Search

The Casas-Ibarra (CI) parametrization of the Yukawa coupling matrix of Majorana neutrinos is generalized by considering the exact seesaw relation and including non-unitarity of the 3×3 Pontecorvo-Maki-Nakagawa-Sakata (PMNS) flavor mixing matrix. With the help of a full 6×6 Euler-like block description of the flavor structure for the seesaw mechanism, we find that the orthogonal matrix O in the CI parametrization can be expressed as Oij=Mj/miFij with mi and Mj being the masses of light and heavy Majorana neutrinos and Fij consisting of the PMNS and active-sterile flavor mixing parameters (for i,j=1,2,3). Assuming a specific pattern of O is therefore equivalent to imposing some special conditions on the seesaw parameter space.

BackgroundOur study was designed to determine the incidence and risk factors of severe acute high-altitude illness (AHAI) in healthy adults first entering the northern Tibetan Plateau of over 5,000 m.MethodsIn our prospective observational study, we enrolled 500 people who were scheduled for fast ascension to the northern Tibetan Plateau. The primary outcome variable was severe AHAI, defined as the presence of serious symptoms that could not be ameliorated by general treatment and required evacuation to lower altitudes. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a cohort of 383 healthy people was included in the statistical analysis. We calculated the incidence of severe AHAI, identified the risk factors, and the differences in the most severe symptoms experienced.ResultsSixty-eight people were diagnosed with severe AHAI, and the incidence was 17.8%. Compared to individuals without severe AHAI, those with severe AHAI were more likely to be over the age of 40 years, of Han Chinese nationality, and living at an altitude of

We present the first complete calculation of the Jarlskog invariant, a working measure of the strength of CP violation in the flavor oscillations of three light neutrino species, with the help of a full Euler-like block parametrization of the flavor structure in the canonical seesaw mechanism. We find that this invariant depends on 240 linear combinations of the 6 original phase parameters that are responsible for CP violation in the decays of three heavy Majorana neutrinos in 27 linear combinations as a whole, and thus provides the first model-independent connection between the microscopic and macroscopic matter-antimatter asymmetries.

Abstract Background Lignin is a complex aromatic polymer that plays an important biological role in maintaining plant structure and defending plants against biotic and abiotic stresses. Cinnamoyl-CoA reductase (CCR) is a key enzyme involved in the lignin synthesis-specific pathway and regulates lignin biosynthesis and accumulation. Methods Based on transcriptome data, MhCCR1, which was significantly induced by saline-alkali stress, was cloned from Malus halliana. The physicochemical properties, evolutionary relationships and cis-acting elements were analyzed. We obtained transgenic materials by heterologous transformation of MhCCR1 into Arabidopsis thaliana and tobacco, as well as homologous transformation into apple callus, and characterized their saline-alkali stress resistance by a series of physiological and biochemical experiments. And yeast two-hybridization technique was applied to screen and validate the interacting proteins. Results We found that overexpression of MhCCR1 enhanced the tolerance of A. thaliana, tobacco and apple calli under saline-alkali stress, and caused a variety of physiological and biochemical changes. As compared to the wild type, the transgenic plants showed better growth, higher lignin, chlorophyll and proline contents, lower conductivity and MDA content, and significant increase in antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD, POD, CAT) in the transgenic lines under stress condition. In addition, expression of saline-alkali stress-related genes in overexpressed A. thaliana were also higher than in WT, including the antioxidant genes, the Na+ transporter genes, and the H+-ATPase genes, while expression of the K+ transporter genes displayed opposite changes. Meanwhile, the expression levels of genes related to lignin synthesis, AtPAL1, AtCOMT, AtC4H, At4CL1, and AtCCOAOMT, were also significantly up-regulated. At last, the Y2H experiment confirmed the interaction between MhCCR1 and MhMYB4, MhMYB1R1, MhHXK, and MhbZIP23 proteins. Conclusions These results suggest that MhCCR1 may play a positive regulatory role in saline-alkali tolerance of transgenic lines by regulating the lignin content, osmoregulatory substances, chlorophyll content, antioxidant enzyme activities, and genes related to saline-alkali stress, thus providing excellent resistance genes for the stress-responsive regulatory network of apples, and providing a theoretical basis for the cultivation of saline and alkali-resistant apple varieties. Graphical Abstract

