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Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) as a bio-based polymer with biodegradability and biocompatibility has attracted much attention. To manipulate its properties for different applications, regulation of crystal structure and crystalline morphology becomes an attractive research topic. In this work, the structure evolution of layered samples containing an amorphous poly(D-lactide) (PDLA) layer and a crystalline poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) layer with highly oriented edge-on α lamellar crystals after annealing at 150 °C or/and after melt-recrystallization has been studied by AFM, FTIR, and TEM combined with electron diffraction. The results demonstrate that melt recrystallization of the as-prepared sample leads to the formation of abundant randomly oriented PLA stereo-complex (PLA SC) crystals. Annealing at 150 °C results in the formation of a small amount of oriented PLA SC crystals at the interface. These PLA SC crystals show great impact on the recrystallization behavior of sample after melting at 190 °C and then crystallizing at 90 °C. First, they impede the mutual diffusion of the overlying PDLA and underlying PLLA, and thus reduce their stereocomplexation ability as manifested by the decreased amount of PLA SC crystals. Second, they act as substrate to initiate the epitaxial crystallization of the overlying PDLA and underlying PLLA, which ensures the production of a highly oriented structure of PDLA and PLLA after melt recrystallization again. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grain size is an important appearance quality trait in rice, which also affects grain yield. In this study, a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from a cross between indica variety 9311 and japonica variety Cypress was constructed. And 181 out of 600 RILs were sequenced, and a high-density genetic map containing 2842 bin markers was constructed, with a total map length of 1500.6 cM. A total of 10 quantitative trait loci (QTL) related to grain length (GL), grain width (GW), grain length-to-width ratio (LWR), and 1000-grain weight (TGW) were detected under two environments. The genetic effect of qGL4, a minor QTL for GL and TGW, was validated using three heterogeneous inbred family (HIF) segregation populations. It was further dissected into two closed linked QTL, qGL4.1 and qGL4.2. By progeny testing, qGL4.1 and qGL4.2 were successfully delimited to intervals of 1304-kb and 423-kb, respectively. Our results lay the foundation for the map-based cloning of qGL4.1 and qGL4.2 and provide new gene resources for the improvement of grain yield and quality in rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This is a retrospective study and aims to investigate the clinical outcomes of patients with knee varus deformity and extruded medial meniscus who underwent arthroscopic meniscus centralization and medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy. Methods: A total of 24 patients were included in the trial, and arthroscopy intraoperative photographs and standing preoperative and postoperative radiographs were taken to analyze the mechanical tibiofemoral angle and tibial plateau inclination. Postoperative complications and knee motion were recorded, and the surgical results were evaluated using the knee society score. Results: The study observed four cases of surgery-related complications among all patients, but no major complications were reported. The surgery significantly improved knee flexion degrees and total knee range of motion. Satisfactory outcomes were shown in postoperative radiographs and secondary intraoperative photographs. The knee score increased from 39.6 ± 10.0 to 80.1 ± 9.0, and the functional score improved from 48.1 ± 6.9 to 89.4 ± 5.5. The preoperative tibial plateau inclination was 5.3 ± 0.7, while the postoperative data showed a decrease to 4.2 ± 0.7. The preoperative mechanical tibiofemoral angle was − 7.7 ± 1.0, and it improved in all patients postoperatively to 2.8 ± 0.9. Conclusion: By alternating the knee biomechanics and significantly improving symptoms and quality of life, arthroscopic medial meniscus centralization and medial open wedge high tibial osteotomy units are confirmed to be an effective alternative treatment for knee varus deformity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fifteen phenolic constituents were isolated from the 80% ethanol extract of Kalimeris shimadae, including two phenolic glycosides (1, 2), six flavonoids (3–8), five phenylpropanoids (9–13), and two lignans (14, 15). Their structures were identified by spectroscopic analysis and comparison with literature data. Compound 1 was a new glucosyringic acid derivative, whereas compounds 2–14 were first discovered