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ABSTRACT Background Bullous pemphigoid (BP) and atopic dermatitis (AD) are currently thought to be tightly related, yet studies of the mechanisms of co‐morbidities are lacking. Methods We obtained GWAS data for BP (N = 376,274) and AD (N = 796,661) from the Finnish Genetic Research Program dataset and the UK Biobank, separately. Then, the following four analyses were performed: (1) cross‐trait linkage disequilibrium score regression (LDSC) to assess the genetic correlation between BP and AD, (2) cross‐phenotype association analysis (CPASSOC) to identify multiple effector loci shared by BP and AD, (3) transcriptome‐wide association study (TWAS) to determine whether their cross‐organizational expression patterns share genes with a common biological mechanism of relevance, and (4) bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to assess bidirectional causal effects of BP and AD. Results We found a positive genetic association between BP and AD (rg = 0.5476, p = 0.0495) as well as identified four pleiotropic loci and 59 common genes affecting BP and AD. Bidirectional MR analysis suggested that BP promotes the risk of AD. Conclusions We revealed a genetic link between BP and AD, which is associated with biological pleiotropy and causality. Awareness of the association between BP and AD helps dermatologists manage patients with these illnesses.

The industrial preparation of kudzu starch (KS) significantly reduces the remaining of flavonoids like puerarin (PU) in the product, weakening its biological activity and making pre-treatments on kudzu crucial. Ultrasonic technique, widely used for modifying biomolecules, can enhance nutrient interactions like those between starch and polyphenols in foods. Thus, a puerarin-kudzu starch (PKS) complex was prepared with the introduction of ultrasonic pretreatment. The results indicated that sonication increased the binding of PU to KS from 0.399 ± 0.01 to 0.609 ± 0.05 mg/g. Particle size analysis and SEM revealed that the particles of the ultrasonic puerarin-kudzu starch complex (UPKS) were larger than those of the untreated complexes. XRD, UV–vis, and FT-IR spectroscopic analyses indicated that hydrogen bonding primarily governs the interaction between PU and KS. Additionally, incorporating PU decreased the starch structure’s orderliness, while ultrasonic treatment altered the helical configuration of straight-chain starch, leading to the formation of a new, ordered structure through the creation of new hydrogen bonds. Additionally, gels formed from UPKS exhibited higher viscosity, elasticity, and shear stress, suggesting that ultrasound significantly altered the intermolecular interactions between PKS. In conclusion, the use of ultrasound under optimal conditions has demonstrated its effectiveness in preparing PKS complexes, highlighting its significant potential to produce high value-added kudzu-based products.

The interaction between the amount and frequencies of nitrogen application has always been a hot issue in improving crop yield and reducing environmental pollution. Photosynthesis and non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) play an important role in the formation of rice yield. However, the research on photosynthetic characteristics and NSCs under nitrogen fertilizer management on rice yield is still insufficient. This work was a two-year field trial in China’s Hunan Province in 2020–2021. To analyze the photosynthetic characteristics and NSCs of the hybrid rice “Zhu Liangyou 819” (ZLY819), the experiment was set up with N application frequencies, specifically P1 (basal-tiller fertilizer at a ratio of 5:5), P2 (basal-tiller-spike fertilizer at a ratio of 4:3:3), and P3 (basal-tiller-spike-grain fertilizer at a ratio of 4:3:2:1). Additionally, three distinct amounts of N applications were utilized: N1 (90 kg ha−1), N2 (150 kg ha−1), and N3 (210 kg ha−1). The findings indicated that under the same N application amount, N2 increased the effective spike by 9.32–17.80% and the number of grains per spike by 12.21–13.28% compared with N1. Under the same N application frequency, P3 had the highest effective number of spikes and number of grains per spike, which were 320.83 × 104 ha−1 and 113.99–119.81, respectively. Under the same N application amount, the SPAD and photosynthetic rate (Pn) of N2 at the heading stage were increased by 5.61–5.68% and 11.73–13.81%, respectively, compared with that of N1; and at the maturity stage, the SPAD of N2 was increased by 14.79–17.21%. At the same N application frequency, SPAD and Pn were 5.40–6.78% and 4.70–12.85% higher in P3 compared to P1, respectively, at the heading stage. At maturity, SPAD showed 14.59–15.64% higher values in P3 compared to P1. The photosynthetically active radiations (PAR) and radiation use efficiency (RUE) of ZLY819 obtained the highest values under N2 or N3 as the differences between these both were nonsignificant. PAR and RUE tended to increase with the increase in the application frequency. NSC accumulation, output, and contribution rate to grains all exhibited a pattern of initial increase followed by a subsequent decline in response to escalating nitrogen application, i.e., it was highest under N2 treatment. A statistically significant positive correlation was observed between rice yield and effective number of spikes, number of grains per spike, SPAD, Pn RUE, output of NSCs, and contribution rate to grains. Appropriate amount and frequency of N application (P3N2) can significantly improve photosynthetic characteristics and NSCs of rice, thus increasing rice yield.

This study comprehensively investigated the synergistic effects and underlying mechanisms of optimized water and fertilizer management on the yield, quality, and lodging resistance of hybrid rice (Oryza sativa), through a two-year field experiment. Two hybrid rice varieties, Xinxiangliangyou 1751 (XXLY1751) and Yueliangyou Meixiang Xinzhan (YLYMXXZ), were subjected to three irrigation methods (W1: wet irrigation, W2: flooding irrigation, W3: shallow-wet-dry irrigation) and four nitrogen fertilizer treatments (F1 to F4 with application rates of 0, 180, 225, and 270 kg ha−1, respectively). Our results revealed that the W1F3 treatment significantly enhanced photosynthetic efficiency and non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) accumulation, laying a robust foundation for high yield and quality. NSC accumulation not only supported rice growth but also directly influenced starch and protein synthesis, ensuring smooth grain filling and significantly improving yield and quality. Moreover, NSC strengthened stem fullness and thickness, converting them into structural carbohydrates such as cellulose and lignin, which substantially increased stem mechanical strength and lodging resistance. Statistical analysis demonstrated that water and fertilizer treatments had significant main and interactive effects on photosynthetic rate, dry matter accumulation, yield, quality parameters, NSC, cellulose, lignin, and stem bending resistance. This study reveals the intricate relationship between water and fertilizer management and NSC dynamics, providing valuable theoretical and practical insights for high-yield and high-quality cultivation of hybrid rice, significantly contributing to the sustainable development of modern agriculture.

