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Objective The objective of this study was to establish a mouse model of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and investigate the role of the NLRP3 signaling pathway in allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. Methods Thirty-three female C57 mice (SPF) were randomLy divided into 3 groups: the control group, the experimental group, and the NLRP3-/- group. On days 0, 4, 7, 14, and 21, the experimental group and NLRP3-/- group received a 0.2 mL intraperitoneal injection of medicine containing OVA (100 μg) and adjuvant Al (OH) 3 (4 mg), respectively. After an interval of 3 days, each eye and nose were dosed with 10 μL of 5% OVA for five consecutive days a week to induce allergic symptoms. During sensitization and excitation stages, the control group was replaced with an equivalent amount of PBS. Ocular and nasal symptoms were observed and scored. The levels of OVA-specific IgE, IL-4, IL-17, and IL-18 in serum were measured using ELISA, while changes in palpebral conjunctiva and nasal mucosa were assessed by hematoxylin-eosin staining. The expression of NLRP3 mRNA in conjunctival tissue and nasal mucosa was determined using real-time PCR analysis. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS17.0 software with P < 0.05 considered as statistically significant difference. Results The experimental group and NLRP3-/- group exhibited induced nasal and ocular allergic symptoms. In the experimental group, the duration of nasal allergy symptoms was (10.500 ± 1.080) days, while the duration of eye allergy symptoms was (20.300 ± 2.058) days. In the NLRP3-/- group, the duration of nasal allergy symptoms was (13.400 ± 1.955) days, and for eye allergy symptoms it was (20.900 ± 2.132) days. The duration of nasal allergies in the NLRP3-/- group significantly exceeded that in the experimental group (P < 0.05), whereas there were no significant differences observed in eye allergy durations between these two groups (P > 0.05) . Levels of OVA-specific IgE, IL-4, and IL-17 were significantly higher in both the experimental and NLRP3-/- groups compared to those in the control group (P < 0.05) . Additionally, serum IL-18 content increased significantly in the experimental group when compared with both control and NLRP3-/- groups (P < 0.05) . Conjunctival tissue lesions as well as nasal mucosa damage were evident in both experimental and NLRP3-/- groups. mRNA expression levels of NLRP3 within conjunctival tissue and nasal mucosa from the experimental group showed a significant increase when compared to those from both control and NLRP3-/- groups (P < 0.05) . Conclusion Allergic rhinoconjunctivitis pathogenesis is influenced by various factors, however, the involvement of NLPR3 signaling pathway promotes its development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Plant‐associated microbes influence plant performance and may also impact biotic and abiotic stress tolerance. The microbiome of mulberry trees planted for ecological restoration in the hydro‐fluctuation belt of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, China, exhibited distinct patterns of localization. The endosphere exhibited lower α‐diversity relative to the rhizosphere, but was more closely related to host growth status, especially in stem tissues. Pantoea was the predominant bacterial genus inhabiting the stems of two well‐growing plants, while sequences identified as Pseudomonas and Pantoea were abundant in poorly growing plants. The complexity of the endophytic community was more connected to growth status in well‐growing plants than it was in poorly growing plants. Among 151 endophytes cultured from collected samples of mulberry, 64 exhibited plant growth‐promoting (PGP) potential in vitro and the majority of beneficial taxa were harvested from well‐growing plants. Collectively, the present study indicates that the recruitment of beneficial endophytes may contribute to mulberry fitness under abiotic stress, and it provides a foundation for the development of a new strategy in vegetation restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mulberry ( Morus L.), a vital perennial woody plant with significant economic importance, is utilized for silkworm rearing, human consumption and medicinal use. The availability of mulberry's whole-genome sequencing data has underscored the demand for an effective, user-friendly, and high-throughput protocol to facilitate the elucidation of gene functions. Methods and Results: In this investigation, we established a transient transformation approach using Agrobacterium tumefaciens -mediated sonication followed by vacuum infiltration in mulberry tissue culture seedlings. Simultaneously, we optimized the transformation conditions, including mulberry genotypes, A. tumefaciens strain, acetosyringone concentration, bacterial density, sonication time, and days after agroinfiltration. These optimizations aimed to achieve heightened transformation efficiency, employing GFP as a reporter gene to monitor transformation events. The optimized method included the use of an infiltration medium (10 mM MgCl 2 , 10 mM MES (2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid sodium salt), 150 μM acetosyringone, and OD600 0.5 of A. tumefaciens LBA4404) supplemented with the surfactant 0.02% Silwet L-77, with 20 s sonication followed by 20 min vacuum infiltration (0.07 MPa). Among the four mulberry genotypes, 'Taiguo' was the most responsive genotype and produced the highest levels of GFP expression at 7 d after infiltration. Furthermore, the optimized transient transformation approach has been proven to be successfully applicable for transiently overexpressing MaANS and MaDFR in mulberry fruits of 'Taiguo', in vitro, which distinctly enhanced fruit coloring and significantly increased anthocyanin accumulation, respectively. Conclusions: In summary, we devised a dependable, stable and highly efficient transient transformation approach suitable for rapid gene function examination in mulberry leaves and fruits, in vitro.

