. The pathological report showed pleomorphic adenoma. The diagnosis was laryngeal pleomorphic adenoma.

Objective: The purposes of this study was to analyse the significant of low frequency air-bone gap in enlarged vestibular aqueduct (EVA) patients according to the pure tone audiogram and the benefit for clinic diagnosis of the EVA., Method: The audiology testing include (1) play audiometry or pure tone audiometry, tympanometry, middle ear muscle reflex thresholds and stapedius muscle reflex; (2) High-resolution computed tomography (CT) scan of the temporal bone and magnetic resonance imaging was used for diagnoses the EVA., Result: All the 78 patients (154 ears) were diagnosed as the typical EVA by CT or MRI. Inner ear malformations were found in 3 ears otherwise the structures of middle ear in all the patients were absolutely normal. The audiology analysis showed 154 ears were type A tympanogram including 126 ears with typical A, 25 ears with As, 3 ears with Ad type. In the 250 Hz pure-tone test:A-B gap were observed in 126 ears(126/154,81. 8%) with the different hearing loss degree: 1 ear mild, 11 ears moderate, 19 ears moderate severe, 40 ears severe and 53 ears profound. In the 500 Hz pure-tone test: A-B gap were found in 102 ears(102/154, 66. 2%) with the different hearing loss degree: 9. ears moderate, 17 ears moderate severe, 35 ears severe and 41 ears profound., Conclusion: Our study suggested a 66. 2% -81. 8% possibilities to find the EVA through the pure-tone audiometry firstly in the basis of the normal tympanograms with the significant A-B gap.