The belief rule base is crucial in expert systems for intelligent diagnosis of equipment. However, in the belief rule base for fault diagnosis, multiple antecedent attributes are often initially determined by domain experts. Multiple fault symptoms related to multiple antecedent attributes are different when an actual fault occurs. This leads to multiple antecedent attributes matching with multiple fault symptoms non-simultaneously, thereby resulting in a fault diagnosis lacking timeliness and accuracy. To address this issue, this paper proposes a method for belief rule-based optimization based on Naive Bayes theory. First, a fault sample is taken in a long enough window and divided into several interval samples, making the analysis samples approximate the overall samples. Second, using Gaussian mixture clustering and Naive Bayes optimization, iteration is performed over the threshold and limit values of fault symptoms in the belief rule base based on the requirements of the timeliness and accuracy of fault diagnosis results. Finally, the belief rule base is optimized. Using fault samples from high-pressure heaters and condensers, the validation results show that there is a there is a significant improvement in the timeliness and accuracy of fault diagnosis with the optimal belief rule base.

Water and fertilizer are crucial in rice growth, with irrigation and fertilizer management exhibiting synergies. In a two-year field study conducted in Yiyang City, Hunan Province, we examined the impact of three irrigation strategies—wet-shallow irrigation (W1), flooding irrigation (W2), and the “thin, shallow, wet, dry irrigation” method (W3)—in combination with distinct fertilizer treatments (labeled F1, F2, F3, and F4, with nitrogen application rates of 0, 180, 225, and 270 kg ha−1, respectively) on rice yield generation and water–fertilizer utilization patterns. The study employed Hybrid Rice Xin Xiang Liang you 1751 (XXLY1751) and Yue Liang you Mei Xiang Xin Zhan (YLYMXXZ) as representative rice cultivars. Key findings from the research include water, fertilizer, variety, and year treatments, which all significantly influenced the yield components of rice. Compared to W2, W1 in 2022 reduced the amount of irrigation water by 35.2%, resulting in a 42.0~42.8% increase in irrigation water productivity and a 25.7~25.9% increase in total water productivity. In 2023, similar improvements were seen. Specifically, compared with other treatments, the W1F3 treatment increased nitrogen uptake and harvest index by 1.4–7.7% and 5.9–7.7%, respectively. Phosphorus and potassium uptake also improved. The W1 treatment enhanced the uptake, accumulation, and translocation of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium nutrients throughout the rice growth cycle, increasing nutrient levels in the grains. When paired with the F3 fertilization approach, W1 treatment boosted yields and improved nutrient use efficiency. Consequently, combining W1 and F3 treatment emerged as this study’s optimal water–fertilizer management approach. By harnessing the combined effects of water and fertilizer management, we can ensure efficient resource utilization and maximize the productive potential of rice.

Abstract Addictive substance use impairs cognitive flexibility, with unclear underlying mechanisms. The reinforcement of substance use is mediated by the striatal direct-pathway medium spiny neurons (dMSNs) that project to the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr). Cognitive flexibility is mediated by striatal cholinergic interneurons (CINs), which receive extensive striatal inhibition. Here, we hypothesized that increased dMSN activity induced by substance use inhibits CINs, reducing cognitive flexibility. We found that cocaine administration in rodents caused long-lasting potentiation of local inhibitory dMSN-to-CIN transmission and decreased CIN firing in the dorsomedial striatum (DMS), a brain region critical for cognitive flexibility. Moreover, chemogenetic and time-locked optogenetic inhibition of DMS CINs suppressed flexibility of goal-directed behavior in instrumental reversal learning tasks. Notably, rabies-mediated tracing and physiological studies showed that SNr-projecting dMSNs, which mediate reinforcement, sent axonal collaterals to inhibit DMS CINs, which mediate flexibility. Our findings demonstrate that the local inhibitory dMSN-to-CIN circuit mediates the reinforcement-induced deficits in cognitive flexibility.

Aberrant accumulation of circulating follicular helper T cells (cTfh) has been found in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of Graves’ disease (GD) patients. However, the underlying mechanism that contributes to the imbalance of cTfh cells remains unknown. Previously, studies described a GD-related circular RNAs (circRNAs)-circZNF644 that might be associated with cTfh cells. This study aimed to investigate the role of circZNF644 on cTfh cells in GD patients. Here, we found that circZNF644 was highly stable expression in the PBMCs of GD patients, which was positively correlated with the serum levels of TSH receptor autoantibodies (TRAb). Knockdown of circZNF644 caused a reduction of the proportion of cTfh cells in vitro. Mechanistically, circZNF644 served as a ceRNA for miR-29a-3p to promote ICOS expression, resulting in increased cTfh cells. In the PBMCs of GD patients, circZNF644 expression was positively correlated with ICOS expression and the percentage of cTfh cells, but negatively related to miR-29a-3p expression. Additionally, a strong relationship between circZNF644 and IL-21 was revealed in GD patients, and silencing of circZNF644 inhibited IL-21 expression. Our study elucidated that elevated expression of circZNF644 is a key feature in the development of GD and may contribute to the pathogenic role of cTfh cells in GD.