Abstract Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) and bone mineral density (BMD) have shown a controversial link in some studies. This research aims to study their association in males over 50 and postmenopausal females using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data. Postmenopausal females and males over 50 were included in the study. MetS was defined by the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines. BMD values were measured at the thoracic spine, lumbar spine, and pelvis as the primary outcome. Weighted multivariate general linear models have been employed to explore the status of BMD in patients with MetS. Additionally, interaction tests and subgroup analyses were conducted. Utilizing the NHANES database from 2003 to 2006 and 2011–2018, we included 1924 participants, with 1029 males and 895 females. In postmenopausal women, after adjusting for covariates, we found a positive correlation between MetS and pelvic (β: 0.030 [95%CI 0.003, 0.06]) and thoracic (β: 0.030 [95%CI 0.01, 0.06]) BMD, though not for lumbar spine BMD (β: 0.020 [95%CI − 0.01, 0.05]). In males over 50 years old, MetS was positively correlated with BMD in both Model 1 (without adjusting for covariates) and Model 2 (considering age and ethnicity). Specifically, Model 2 revealed a positive correlation between MetS and BMD at the pelvis (β: 0.046 [95%CI 0.02, 0.07]), thoracic spine (β: 0.047 [95%CI 0.02, 0.07]), and lumbar spine (β: 0.040 [95%CI 0.02, 0.06]). Subgroup analysis demonstrated that the relationship between MetS and BMD remained consistent in all strata, underscoring the stability of the findings. In postmenopausal women, after adjusting for all covariates, a significant positive correlation was observed between MetS and BMD in the pelvis and thoracic spine, whereas this correlation was not significant for lumbar spine BMD. Conversely, in males, positive correlations between MetS and BMD at the lumbar spine, thoracic spine, and pelvis were identified in Model 2, which adjusted for age and ethnicity; however, these correlations disappeared after fully adjusting for all covariates. These findings highlight the potential moderating role of gender in the impact of MetS on BMD.

Pancreatic cancer is a high malignant tumor with insidious onset, early metastasis, and extremely poor prognosis. How to improve the early diagnosis and the prognosis of the patients is the current research focus. Although traditional surgical resection may improve the prognosis of some patients, the long-term effect is still poor. Biological benefit is the new mode of pancreatic cancer treatment, and it is crucial to do the whole process monitoring, precisely make the treatment plan and predict the effect under this mode. Artificial intelligence technology, with its powerful data processing and image recognition functions and high learning efficiency, can help to build relatively perfect prediction models with the cooperation of multidisciplinary experts, assist clinicians to make optimal plans, and make the pancreatic cancer patients benefit from precision medicine and individualized therapy.

Iron (Fe) deficiency is one of the most common micronutrient imbalances limiting plant growth globally, especially in arid and saline alkali regions due to the decreased availability of Fe in alkaline soils. Malus halliana grows well in arid regions and is tolerant of Fe deficiency. Here, a physiological and metabolomic approach was used to analyze the short-term molecular response of M. halliana roots to Fe deficiency. On the one hand, physiological data show that the root activity first increased and then decreased with the prolongation of the stress time, but the change trend of root pH was just the opposite. The total Fe content decreased gradually, while the effective Fe decreased at 12 h and increased at 3 d. The activity of iron reductase (FCR) increased with the prolongation of stress. On the other hand, a total of 61, 73, and 45 metabolites were identified by GC–MS in three pairs: R12h (Fe deficiency 12 h) vs. R0h (Fe deficiency 0 h), R3d (Fe deficiency 3 d) vs. R0h, and R3d vs. R12h, respectively. Sucrose, as a source of energy, produces monosaccharides such as glucose by hydrolysis, while glucose accumulates significantly at the first (R12h vs. R0h) and third time points (R3d vs. R0h). Carbohydrates (digalacturonate, L-xylitol, ribitol, D-xylulose, glucose, and glycerol) are degraded into pyruvate through glycolysis and pentose phosphate, which participate in the TCA. Glutathione metabolism and the TCA cycle coordinate with each other, actively respond to Fe deficiency stress, and synthesize secondary metabolites at the same time. This study thoroughly examines the metabolite response to plant iron deficiency, highlighting the crucial roles of sugar metabolism, tricarboxylic acid cycle regulation, and glutathione metabolism in the short-term iron deficiency response of apples. It also lays the groundwork for future research on analyzing iron deficiency tolerance.