Objective: To explore the pathological type, clinical features and their relationship with prognosis of chronic rhinosinusitis（CRS）. Methods: A retrospective study of 135 patients with CRS who underwent surgical treatment in the Affiliated Jiangning Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 2017 to December 2018. Review the pathological slices retrospectively and divide the CRS into 4 types, eosinophilic type（eCRS）, lymphocyte or（and） plasma cell type, neutrophil type and mixed type, the latter three are collectively referred to as "non-eosinophil type（non-eCRS）". Follow-up was conducted between January and February 2021 to analyze the distribution, clinical features, and differences in prognosis of the different endotypes. Results: ①Among the 135 CRS patients, 42 cases（31.1%） were eCRS and 93 cases（68.9%） were non-eCRS（76 cases[56.3%] of lymphocyte or plasma cell type, 4 cases[3.0%] of neutrophil type and 13 cases[9.6%] of mixed type）. The difference in composition ratio between the groups was statistically significant（ n =135, P <0.001）. ②The absolute value and percentage of preoperative peripheral blood eosinophils（EOS） in eCRS patients were higher than those of non-eCRS patients, and the difference was statistically significant（ n =125, P （absolute value） =0.030, P （percentage） =0.033）. The results of receiver operating characteristic curve showed that both absolute value and percentage have predictive value, and cut-off value was 0.325×10⁹/L（absolute value） or 2.750%（percentage）. There was no statistically significant difference in preoperative peripheral blood procalcitonin among the groups（ n =69, P =0.647）. ③The ratio（E/M value） of the bilateral ethmoid sinus scores and bilateral maxillary sinus scores of the preoperative paranasal sinus CT in eCRS patients was 2.03±1.23, while the non-eCRS patients was 1.47±0.96, and the difference was statistically significant（ n =112, P =0.009）. ④In total, 101 cases were effectively followed up, including 34 cases of eCRS（7 cases[20.6%] of control, 18 cases[52.9%] of partial control）, 9 cases[26.5%] of non-control and 67 cases of non-eCRS（32 cases[47.8%] of control, 26 cases[38.8%] were partially controlled, 9 cases[13.4%] were not controlled）, and the efficacy of the non-eCRS group was significantly better than that of the eCRS group（ χ ²=7.499, P =0.024）. Conclusion: When the absolute value of EOS in the preoperative blood examination is greater than 0.325×10⁹/L or the percentage is greater than 2.750%, eCRS can be predicted, but the accuracy is low. CT of patients with eCRS is mostly characterized by inflammation of the ethmoid sinus and usually E/M>2. The efficacy of eCRS group is worse than that of the non-eCRS group 2-4 years after surgery., 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.)

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility, reliability and analgesia effect of topical anesthesia combined with subconjunctival anesthesia in anti-glaucomatous surgery., Methods: Two hundred and four cases (357 eyes) underwent anti-glaucomatous surgeries under topical anesthesia with 0.5% Alcaine eye drops combined with subconjunctival anesthesia with 2% Lidocaine. The analgesic effect was analysed with visual analogue pain scale., Results: Among all of 357 eyes, 62 eyes underwent peripheral iridectomy, 67 eyes underwent simple trabeculectomy, 167 eyes underwent compound brabeculectomy and 12 eyes nonpenetrating trabecular surgery. The effects of anesthesia were as follows: 304 eyes (85.2%) were painless (Grade I), 50 eyes (14.0%) were slight painful (Grade II), and 3 eyes (0.8%) were more painful (Grade III) during surgery. And no severe complications were observed in all the cases during surgery and postoperatively. Amaurosis fugax was not observed in the glaucoma patients at the late stage with narrow visual fields and poor visual ability., Conclusion: Topical anesthesia combined with subconjunctival anesthesia is effective, safe and simple anesthesia alternative in routine anti-glaucomatous surgery, especially for the glaucoma patients at the late stage with narrow visual fields and poor visual ability. It is worthy of being applied widely.

Purpose: To investigate the clinical characteristcs, management of secondary glaucoma in nanophthalmos, and the prevention of its complications., Methods: Retrospectively, 9 cases (17 eyes) with nanophthalmic glaucoma were studied., Results: The axial length of the eyes ranged (14.36 - 19.33) mm; All of the cases combined with hyperopia ranged (+7.00 +/- 16.00) D. All 17 eyes had the manifestation like angle-closure glaucoma. The glaucoma was controlled in 9 of 17 eyes at the early stage, which underwent laser iridotomy (4 of 9 eyes also underwent laser iridoplasty). 1 eye underwent ciliary photocoagulation because its visual acuity was lost and the patient complained of pain. The other 7 eyes underwent filtration surgery and 3 of them had permanent loss of vision caused by disastrous complications after the surgery., Conclusions: Management of secondary glaucoma in nanophthalmos is complicated. The laser iris surgery is safe and effective in glaucoma at the early stage. Vortex vein decompression, sclerotectomy or anterior sclerotomy may be performed to reduce disastrous complications.