Search

NHX proteins are transmembrane antiporters belonging to the cation/proton antiporter gene family, with a conserved Na+ (K+)/H+ exchange (PF00999) protein domain. NHXs play a prominent role in plant growth, development, and defense. However, the role of NHX gene family in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is yet to be known. In this study, we conducted a genome-wide analysis of the potato NHX gene family. A total of 25 StNHX family members were identified to be unevenly distributed on 10 chromosomes. The proteins ranged in length from 252 to 1,153 amino acids, with molecular masses ranging from 27516.32 to 127860.87 kD, and isoelectric points (pI) ranging from 4.96 to 9.3. Analyses of gene structures and conserved motifs indicated that StNHX genes in the same phylogenetic cluster are conserved. Phylogenetic analysis divided the StNHX genes into three subfamilies (Classes I, II, and III). Synteny analysis indicated that StNHX gene family Class III of NHX and all Arabidopsis thaliana NHXs shared a close evolutionary relationship. Analysis of cis-acting elements in the upstream 1,500 bp promoter region of potato NHX genes showed that these genes could be regulated by light, stress, and hormones such as abscisic acid and gibberellic acid. Protein-protein interaction network analysis indicated that StNHX proteins may participate in the regulation of potato growth and stress response. Besides, To determine a potential role of these genes in tissue development and drought response, we analyzed the RNA-seq data of different DM potato tissues. The results showed that NHX genes exhibited distinct tissue-specific expression patterns. We further examined the expression patterns of StNHX in different tissues (leaves, roots, shoots, tubers, stolons, and flowers) during the flowering stage in ‘Jizhangshu NO.8.’ potato. The qRT-PCR results further confirmed the importance of StNHX genes in potato plant growth and development. We further analyzed the RNA-seq data (DM potato) under different abiotic stresses (salt, drought, and heat), and found that the expression of StNHX genes was induced under abiotic stress. qRT-PCR analysis of shoots and roots of ‘Jizhangshu NO.8.’ potato treated for 0, 6, 12, and 24 h with 15% PEG6000 confirmed that the 25 StNHX genes are involved in the response to drought stress in potato. The results of this study may be useful for selecting appropriate candidate genes for the breeding of new drought-tolerant potato varieties. Furthermore, this study lays a foundation for prospective analysis of StNHX gene functions.

Strain-related piezoelectric polarization is detrimental to the radiative recombination efficiency for InGaN-based long wavelength micro-LEDs. In this paper, partial strain relaxation of InGaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) on the wafer scale has been demonstrated by adopting a partially relaxed InGaN superlattice (SL) as the pseudo-substrate. Such a pseudo-substrate was obtained through an electro-chemical etching method, in which a sub-surface InGaN/InGaN superlattice was etched via threading dislocations acting as etching channels. The degree of strain relaxation in MQWs was studied by x-ray reciprocal space mapping, which shows an increase of the in-plane lattice constant with the increase of etching voltage used in fabricating the pseudo-substrate. The reduced strain in the InGaN SL pseudo-substrate was demonstrated to be transferable to InGaN MQWs grown on top of it, and the engineering of the degree of strain relaxation via porosification was achieved. The highest relaxation degree of 44.7% was achieved in the sample with the porous InGaN SL template etched under the highest etching voltage. Morphological and structural properties of partially relaxed InGaN MQWs samples were investigated with the combination of atomic force and transmission electron microscopy. The increased porosity of the InGaN SL template and the newly formed small V-pits during QW growth are suggested as possible origins for the increased strain relaxation of InGaN MQWs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, possible origins of small V-pits observed in multiple quantum wells (MQWs) overgrown on as-grown and porosified InGaN superlattice (SL) pseudo-substrates have been investigated. Various cross-sectional transmission microscopy techniques revealed that some of the small V-pits arise from the intersection of threading defects with the sample surface, either as part of dislocation loops or trench defects. Some small V-pits without threading defects are also observed. Energy dispersive x-ray study indicates that the Indium content in the MQWs increases with the averaged porosity of the underlying template, which may either be attributed to a reduced compositional pulling effect or the low thermal conductivity of the porous layer. Furthermore, the porous structure inhibits the glide or extension of the misfit dislocations (MD) within the InGaN SL. The extra strain induced by the higher Indium content and the hindered movement of the MDs combined may explain the observed additional small V-pits present on the MQWs overgrown on the more relaxed templates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic wounds are very common wound types in clinics which have a prolonged and painful healing process. Chronic wounds affect health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) on patients. However, there is no specific instrument to measure the HRQoL in Chinese patients with chronic wounds. Wound‐QoL is a questionnaire targeted the experience of health‐related life to patients with chronic wounds. The study aims to translate and cross‐culturally adapt the Wound‐QoL into Chinese and to evaluate its psychometric properties (validity, reliability, floor, and ceiling effect) in a convenience sample of 203 Chinese outpatients with chronic wounds. Reliability was good, with internal consistency of 0.798–0.960 and test–retest reliability of 0.720–0.838. Criterion‐related validity was assessed by the correlation coefficient between Wound‐QoL and generic European QoL instrument‐ EQ‐5D‐5L, which was found statistically significant (P<.001). No signs of floor or ceiling effect could be detected. Further, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to verify the reliability and validity of the instrument in this study. In conclusion, the Chinese Wound‐QoL is a valid and reliable tool for measuring HRQoL in populations with chronic wounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, porous GaN distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) were fabricated by epitaxy of undoped/doped multilayers followed by electrochemical etching. We present backscattered electron scanning electron microscopy (BSE-SEM) for sub-surface plan-view imaging, enabling efficient, non-destructive pore morphology characterization. In mesoporous GaN DBRs, BSE-SEM images the same branching pores and Voronoi-like domains as scanning transmission electron microscopy. In microporous GaN DBRs, micrographs were dominated by first porous layer features (45 nm to 108 nm sub-surface) with diffuse second layer (153 nm to 216 nm sub-surface) contributions. The optimum primary electron landing energy (LE) for image contrast and spatial resolution in a Zeiss GeminiSEM 300 was approximately 20 keV. BSE-SEM detects porosity ca. 295 nm sub-surface in an overgrown porous GaN DBR, yielding low contrast that is still first porous layer dominated. Imaging through a ca. 190 nm GaN cap improves contrast. We derived image contrast, spatial resolution, and information depth expectations from semi-empirical expressions. These theoretical studies echo our experiments as image contrast and spatial resolution can improve with higher LE, plateauing towards 30 keV. BSE-SEM is predicted to be dominated by the uppermost porous layer's uppermost region, congruent with experimental analysis. Most pertinently, information depth increases with LE, as observed., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: No competing interest is declared., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Microscopy Society of America.)