While high-hydrostatic pressure (HHP) has successfully been applied to the pasteurization of fruit and vegetable juice beverages, their quality-stable shelf life during storage has not been fully elucidated. Therefore, we investigated the effect of HHP (550 MPa/10 min) treatment on polyphenols, carotenoids, ascorbic acids, and antioxidant capacity in tomato juice and their changes during 4-week refrigerated storage. High-temperature short-time (HTST, 110 °C/8.6 s) treatment was used as a control. The results revealed a significantly greater presence of polyphenols, carotenoids, ascorbic acid content, and antioxidant capacity in tomato juice after HHP processing than after HTST processing. However, the total carotenoids and total phenolic content in HHP-treated tomato juice decreased dramatically and approached that in the HTST-treated tomato juice after 1 week of storage. Therefore, HHP’s advantage in maintaining antioxidant compounds and capacity was only evident during the first week of storage in tomato juice. Nevertheless, the post-storage caffeic acid, quercetin, ferulic acid, and p-coumaric acid concentrations were 8.31, 4.77, 1.86, and 6.84 μg/g higher in the HHP-treated than in HTST-treated tomato juice, respectively. This study provides a new perspective for predicting HHP products' quality-stable shelf life.

Optimizing nitrogen fertilizer management can effectively improve soil ecology, promote agricultural production, and increase the income of farmers and workers. Nitrogen fertilizer is an important factor in the growth and development of rice, and it is important to find out the optimal amount and frequency of fertilizer application for the super-hybrid early rice ‘Zhu LiangYou 819’ in Hunan Province, to give full play to its high quality and high yield characteristics. Various N fertilizer application frequencies (P1, basal–tiller fertilizer = 5:5; P2, basal–tiller–spike fertilizer = 4:3:3; P3, basal–tiller–spike–grain fertilizer = 4:3:2:1) and N application amounts (N1, 90 kg ha−1; N2, 150 kg ha−1; N3, 210 kg ha−1) were applied to the hybrid rice ZLY819. The results show that, under the same frequency of N application, ZLY819 had the highest yield, agronomic efficiency, and physiological utilization rate of N fertilizer with the N2 treatment, averaging 7.53 t ha−1, 18.10 kg kg−1, and 34.34%, respectively, with the yield under N2 being 19.38% higher than that under N1. For the same amount of N application, the yield, agronomic efficiency, partial factor productivity of N (PFPN), N contribution to seed, and N use efficiency (NUE) increased with an increase in the frequency of N application, mainly in the order of P3 > P2 > P1, whereby the yield of P3 was 10.11% higher than that of P1. According to the regression equation, the yield is higher when the amount of nitrogen application is 202.15 kg ha−1 and the fertilization frequency is four times. Appropriate N fertilizer management (P3N2) improved the rice growth characteristics, dry matter accumulation, crop growth rate, dry matter transport rate, dry matter contribution rate, and NUE, thus promoting an increase in the rice yield and efficient use of nitrogen.

Summary: Understanding the memory substrates underlying substance abuse requires the permanent tagging and manipulation of drug-recruited neural ensembles. Here, we present a protocol for activity-dependent labeling and chemogenetic manipulation of fentanyl-activated striatal ensembles using the ArcTRAP approach. We outline the necessary steps to breed ArcTRAP mice, prepare drugs and reagents, conduct behavioral training, and perform tagging and manipulation. This approach can be adapted to investigate drug-recruited ensembles in other brain regions, providing a versatile tool for exploring the neural mechanisms underlying addiction.For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Wang et al.1 : Publisher’s note: Undertaking any experimental protocol requires adherence to local institutional guidelines for laboratory safety and ethics.

Recent work has established that model texts could be employed as a useful feedback technique. However, few studies have employed argumentative writing tasks and analyzed draft quality, and little is known about the role played by the language analytic ability in using model texts. The current study aimed to investigate what Chinese EFL learners (n = 60) noticed at the composition and comparison (comparing their texts with model texts) processes in a four-stage argumentative writing task and explore to what degree model texts can enhance the learners’ subsequent writing. The four stages were: (1) writing (pre-test); (2) comparing (treatment); (3) rewriting (immediate post-test); (4) delayed writing (delayed post-test). The findings showed that learners primarily noticed lexical features in the composition and comparison stages. Higher language analytic ability (LAA) learners and guided noticing learners could notice and elicit more information from the model texts. Overall, the use of model texts was effective in improving learners’ writing by providing alternative elements associated with lexis, grammar, content, and organization. In addition, the beneficial effect of model texts on writing could be maintained after 1 week. Some pedagogical implications are put forward to help teachers make better use of model texts to improve learners’ writing. This study also provides new insights into how language analytic ability affects the effectiveness of using models and provides more information on the type of learner most likely to benefit from model texts.

Although convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have proven successful for hyperspectral image classification (HSIC), it is difficult to characterize the global dependencies between HSI pixels at long-distance ranges and spectral bands due to their limited receptive domain. The transformer can compensate well for this shortcoming, but it suffers from a lack of image-specific inductive biases (i.e., localization and translation equivariance) and contextual position information compared with CNNs. To overcome the aforementioned challenges, we introduce a simply structured, end-to-end convolutional network and spectral–spatial transformer (CNSST) architecture for HSIC. Our CNSST architecture consists of two essential components: a simple 3D-CNN-based hierarchical feature fusion network and a spectral–spatial transformer that introduces inductive bias information. The former employs a 3D-CNN-based hierarchical feature fusion structure to establish the correlation between spectral and spatial (SAS) information while capturing richer inductive bias and more discriminative local spectral-spatial hierarchical feature information, while the latter aims to establish the global dependency among HSI pixels while enhancing the acquisition of local information by introducing inductive bias information. Specifically, the spectral and inductive bias information is incorporated into the transformer’s multi-head self-attention mechanism (MHSA), thus making the attention spectrally aware and location-aware. Furthermore, a Lion optimizer is exploited to boost the classification performance of our newly developed CNSST. Substantial experiments conducted on three publicly accessible hyperspectral datasets unequivocally showcase that our proposed CNSST outperforms other state-of-the-art approaches.