from K. shimadae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amylose content (AC) is one of the physicochemical indexes of rice quality, which is largely determined by the Waxy (Wx) gene. Fragrance in rice is favored because it adds good flavor and a faint scent. Loss of function of the BADH2 (FGR) gene promotes the biosynthesis of 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2AP), which is the main compound responsible for aroma in rice. Here, we used a CRISPR/Cas9 system to simultaneously knock out Wx and FGR genes in 1892S and M858, which are the parents of an indica two-line hybrid rice, Huiliangyou 858 (HLY858). Four T-DNA-free homozygous mutants (1892Swxfgr-1, 1892Swxfgr-2, M858wxfgr-1, and M858wxfgr-2) were obtained. The 1892Swxfgr and M858wxfgr were crossed to generate double mutant hybrid lines HLY858wxfgr-1 and HLY858wxfgr-2. Size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) data indicated that true AC of the wx mutant starches ranged from 0.22 to 1.63%, much lower than those of the wild types (12.93 to 13.76%). However, the gelatinization temperature (GT) of the wx mutants in backgrounds of 1892S, M858, and HLY858 were still high, and showed no significant differences with the wild type controls. The aroma compounds 2AP content in grains of HLY858wxfgr-1 and HLY858wxfgr-2 were 153.0 μg/kg and 151.0 μg/kg, respectively. In contrast, 2AP was not detected in grains of HLY858. There were no significant differences in major agronomic traits between the mutants and HLY858. This study provides guidelines for cultivation of ideal glutinous and aromatic hybrid rice by gene editing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice grain size is a key determinant of both grain yield and quality. In this study, we conducted QTL mapping on grain size using a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from a cross between japonica variety Beilu130 (BL130) and indica variety Jin23B (J23B). A total of twenty-two QTL related to grain length (GL), grain width (GW), grain length-to-width ratio (LWR), grain thickness (GT), and thousand grain weight (TGW) were detected under two environments, and 14 of them were repeatedly detected. Two minor QTL, qTGW2b and qGL9, were validated and further delimited to regions of 631 kb and 272 kb, respectively. Parental sequence comparison of genes expressed in inflorescence in corresponding candidate regions identified frameshifts in the exons of LOC_Os02g38690 and LOC_Os02g38780, both of which encode protein phosphatase 2C-containing protein, and LOC_Os09g29930, which encodes a BIM2 protein. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed that the increase of cell size rather than cell number caused the differences in grain size between NILs of qTGW2b and qGL9. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed that the expression levels of EXPA4, EXPA5, EXPA6, EXPB3, EXPB4, and EXPB7 were significantly different in both qTGW2b NILs and qGL9 NILs. Our results lay the foundation for the cloning of qTGW2b and qGL9, and provide genetic materials for the improvement of rice yield and quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: We report the map-based cloning and functional characterization of SNG1, which encodes OsHXK3, a hexokinase-like protein that plays a pivotal role in controlling grain size in rice. Grain size is an important agronomic trait determining grain yield and appearance quality in rice. Here, we report the discovery of rice mutant short and narrow grain1 (sng1) with reduced grain length, width and weight. Map-based cloning revealed that the mutant phenotype was caused by loss of function of gene OsHXK3 that encodes a hexokinase-like (HKL) protein. OsHXK3 was associated with the mitochondria and was ubiquitously distributed in various organs, predominately in younger organs. Analysis of glucose (Glc) phosphorylation activities in young panicles and protoplasts showed that OsHXK3 was a non-catalytic hexokinase (HXK). Overexpression of OsHXK3 could not complement the Arabidopsis glucose insensitive2-1 (gin2-1) mutant, indicating that OsHXK3 lacked Glc signaling activity. Scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed that OsHXK3 affects grain size by promoting spikelet husk cell expansion. Knockout of other nine OsHXK genes except OsHXK3 individually did not change grain size, indicating that functions of OsHXKs have differentiated in rice. OsHXK3 influences gibberellin (GA) biosynthesis and homeostasis. Compared with wild type, OsGA3ox2 was significantly up-regulated and OsGA2ox1 was significantly down-regulated in young panicle of sng1, and concentrations of biologically active GAs were significantly decreased in young panicles of the mutants. The yield per plant of OsHXK3 overexpression lines (OE-4 and OE-35) was increased