Purpose: The primary aims of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of wound-related pain (WRP) in patients with chronic wounds and assess the use of pain relief measures., Design: A cross-sectional study., Subjects and Setting: A convenience sample of patients with chronic wounds was recruited from outpatient clinics of 12 hospitals covering 7 of 13 cities in the Jiangsu province located in eastern China from July 10 to August 25, 2020. The sample comprised 451 respondents, and their mean age was 54.85 (SD 19.16) years; 56.1% (253/451) patients were male., Methods: An investigator-designed questionnaire was used to collect pain-related information from patients. The questionnaire consisted of 4 parts: (1) basic demographic and clinical information (patient and wound characteristics); (2) wound baseline pain; (3) wound-related procedural pain and pain relief method; and (4) the effect of WRP on the patient. Pain was assessed using the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) scored from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain). Severity of pain was based on NRS scores' classification as mild (1-3), moderate (4-6), and severe (7-10). The survey was conducted from July 10 to August 25, 2020. Participants were instructed on use of the NRS and then completed the questionnaire following dressing change independently., Results: The 3 most common types of chronic wounds were traumatic ulcers, surgical wounds, and venous leg ulcers. The 3 most prevalent locations were lower limbs, feet, and thorax/abdomen. Of all patients, 62.5% (282/451) and 93.8% (423/451) patients experienced wound baseline pain and wound-related procedural pain, respectively. The mean score of wound baseline pain was 3.76 (SD 1.60) indicating moderate pain. During wound management, the highest pain score was 6.45 (SD 2.75) indicating severe pain; the most severe pain scores were associated with debridement. The use of drugs to relieve wound pain was low, while the use of nondrug-based analgesia was relatively high. Because of WRP, patients with chronic wounds feared dressing changes, hesitated to move, and showed a decline in sleep quality., Conclusions: Wound baseline pain and wound-related procedural pain were very common in patients with chronic wounds. In the future, targeted intervention plans should be developed by combining drug-based and nondrug-based analgesia according to pain severity., (Copyright © 2024 by the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society.)

Objective To express and purify two kinds of antigens of Coxiella burnetii (C. burnetii), the main outer membrane protein Com1 and the acute disease antigen A (adaA), in prokaryotic expression system and to validate the two recombinant antigens by mass spectrometry and identify their antigenicity. Methods The gene sequences encoding Com1 and adaA were separately synthesized and constructed into the prokaryotic expression vector pET-20b(+). The constructed vectors were transformed into E.coli BL21(DE3), and the recombinant proteins were induced by IPTG. The recombinant Com1 and adaA were purified by His affinity chromatography and identified by mass spectrometry. The immunoreactivity of the two antigens was identified by Western blot analysis using Q fever positive bovine serum. Results The expression vectors pET-20b(+)-Com1 and pET-20b(+)-adaA were constructed and the recombinant Com1 and adaA were expressed and purified in a soluble form. High-purity recombinant Com1 and adaA were obtained after purification, and the SDS-PAGE showed that their relative molecular masses were M r 27 000 and 25 000, respectively. The mass spectrometry confirmed the recombinant proteins were Com1 and adaA of C. burnetii. Both of the recombinant Com1 and adaA were able to react with the Q fever positive bovine serum in Western blotting, and the corresponding bands were in accordance with the SDS-PAGE. Conclusion We obtained high-purity Com1 and adaA in a soluble form and confirmed their immunoreactivity.