The ZRT/IRT-like proteins (ZIPs) play critical roles in the absorption, transport, and intracellular balance of metal ions essential for various physiological processes in plants. However, little is known about the pan-genomic characteristics and properties of ZIP genes in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). In this study, we identified 10 CsZIP genes from the pan-genome of 13 C. sativus accessions. Among them, only CsZIP10 showed no variation in protein sequence length. We analyzed the gene structure, conserved domains, promoter cis-elements, and phylogenetic relationships of these 10 CsZIP genes derived from “9930”. Based on phylogenetic analysis, the CsZIP genes were classified into three branches. Amino acid sequence comparison revealed the presence of conserved histidine residues in the ZIP proteins. Analysis of promoter cis-elements showed that most promoters contained elements responsive to plant hormones. Expression profiling in different tissues showed that most CsZIP genes were expressed at relatively low levels in C. sativus leaves, stems, and tendrils, and CsZIP7 and CsZIP10 were specifically expressed in roots, indicating their potential involvement in the absorption and transport of metal ions. Transcriptomic data indicated that these 10 ZIP genes displayed responses to both downy mildew and powdery mildew, and CsZIP1 was significantly downregulated after both salt and heat treatments. In conclusion, this study deepens our understanding of the ZIP gene family and enhances our knowledge of the biological functions of CsZIP genes in C. sativus.

The study of circulating cells in the blood stream is critical, as it covers many fields of biomedicine, including immunology, cell biology, oncology, and reproductive medicine. In-vivo flow cytometry (IVFC) is a new tool to monitor and count cells in real time for long durations in their native biological environment. This review describes two main categories of IVFC, i.e., labeled and label-free IVFC. It focuses on label-free IVFC and introduces its technological development and related biological applications. Because cell recognition is the basis of flow cytometry counting, this review also describes various methods for the classification of unlabeled cells, including the latest machine learning-based technologies.

Abstract One of the excellent characteristics of bamboo is the deformation stability. However, the reasons for the good bending stability of bamboo have not been well studied. In this study, we examined the pathways that controls bending deformation in bamboo. A hand-bent phyllostachys iridescens member was chosen to examine continuous density distribution, microfibril angle (MFA) and modulus of elasticity (MOE) along radial direction using SilviScan analysis. Our results show that in bent bamboo, MFA is lower in tension sample and higher in compression sample than neutral sample. There is a strong linear positive correlation between density and MOE, while negative linear correlation between MOE and MFA and no obvious linear correlation between MFA and density. Increased bending was influential in primarily changing the MOE, while also altering the density distribution and MFA. Our results demonstrate variation in density, MOE and MFA distribution along radial direction of tension, neutral and compression samples, which play an important role in maintaining the bending characteristics of bamboo.

【Objective】The study was carried out to study the effects of nitrogen application rate and transplanting density on dry matter production and nitrogen use efficiency of double cropping hybrid rice.【Method】Zhuliangyou 819 was used as early rice material and Taiyou 398 was used as late rice material. Three nitrogen application levels (N1, N2, N3 at 0, 120, 150 kg/hm2 for early rice and N1, N2, N3 at 0, 150 and 225 kg/hm2 for late rice, respectively) and three transplanting densities(M1, M2, M3 at 13.3 cm×16.7 cm, 13.3 cm×20.0 cm, 16.7 cm×20.0 cm for early rice and M1, M2, M3 at 16.7 cm×20 cm, 16.7 cm×23.3 cm, 16.7cm×26.7cm for late rice, respectively).【Result】Increasing nitrogen fertilizer can significantly improve the accumulation of dry matter quality of rice, and the effect of transplanting density on dry matter quality is small. The dry matter quality of early and late rice is the highest in N3M1 treatment at maturity, in which the dry matter quality of early rice is 8.81%- 110.24% higher than that of other treatments, and that of late rice is 9.12%-117.12% higher than that of other treatments. The nitrogen uptake and utilization efficiency of early rice N2M2 treatment was up to 60.73%, and that of late rice N2M3 treatment was up to 63.20%. Increasing nitrogen fertilizer could not significantly improve the contribution rate to yield, and had little effect on the harvest index of late rice; Increasing nitrogen fertilizer application in early and late rice could significantly increase the total nitrogen accumulation of rice, with an increase of 67.50%-77.03% in early rice and 73.18%-115.12% in late rice; Each fertilization treatment of early rice had little effect on the agronomic and physiological utilization efficiency of nitrogen fertilizer. The increase of agronomic and physiological utilization efficiency of nitrogen reduction treatment of late rice was 52.66% and 59.00%; Nitrogen reduction in early and late rice can improve the partial fertilizer productivity of rice, and the growth rates of early and late rice are 15.54% and 48.58% respectively. The contribution rates of transplanting density to the yield of early and late rice were 18.52%-47.22% and 23.42%-35.42% higher in M3 treatment than in M1 and M2 treatment, respectively; It had little effect on total nitrogen accumulation, harvest index, agronomic utilization rate and partial fertilizer productivity; Low planting density can improve the physiological utilization rate of early rice, with an increase of 52.19%-144.14%, but it has little effect on the physiological utilization rate of late rice.【Conclusion】Therefore, N2M2 and N3M3 treatment can maintain high nitrogen use efficiency and dry matter accumulation of double cropping hybrid rice, and N2M2 treatment can save fertilizer and maintain high nitrogen use ability.