by 10.91% and 7.62%, respectively, compared to that of wild type. Our results provide evidence that an HXK lacking catalytic and sensory functions plays an important role in grain size and has the potential to increase yield in rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In practical applications, due to the complexity of the system, the process equation of the state space model is difficult to match the actual state transition model. In addition, the unreliability of the sensor will cause the measurement to be accompanied by outliers. In this paper, a novel robust Kalman filter with fading factor is proposed to improve the accuracy of state estimation for the linear system under state transition model mismatch and outliers interference. Firstly, in order to modify the state transition model, this filter introduces a fading factor which is modelled as the inverse gamma distribution to update the state prediction covariance. Then, aiming at the phenomenon that the measurement noise does not follow the Gaussian distribution and has nonzero mean characteristics due to outliers interference, the measurement noise is modelled as the generalized hyperbolic skew Student's t distribution. Finally, the state estimation is realized by using the variational Bayesian. The simulation results show that the estimation accuracy of the proposed filter is higher than that of the Kalman filter and the strong tracking filter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let p ≥ 2 be a prime number and ℤp be the ring of p-adic intergers. Let G be a semigroup generated by infinitely many contractive maps on pℤp. It is shown that if G satisfies the open tiling conditions, then there exists a shift transformation on the limit set of G and the shift transformation is ergodic with respect to the Haar measure on pℤp. As an application, we can generalize p-adic Khinchin's Theorem and p-adic Lochs' Theorem to any infinitely generated semigroup by use of the ergodicity of the shift transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China with large area of land planted with crops are suffering secondary salinization in coastal area for the lack of fresh water and saltwater intrusion to the groundwater. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of biochar (BC) and fulvic acid (FA) on the amelioration of coastal saline soil and their impact on crop yields under maize-barley rotation system. A three year field experiment was conducted in a saline soil on a farm in coastal area of east Jiangsu Province, China. A maize-barley rotation system had been carried out for ten years with local conventional management before the experiment. The saline soil was amended with BC at rates of 0, 7.5 t ha−1 (BC1), 15 t ha−1 (BC2) and 30 t ha−1 (BC3) alone or combined with fulvic acid (1.5 t ha−1) compared with control. Fertilizers were applied under normal planting strategies. The BC was added only once during the four growing seasons, and the FA was applied before each sowing. Soil salinity changed significantly during the three year field experiment. This was mainly due to the great quantity of rain during the period of maize cultivation. Although Na+, Cl− and SO42− in BC and /or FA treatments significantly decreased, the pH value increased up to 9.0 as the CO32− + HCO3−content increased. Total organic carbon (TOC) and phosphorus (TP) responded positively to biochar addition rate. BC applied with appropriate rate at 15 t ha−1 (BC2) in combination with FA showed optimal effects on soil salinity amelioration, soil physics properties regulation, soil nutrition improvement and crop yields increase. The TOC and TP was 5.2 g kg−1 and 507 mg kg−1 in BC2 + FA treatment, which were lower than BC3 and BC3 + FA treatments. However, the highest total grain yield was obtained in the BC2 + FA treatment, and the total yield was increased by 62.9% over the CK. This study emphasizes that using combined organic amendment of BC with FA for profitable and sustainable use of salt-affected soils would be practicable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is concerned with the semi-parametric error-in-variables (EV) model with missing responses: y i = ξ i β + g (t i) + ϵ i , x i = ξ i + μ i , where ϵ i = σ i e i is heteroscedastic, f (u i) = σ i 2 , y i are the response variables missing at random, the design points (ξ i , t i , u i) are known and non-random, β is an unknown parameter, g (⋅) and f (⋅) are functions defined on closed interval [ 0 , 1 ] , and the ξ i are the potential variables observed with measurement errors μ i , e i are random errors. Under appropriate conditions, we study the strong consistent rates for the estimators of β, g (⋅) and f (⋅) . Finite sample behavior of the estimators is investigated via simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fibrosis