Selenium polysaccharides have attracted significant interest due to their superior function to that of individual polysaccharides. However, limited research has compared the protective effects of different selenium polysaccharides from different selenization methods on diabetes. This work aims to compare the preventive effects of natural selenium-enriched green tea polysaccharides (NSe-TPS), synthetic selenized green tea polysaccharides (PCSe-TPS), and a mixture of sodium selenite and green tea polysaccharides (ordinary tea polysaccharides (Ord-TPS)+Se) on the development of diabetes. While establishing a diabetes model induced by a high-sugar, high-fat diet combined with streptozotocin, different selenium polysaccharides were administered daily by gavage for nine weeks. Our findings indicate that PCSe-TPS exhibited superior preventive effects on developing type 2 diabetes compared to NSe-TPS and Ord-TPS+Se. PCSe-TPS effectively regulated glucose metabolism and insulin resistance by activating the PI3K/Akt pathway, thereby preventing elevated blood glucose levels. Additionally, PCSe-TPS mitigated oxidative damage and inflammatory responses in liver tissues. Notably, PCSe-TPS intervention reversed the decline in bacterial species richness and the abundance of unclassified_Oscillospiraceae during the development of diabetes in mice. These results provide valuable insights into the protective effects of PCSe-TPS against diabetes development, highlighting its advantages over NSe-TPS and Ord-TPS+Se.

The construction of Z-scheme heterostructures is of great significance for realizing efficient photocatalytic water splitting. Here, the authors report an interfacial chemical bond and internal electric field modulated Z-Scheme Sv-ZnIn2S4/MoSe2 photocatalyst for efficient hydrogen evolution.

Abstract Optical microcavities have widely been employed to enhance either the optical excitation or the photon emission processes for boosting light-matter interactions at the nanoscale. When both the excitation and emission processes are simultaneously facilitated by the optical resonances provided by the microcavities, as referred to the dual-resonance condition in this article, the performances of many nanophotonic devices approach to the optima. In this work, we present versatile accessing of dual-resonance conditions in deterministically coupled quantum-dot (QD)-micropillars, which enables emission from neutral exciton (X)—charged exciton (CX) transition with improved single-photon purity. In addition, the rarely observed up-converted single-photon emission process is achieved under dual-resonance conditions. We further exploit the vectorial nature of the high-order cavity modes to significantly improve the excitation efficiency under the dual-resonance condition. The dual-resonance enhanced light-matter interactions in the quantum regime provide a viable path for developing integrated quantum photonic devices based on cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) effect, e.g., highly efficient quantum light sources and quantum logical gates.

Rice yields can only be achieved by selecting a high-quality population. Nitrogen rates and transplanting density play a significant role in determining population quality and yield. Field experiments were conducted in Heshan District, Hunan Province, China, to explore suitable nitrogen rates and appropriate transplanting densities for rice production in 2021 and 2022. In this study, three levels of nitrogen, e.g., N1, N2, and N3 (0, 150, and 210) kg ha−1, and three transplanting densities, e.g., B1, B2, and B3 (1, 2, and 3) seedlings per hill were used to study their individual or combined effects on rice (Taiyou 390) population quality, yield, and yield components, nitrogen-related enzyme activities, and nitrogen absorption and utilization efficiency. The results showed that N2B3 had the highest yield, with an average yield of 9.30 t ha−1 in two years, which was 3.7~49.6% higher than other treatments. This increase was attributed to higher dry matter accumulation (1538.22 g m−2) and effective panicle number (435.2 × 104 ha−1), influenced by increased nitrate reductase activity at the booting stage and glutamine synthase at the heading stage, along with maintenance of higher SPAD value and leaf area index. Nitrogen rates and transplanting densities significantly affected nitrogen use efficiency, with the contribution rate of nitrogen fertilizer to yield decreasing as nitrogen rates increased. However, N2B3 improved nitrogen use efficiency and stabilized rice yield by reducing nitrogen fertilizer application. This study suggested that N2B3 treatment could enhance rice yield by improving plant nitrogen use efficiency under low nitrogen supplementation.

We propose a novel retinal layer segmentation method to accurately segment 10 retinal layers in optical coherence tomography (OCT) images with intraretinal fluid. The method used a fan filter to enhance the linear information pertaining to retinal boundaries in an OCT image by reducing the effect of vessel shadows and fluid regions. A random forest classifier was employed to predict the location of the boundaries. Two novel methods of boundary redirection (SR) and similarity correction (SC) were combined to carry out boundary tracking and thereby accurately locate retinal layer boundaries. Experiments were performed on healthy controls and subjects with diabetic macular edema (DME). The proposed method required an average of 415[Formula: see text]s for healthy controls and of 482[Formula: see text]s for subjects with DME and achieved high accuracy for both groups of subjects. The proposed method requires a shorter running time than previous methods and also provides high accuracy. Thus, the proposed method may be a better choice for small training datasets.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are important transcriptional regulators of genome expression that participate in the pathogenesis of human diseases. Mechanistically, circRNAs, as competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs), can sponge microRNAs (miRNAs) with miRNA response elements. A previous study identified that hsa_circ_0089172 (circNUP214) is abnormally expressed in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. However, the role of circNUP214 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remains unclear. In total, 28 RA patients and 28 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. We found that circNUP214 is an abundant and stable circRNA in RA patients that can potentially differentiate RA patients from healthy subjects. Additionally, the elevated levels of IL-23R positively correlated with circNUP214 expression. The knockdown of circNUP214 resulted in the reduction of IL-23R at both transcriptional and translational levels in human CD4+ T cells. The proportion of circulating Th17 cells and the transcript levels of IL-17A were increased in RA patients and were both positively correlated with IL-23R expression. Moreover, positive correlations between the transcript levels of circNUP214 and the percentage of Th17 cells and the transcript levels of IL-17A were observed in RA patients. The downregulation of circNUP214 decreased the proportion of Th17 cells and the transcript levels of IL-17A in vitro. Furthermore, circNUP214 functioned as a ceRNA for miR-125a-3p in RA patients. Taken together, our results indicate that elevated levels of circNUP214 contribute to the Th17 cell response in RA patients.