in multiple organs increases with age. Circulating fibrocytes are bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal progenitors that contribute to heart, lung, and kidney fibrosis under the diseased conditions. Whether circulating fibrocytes contribute to aging-related fibrosis is very limited. Methods and results: We measured the proportion and differentiation of circulating fibrocytes (CD45+/CD34+/collagen I+) from elders (n = 12) and adults (n = 12) using flow cytometry. Differentiated fibrocytes in the culture dishes were isolated and microarray was performed. The percentage of circulating fibrocytes in elders (1.95 ± 0.43%) was comparable to that in the adults (1.71 ± 0.38%). Cultured fibrocytes displayed enhanced potential of differentiation in the elder group (67.91 ± 5.88%) vs the adult group (44.03 ± 7.98%). In addition, expression of fibroblast activation markers and cell migratory ability were also increased in differentiated fibrocytes from elders. Microarray analysis revealed that differentiated fibrocytes from elders expressed high level of interleukin-18 (IL-18) receptor 1 (IL-18R1). Furthermore, we found IL-18 was elevated in the plasma of elders and IL-18/IL-18R1 was shown to promote fibrocyte differentiation. Conclusion: Circulating fibrocytes from elders had an enhanced capacity to differentiate into myofibroblasts, and might contribute to age-dependent fibrosis. Age-dependent increment of differentiation at least in part arose from their enhanced expression of IL-18R1. Inhibiting fibrocyte differentiation might be useful as an adjuvant treatment to delay the fibrosis process in aging population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of Ni/HZSM-5 catalysts with different Ni-loadings and Si/Al ratios were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation and employed for catalytic hydrogenation of levulinic acid (LA) to gamma-valerolactone (GVL). Their physicochemical properties were characterized by X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption-desorption, X-ray photoelectron spectrometer, temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia,transmission electron microscopy, temperature-programmed reduction of hydrogen, and pyridine-adsorbed infrared spectroscopy. The diffraction peaks assigned to Ni phase were not observed, implying that nickel particles were small and had a high dispersion on the supports. The catalysts with a strong acidity and the appropriate ratio of Brönsted (B) acid sites to Lewis (L) acid sites (B/L = 4.9) show an excellent activity and selectivity for the hydrogenation of LA to GVL. High conversion of LA and selectivity towards GVL were achieved over 5 wt% Ni/HZSM-5-50. The maximum GVL yield of 100% over 5 wt% Ni/HZSM-5-50 was obtained under the optimized reaction conditions of 210 °C, 2 h, and 3 MPa initial hydrogen pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the fabrication of channel waveguides by He ion implantation in a single-crystal LiNbO film bonded to a SiO/LiNbO substrate. The planar waveguides were also formed under the same conditions to show the refractive index changes and the thermal annealing properties of ion-implanted LiNbO thin film. Using a moderate implantation energy, the formed channel waveguides were clean because He ions passed through the LiNbO thin film and deposited into the SiO layer. The optical propagation properties of channel waveguides were measured using an end-face coupling method, and the theoretical results were simultaneously calculated for comparison. The mode sizes and end-face reflectivities of channel waveguides with different widths were numerically calculated. The propagation losses were also estimated at approximately 12.2 and 14.3 dB/cm for 7 μm- and 5 μm-wide waveguides, respectively, by the Fabry-Perot method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pancreatic cancer (PC) has a high mortality rate because it is usually diagnosed late. Glycosylation of proteins is known to change in tumor cells during the development of PC. The objectives of this study were to identify and validate the diagnostic value of novel biomarkers based on N-glycomic profiling for PC. In total, 217 individuals including subjects with PC, pancreatitis, and healthy controls were divided randomly into a training group ( n = 164) and validation groups ( n = 53). Serum N-glycomic profiling was analyzed by DSA-FACE. The diagnostic model was constructed based on N-glycan markers with logistic stepwise regression. The diagnostic performance of the model was assessed further in validation cohort. The level of total core fucose residues was increased significantly in PC. Two diagnostic models designated GlycoPCtest and PCmodel (combining GlycoPCtest and CA19-9) were constructed to differentiate PC from normal. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of PCmodel was higher than that of CA19-9 (0.925 vs. 0.878). The diagnostic models based on N-glycans are new, valuable, noninvasive alternatives for identifying PC. The diagnostic efficacy is improved by combined GlycoPCtest and CA19-9 for the discrimination of patients with PC from healthy controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grain chalkiness is a highly undesirable trait affecting rice grain quality and milled rice yield. In order to clarify the genetic basis of chalkiness, a recombinant inbred line population (RIL) derived from a cross between Beilu130 (a japonica cultivar with high chalkiness) and Jin23B (an indica cultivar with low chalkiness) was developed for quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping. A total of 10 QTLs for white belly rate (WBR) and white core rate (WCR) were detected on eight different chromosomes over 2 years. Two QTLs for WBR (qWBR2 and qWBR5) showed similar chromosomal locations with GW2 and qSW5/GW5, which have been cloned previously to control the grain width and should be the right candidate genes. Three novel minor QTLs controlling WCR, qWCR1, qWCR3, and qWCR4 were further validated in near isogenic F2 populations (NIL-F2) and explained 26.1, 18.3, and 21.1% of the phenotypic variation, respectively. These QTLs could be targets for map-based cloning of the candidate genes to elucidate the molecular mechanism of chalkiness and for marker-assisted selection (MAS) in rice grain quality improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play a role in sepsis-related autophagy. However, the role of circRNAs in autophagy after sepsis-induced cardiomyopathy (SICM) is unknown, so we explored the circRNA expression profiles associated with autophagy in an acute sepsis mouse model. At a dose of 10 mg/kg, mice were intraperitoneally administered with lipopolysaccharides. The myocardial tissue was harvested after 6 h for microarray analysis, qRT-PCR, and western blotting. Gene Ontology, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis were evaluated, and a competing endogenous RNA network was constructed, to evaluate the role of circRNAs related to autophagy in SICM. In total, 1,735 differently expressed circRNAs were identified in the LPS-treated group, including 990 upregulated and 745 downregulated circRNAs. The expression level of the autophagy-specific protein p62 decreased, while the ratio of LC3 II to LC3 I increased. Additionally, 309 mRNAs and 187 circRNAs were correlated with autophagy in myocardial tissue after SICM. Of these, 179 circRNAs were predicted to function as "miRNA sponges". Some distinctive circRNAs and mRNAs found by ceRNA analysis might be involved in autophagy in SICM. These findings provide insights into circRNAs and identified new research targets that may be used to further explore the pathogenesis of SICM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The study aims to develop a model to predict the risk of moderate to severe cancer-related fatigue (CRF) in colorectal cancer patients after chemotherapy. Methods: The study population was colorectal cancer patients who received chemotherapy from September 2021 to June 2022 in a grade 3 and first-class hospital. Demographic, clinical, physiological, psychological, and socioeconomic factors were collected 1 to 2 days before the start of chemotherapy. Patients were followed up for 1 to 2 days after the end of chemotherapy to assess fatigue using the Piper Fatigue Scale. A random sampling method was used to select 181 patients with moderate to severe CRF as the case group. The risk set sampling method was used to select 181 patients with mild or no CRF as the control group. Logistic regression, back-propagation artificial neural network (BP-ANN), and decision tree models were constructed and compared. Results: A total of 362 patients consisting of 241 derivation samples and 121 validation samples were enrolled. Comparing the three models, the prediction effect of BP-ANN was the best, with a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.83. Internal and external verification indicated that the accuracy of prediction was 70.4% and 80.8%, respectively. Significant predictors identified were surgery, complications, hypokalaemia, albumin, neutrophil percentage, pain (VAS score), Activities of Daily Living (ADL) score, sleep quality (PSQI score), anxiety (HAD-A score), depression (HAD-D score), and nutrition (PG-SGA score). Conclusions: BP-ANN was the best model, offering theoretical guidance for clinicians to formulate a tool to identify patients at high risk of moderate to severe CRF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human image segmentation has been a practical and active research topic