Abstract Currently, numerous pieces of evidence have demonstrated that the health gut microbiota contributed to physiological homeostasis for the host. Accumulating methods appear to detect microbial population, including denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), high‐throughput sequencing, and quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). With characteristics of flexibility and high‐sensitivity, qPCR technique plays a critical role in determining the dynamic alteration of bacterial abundances, which entirely exhibits the microbial activity in various external situations. In these guidelines, taking Akkermansia muciniphila for example, we provide experimental details in specific primer design and validation, standard plasmid construction, qPCR assay, and data analysis for microbial detection, which also can be used for bacterial determination in other environmental systems. In addition, we offer the solution preparation and operation procedures of in vitro gastrointestinal digestion system. Furthermore, these guidelines can contribute to verify the high‐throughput sequencing results and reveal the underlying mechanism of the microbial shift in response to the dietary intervention or the development of diseases.

Exposure to addictive substances impairs flexible decision making. Cognitive flexibility is mediated by striatal cholinergic interneurons (CINs). However, how chronic alcohol drinking alters cognitive flexibility through CINs remains unclear. Here, we report that chronic alcohol consumption and withdrawal impaired reversal of instrumental learning. Chronic alcohol consumption and withdrawal also caused a long-lasting (21 days) reduction of excitatory thalamic inputs onto CINs and reduced pause responses of CINs in the dorsomedial striatum (DMS). CINs are known to inhibit glutamatergic transmission in dopamine D1 receptor–expressing medium spiny neurons (D1-MSNs) but facilitate this transmission in D2-MSNs, which may contribute to flexible behavior. We discovered that chronic alcohol drinking impaired CIN-mediated inhibition in D1-MSNs and facilitation in D2-MSNs. Importantly, in vivo optogenetic induction of long-term potentiation of thalamostriatal transmission in DMS CINs rescued alcohol-induced reversal learning deficits. These results demonstrate that chronic alcohol drinking reduces thalamic excitation of DMS CINs, compromising their regulation of glutamatergic transmission in MSNs, which may contribute to alcohol-induced impairment of cognitive flexibility. These findings provide a neural mechanism underlying inflexible drinking in alcohol use disorder.

Background. Graves’ disease (GD) is one of the most common autoimmune diseases worldwide and develops in 20 to 50 cases per 100,000 persons annually. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are widely expressed in multiple human diseases and have pivotal functions in gene regulation. This study is aimed at determining the lncRNA profile in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from GD patients and investigating the role of ENST00000604491 in GD. Methods. A total of 31 GD patients and 32 normal controls were enrolled in the study. Next-generation sequencing was performed to identify the dysregulated lncRNAs in the PBMCs from the 5 GD patients and 5 normal controls, and 26 GD patients and 27 controls were used to verify the selected lncRNAs. The relative expression of verified lncRNAs, forkhead box P1 (FOXP1), and IKAROS family zinc finger 3 (IKZF3) from these samples was detected by quantitative real-time PCR. The potential biomarker value was assessed by using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results. A total of 37,683 dysregulated expressed lncRNAs were indicated, of which 5 lncRNAs were significantly upregulated and 83 lncRNAs were remarkably downregulated in the GD patients compared with healthy subjects. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analyses showed that abnormally expressed lncRNAs were mainly enriched in immune system-related signalling pathways. Among the selected lncRNAs, the relative expression of ENST00000604491 was significantly downregulated and negatively correlated with the serum levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor antibodies (TRAb) in GD patients. Further studies confirmed that decreased FOXP1 expression was inversely correlated with serum TRAb levels in GD patients. Moreover, there was a notably positive correlation between ENST00000604491 expression and FOXP1 transcript levels in GD. The area under the ROC curve of ENST00000604491 was up to 0.74 (95% confidence interval: 0.60-0.87, p

The strong coupling between plasmons and excitons has aroused tremendous interest in recent years, due to its implications for diverse important quantum technologies. Understanding the spectral response properties of these strongly coupled systems is crucial for both the fundamental physics science and the practical applications. Here, we numerically and theoretically demonstrate the spectrum responses of plasmon-exciton strong coupling beyond the J-C model based upon the Au nanorod/dye molecules hybrid system. With increasing the number or oscillator strength of dye molecules, a third/fourth mode in the normal Rabi splitting emerges. These anomalous spectrum Rabi splitting beyond the J-C model are revealed by a unified quantum theory model, which gives the quantified contributions from the plasmon and exciton channels to the total photon absorption spectrum of the hybrid system. Our work not only enriches the understanding of the plasmon-exciton strong coupling, but also may stimulate further researches in this field.

(1) Background: Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), contributing to increasing global disease burdens. Apart from heart failure, coronary artery disease, and arrhythmia, recent research has found that obesity also elevates the risk of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). The main purpose of this study was to investigate the underlying biological role of obesity in increasing the risk of DCM. (2) Methods: The datasets GSE120895, GSE19303, and GSE2508 were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were analyzed using GSE120895 for DCM and GSE2508 for obesity, and the findings were compiled to discover the common genes. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were conducted for the common genes in RStudio. In addition, CIBERSORT was used to obtain the immune cellular composition from DEGs. The key genes were identified in the set of common genes by the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) algorithm, the prognostic risk models of which were verified by receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves in GSE19303. Finally, Spearman’s correlation was used to explore the connections between key genes and immune cells. (3) Results: GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses showed that the main enriched terms of the common genes were transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), fibrillar collagen, NADPH oxidase activity, and multiple hormone-related signaling pathways. Both obesity and DCM had a disordered immune environment, especially obesity. The key genes NOX4, CCDC80, COL1A2, HTRA1, and KLHL29 may be primarily responsible for the changes. Spearman’s correlation analysis performed for key genes and immune cells indicated that KLHL29 closely correlated to T cells and M2 macrophages, and HTRA1 very tightly correlated to plasma cells. (4) Conclusions: Bio-informatics analyses performed for DCM and obesity in our study suggested that obesity disturbed the immune micro-environment, promoted oxidative stress, and increased myocardial fibrosis, resulting in ventricular remodeling and an increased risk of DCM. The key genes KLHL29 and HTRA1 may play critical roles in obesity-related DCM.

Probe-assisted integration of imaging and therapy into a single modality provides tremendous opportunities in biological applications. In this study, phase-transition-mediated cavitation was used for simultaneous photoacoustic imaging (PA) and triggering drug release. For this purpose, we developed unique phase-transition mesoporous silicon nanoprobes (ICG/PFC/PTX@MSNs) consisting of indocyanine green (ICG), perfluorocarbon (PFC), and paclitaxel (PTX). For high-dose laser irradiation, the encapsulated ICG absorbs laser energy, providing localized heating well over the supercritical temperature of PFC. Then, liquid PFC was subjected to a liquid-to-gas phase transition, which generated stronger PA signals and promoted fast drug release. The enhancement of ICG/PFC/PTX@MSNs for PA imaging was demonstrated in in vitro and in vivo experiments. The average PA signal based on the phase-transition mechanism was ∼3 times higher than that of the traditionally used thermal expansion mechanism. Furthermore, the rapid drug release based on the same phase-transition-mediated cavitation mechanism can be achieved simultaneously; eventually, ∼80.4% of the total encapsulated drug were released. The hematoxylin–eosin stained section of tumor tissues from the ICG/PFC/PTX@MSN group showed many dead cells with condensed nuclei and pyknosis. This method not only promotes efficacy of chemotherapy but also makes accurate imaging-guided chemotherapy possible.

Circular RNA (circRNA) is a novel subclass of noncoding-RNA molecules that participate in development and progression of a variety of human diseases via sponging microRNAs (miRNAs), but the role of circRNAs in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) has not been defined. In this study, peripheral blood samples from five patients with HT and five healthy volunteers were investigated by Illumina HiSeq Sequencer. A total of 627 differentially expressed circRNAs including 370 upregulated and 257 downregulated ones were identified in HT patients. Four upregulated circRNAs indicated the same rising tendency toward sequencing results. The expression of hsa_circ_0089172 was upregulated and correlated positively with the serum level of the thyroid peroxidase antibody. Two perfectly matched binding sites of miR-125a-3p were found in hsa_circ_0089172 sequences with bioinformatics tools. The expression of miR-125a-3p was decreased in the HT patients and correlated inversely with an elevated level of hsa_circ_0089172. Moreover, knockdown of hsa_circ_0089172 resulted in an increase of the expression of miR-125a-3p in vitro. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis suggested that hsa_circ_0089172 had significant value in HT diagnosis. Taken together, these results demonstrate that hsa_circ_0089172 as a potential diagnostic biomarker of HT and may play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of HT via sponging miR-125a-3p. Keywords: circRNA, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, sponge, next-generation sequencing

Water and nitrogen are the key factors affecting the yield and nitrogen recovery efficiency of double-cropping rice, but information about optimizing nitrogen fertilizer and irrigation management to achieve high yield is still limited. The purpose was to study the effects of different nitrogen application rates (D1, D2, D3, D4 (0, 112.5, 150.0, and 187.5 kg ha−1 for early-season rice and 0, 135, 180, and 225 kg ha−1 for late-season rice)) and irrigation conditions (G1, Alternate wetting and drying irrigation, G2, flooding irrigation) on rice yield and nitrogen recovery efficiency. Field experiments were carried out in the early and late seasons of the subtropical environment in Heshan County, Hunan Province, China in 2018 and 2019. The results showed that the yield was increased by the comprehensive action of reasonable irrigation mode and nitrogen management. Under G1D4 and G1D3 treatments, the maximum grain yield of early-season rice was 7.42 t ha−1, which was 0.8~35.9% higher than other treatments, and that of late-season rice was 8.20 t ha−1, which was 13.3~67.0% higher than other treatments. The increase of yield in G1D4 and G1D3 treatments was due to the increase in dry matter accumulation, effective Panicles number, and Spikelets per panicle, whose increase was due to an increase in photosynthesis and nitrate reductase activity. Compared with other treatments, late-season rice G1D3 treatment achieved a higher yield with less nitrogen fertilizer, while early-season rice G1D4 treatment achieved the highest yield, but the nitrogen recovery efficiency decreased. We should focus on more effective nitrogen fertilizer and irrigation management to further improve the yield potential of double-cropping rice.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as key regulators of cellular processes by suppressing target mRNAs at the posttranscriptional level. However, little is known regarding the expression of miRNAs in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) patients. Therefore, 38 HT patients and 36 healthy volunteers were enrolled in this study to identify HT-mediated changes in miRNA expression. Over 1,000 dysregulated miRNAs and their biological functions in the HT patients were identified. Among them, miR-125a-5p expression was upregulated and inversely correlated with low levels of MAF, a transcription factor that inhibits Th1 cells activity and the production of IFN-γ. Luciferase assay results demonstrated that MAF is a direct target gene of miR-125a-5p. Moreover, the proportion of circulating Th1 cells and the transcript levels of IFN-γ were increased in the HT patients. MiR-125a-5p expression positively correlated with the proportion of circulating Th1 cells and the serum concentrations of anti-thyroperoxidase antibodies in the HT patients. Interestingly, knockdown of miR-125a-5p in CD4+ T cells resulted in an elevated level of MAF but decreased the proportion of Th1 cells and the transcript level of IFN-γ in vitro. Furthermore, upregulated miR-125a-5p and IFN-γ transcript levels and downregulated MAF expression were detected in thyroid tissues from HT patients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves suggested that miR-125a-5p has a crucial role in the HT. Our results demonstrate that the elevated levels of miR-125a-5p contribute to the Th1 cells response in the HT patients and may be involved in the pathogenesis of HT.

Abstract Background Behcet’s disease and Sjogren’s syndrome is an autoimmune disorder from which many systems of the body can suffer. Here we reported a patient with a history of Behcet’s disease and Sjogren’s syndrome in which REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) was then detected by polysomnographic (PSG) monitoring. Case presentation A 68-year-old male patient with a history of Behcet’s disease and Sjogren’s syndrome was diagnosed with RBD by clinical examination and video-PSG, and he also underwent a multiple sleep latency test and cerebral magnetic resonance imaging. The patient had a history of Behcet’s disease for 20 years and Sjogren’s syndrome for 2 years. The cerebral magnetic resonance imaging also suggested cerebral demyelination and mild cortical atrophy, with cognitive dysfunction by a score of 28 on the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and a score of 22 on the Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA). Conclusion RBD is common in the elderly population and is significantly related to α-synucleinopathy. Combining the decline in neuro-cognition and mild cortical atrophy, presentation of RBD in this patient could indicate an underlying α-synucleinopathy neurodegenerative disorder in the future. Considering the role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of α-synucleinopathy and a common shared HLA allelic genes in RBD and Sjogren’s syndrome, it is suggested that a physiological process which is related to neuroinflammation may be involved in the pathogenesis of RBD.

Abstract We report optical positioning of single quantum dots (QDs) in planar distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) cavity with an average position uncertainty of ≈20 nm using an optimized photoluminescence imaging method. We create single-photon sources based on these QDs in determined micropillar cavities. The brightness of the QD fluorescence is greatly enhanced on resonance with the fundamental mode of the cavity, leading to an high extraction efficiency of 68% ± 6% into a lens with numerical aperture of 0.65, and simultaneously exhibiting low multi-photon probability (g(2)(0) = 0.144 ± 0.012) at this collection efficiency.

Abstract Excessive alcohol consumption is a known risk factor for stroke, but the effect of stroke on alcohol intake is unknown. The dorsomedial striatum (DMS) and midbrain areas of the nigrostriatal circuit are critically associated to stroke and alcohol addiction. Here we sought to explore the influence of stroke on alcohol consumption and to uncover the underlying nigrostriatal mechanism. Rats were trained to consume alcohol using a two-bottle choice or operant self-administration procedure. Retrograde beads were infused into the DMS or midbrain to label specific neuronal types, and ischemic stroke was induced in the dorsolateral striatum (DLS). Slice electrophysiology was employed to measure excitability and synaptic transmission in DMS and midbrain neurons. We found that ischemic stroke-induced DLS infarction produced significant increases in alcohol preference, operant self-administration, and relapse. These increases were accompanied by enhanced excitability of DMS and midbrain neurons. In addition, glutamatergic inputs onto DMS D1-neurons was potentiated, whereas GABAergic inputs onto DMS-projecting midbrain dopaminergic neurons was suppressed. Importantly, systemic inhibition of dopamine D1 receptors attenuated the stroke-induced increase in operant alcohol self-administration. Our results suggest that the stroke-induced DLS infarction evoked abnormal plasticity in nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons and DMS D1-neurons, contributing to increased post-stroke alcohol-seeking and relapse.

Background: Ascorbic acid (Asc) is one of the most abundant antioxidants and it serves as a major contributor to protect plants against oxidative damage. Plants use two enzymes that participate in the metabolic recycling of Asc. One of these two enzymes is dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR). It directly regenerates Asc from its oxidized state and thus prevents Asc from being irreversibly hydrolyzed to 2, 3-diketogulonic acid. This study aimed to examine whether over-expression of DHAR leads to an enhanced oxidative stress tolerance in tobacco plants. Results: In this study, we functionally characterized a novel JcDHAR gene from Jatropha curcas and found via quantitative RT-PCR analysis that JcDHAR can be induced with H2O2, salt and PEG stresses. The DHAR activities of transgenic tobacco plants increased from 2.0 to 5.3 fold compared to wild-type plants. As a result, the transgenic plants displayed enhanced tolerance to oxidative stress. Conclusions: Our results indicate that JcDHAR expression can effectively enhance the tolerance to oxidative stress in plants.

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a series of $L_{n}$ slot photonic crystal (PhC) microcavities, which operate as refractive index (RI) gas sensors. The cavities are simply composed of a silicon slab triangular photonic crystal with $n$ holes replaced by a slot, which do not require sophisticated design or high fabrication resolution. With the increase in $n$, the quality factor of the cavity exponentially increases, which is explained by the envelope of electric field approaching a Gaussian profile. An $L_{9}$ slot PhC microcavity with a quality factor exceeding 30 000, sensitivity of 421 nm per RI unit (RIU), and detection limit down to $1\times 10^{-5}$ RIU was experimentally demonstrated. The performance of the device is comparable with other fine-tuned PhC microcavity structures. Due to its simple structure and high fabrication tolerance, it could have wide applications in optical sensors.

A highly sensitive nitrite (NO2−) electrochemical sensor is fabricated using glassy carbon electrode modified with Au nanoparticle and grapheme oxide. Briefly, this electrochemical sensor was prepared by drop-coating graphene oxide-chitosan mixed film on the surface of the electrode and then electrodepositing a layer of Au nanoparticle using cyclic voltammetry. The electrochemical behavior of NO2− on the sensor was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and amperometric i-t curve. The results showed that the sensor exhibited better electrocatalytic activity for NO2− in 0.1 mol/L phosphate buffer solution (PBS) (pH 5.0). The oxidation peak current was positively correlated with NO2− concentration in the ranges of 0.9 µM to 18.9 µM. The detection limit was estimated to be 0.3 µM. In addition, the interference of some common ions (e.g., NO3−, CO32−, SO42−, Cl−, Ca2+ and Mg2+) and oxidizable compound including sodium sulfite and ascorbic acid in the detection of nitrite was also studied. The results show that this sensor is more sensitive and selective to NO2−. Therefore, this electrochemical sensor provided an effective tool for the detection of NO2−.