due to its wide range of potential application. There are some previous studies on manual, semi-automatic and automatic segmentation methods to investigate the semantic segmentation of human parts fully for real-world human analysis scenarios, but further research is still needed. This paper presents a novel semantic segmentation network, named TRCA-Net, for human image segmentation tasks. Having the TransUNet as the backbone, TRCA-Net incorporates Res2Net and Coordinate Attention to improve the performance. Res2Net blocks and Transformer can obtain better feature maps by encoding the input images. The Coordinate Attention in the decoder aggregates and upsamples the encoded feature maps, and connects to the high-resolution CNN feature maps for gaining accurate segmentation. The TRCA-Net can enhance finer details by recovering local spatial information. We compare the TRCA-Net with state-of-the-art (SOAT) semantic segmentation networks: the original U-Net, DeepLabv3+, and TransUNet. The experiment results have demonstrated that our proposed TRCA-Net outperforms these networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High quality and high efficiency are very important factors in the mold industry and must be considered in machining technology development. Corners are one of the typical features in a cavity mold that can cause low accuracy, tool wear, cutter defection, and vibration. Therefore, off-line feedrate optimization in a corner-milling process has been proposed as a means for avoiding these drawbacks. The corner-milling process could be divided into five stages according to the contact conditions between the cutter and workpiece. An improved chip thickness model based on the actual trajectory of the cutter was presented to predict the movement of the cutter along a curved path. Various feedrate optimizations were presented with varying control parameters. In this paper, three feedrate optimizations were implemented using three control parameters, relative volume, milling force, and cutter deflection, based on the differential element method (DEM). A corner-milling force experiment indicated that the simulation results using a modified milling force model agreed well with actual experimental milling results. Following this, a feedrate optimization with multiple constraints was built, according to a combination of three feedrate optimizations and then consider the acceleration and deceleration limitation. The simulation by using the method in this paper demonstrated that the machining time of rough milling, semi-finish milling, and finish milling could be reduced. In addition, it was found that the resulting milling force varies within a narrow range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nogos have become a hot topic for its well-known number Nogo-A's big role in clinical matters. It has been recognized that the expression of Nogo-A and the receptor NgR1 inhibit the neuron's growth after CNS injuries or the onset of the MS. The piling evidence supports the notion that the Nogo-A is also involved in the synaptic plasticity, which was shown to negatively regulate the strength of synaptic transmission. The occurrence of significant schizophrenia-like behavioral phenotypes in Nogo-A KO rats also added strong proof to this conclusion. This review mainly focuses on the structure of Nogo-A and its corresponding receptor-NgR1, its intra- and extra-cellular signaling, together with its major physiological functions such as regulation of migration and distribution and its related diseases like stroke, AD, ALS and so on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employing Ni and Pm with different thicknesses and apparent activity densities, we calculated the total efficiency ( η) and conversion efficiency ( η) limits of betavoltaics by MCNP5 and Schottky equation. The apparent activity density, emitted average energy, and η limit increase and then reach their saturation levels with increasing source thickness. The increment rate of η limit increasingly smaller as the bandgap increases. Wide bandgap semiconductors lead η to reach saturation and η to reach maximum more quickly than narrow ones. The limit of η for Pm is higher than that for Ni. Measurement results demonstrate that high apparent activity density can improve η as expected. This study can serve as a reference to evaluate the performance of betavoltaics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a novel method for detail-generating geometry completion over point-sampled geometry. The main idea consists of converting the context-based geometry completion into the detail-based texture completion on the surface. According to the influence region of boundary points surrounding a hole, a smooth patch covering the hole is first constructed using radial base functions. By applying region-growing clustering to the patch, the patching units for further completion with geometry details is then produced, and using the trilateral filtering operator formulated by us, the geometry-detail texture of each sample point on the input geometry is determined. The geometry details on the smooth completed patch are finally generated by optimizing a constrained global texture energy function on the point-sampled surfaces. Experimental results demonstrate that the method can achieve efficient completed patches that not only conform with their boundaries, but also contain the plausible 3D surface details. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability of isolated surface layer proteins (SLPs) to reassemble on suitable surfaces enables the application of SLPs in various fields of nanotechnology. In this work, SLPs from Lactobacillus buchneri BNCC 187,964 and L. kefir BNCC 190,565 were extracted and verified as glycosylated proteins. They were applied to coat on the surface of cationic liposomes. The absorption of the two SLPs on liposomes induced the zeta potential reduction and particle size increase. The two kinds of SLP-coated liposomes demonstrated better thermal, light and pH stability than the control liposomes. And the L. kefir SLP showed better protective effects than the L. buchneri SLP. Moreover, both of the SLPs could endow liposomes with the function of binding ferritin as observed by transmission electron microscope. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy illustrated that the interaction between the two SLPs and liposomes was similar. The recrystallization of the two SLPs on the liposomes might drive the lipid into a higher order state and hydrogen bonds were formed between the two SLPs and the liposomes. All the findings demonstrated that L. kefir SLP and L. buchneri SLP had great potential to be explored as effective coating agents to improve the stability and function of cationic liposomes.Please check and confirm that the authors and their respective affiliations have been correctly identified and amend if necessary.Yes, all have been checked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a comprehensive phylogeny derived from nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) for 214 samples representing 98 species and five varieties, including 44 species and five varieties native to China. Our collection of 25 species and five varieties (44 samples) covering all five sections of the genus (Comber) distributed in China also were included in the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) database. This study incorporates previous research with an emphasis on Chinese species, including the controversial subsection, Sinomartagon 5c Comber. In the phylogenetic tree obtained by maximum parsimony (PAUP) and maximum likelihood (RAxML) analyses, the samples were divided into four major groups. Our results suggest that the subsection (subsect.) 5c Comber should be classified into the true subsect. 5c and the section (sect.) Lophophorum. And the latter was divided into three subsections (subsect. Lophophorum I, subsect. Lophophorum II, and subsect. Lophophorum III). Based on molecular phylogenetic analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridization, we report that L. henryi and L. rosthornii are closely related, and we propose their classification into subsect. Leucolirion 6a. Our results support Comber's subdivision of sect. Leucolirion, which was primarily based on bulb color. Chinese species were divided into five sections: sect. Martagon, sect. Archelirion, sect. Leucolirion, sect. Sinomartagon, and sect. Lophophorum. These findings contribute to our understanding of the phylogeny, origin, and classification of Lilium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large family of crystalline organometallic compounds with silver ethynide (R-C≡CAg) as a component has been synthesized and characterized. In most cases the R-C≡C species coordinate to 3-5 silver(I) atoms, which may be symbolized as R-C≡C⊃Ag ( n = 3, 4, 5; R = alkyl, aryl, heteroaryl) by leaving out the charges. In the present review, emphasis is laid on systematic synthetic and structural studies of high-nuclearity silver ethynide clusters, of which the size and shape can be controlled to a certain extent by the judicious choice of templating anions and auxiliary ligands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variation of the reaction conditions with AgC≡CR (R = Ph, Bu), BuPOH, (EtN)VO and AgNO as starting materials afforded three isostructural globular neutral silver(I)-ethynide clusters incorporating the [(BuPO)VO] unit as an integral shell component, namely {(NO)@Ag(C≡CPh)[(BuPO)VO](DEF)(NO)}, {(NO)@Ag(C≡CBu)[(BuPO)VO](DMF)(NO)} ·DMF ·2HO and {(NO)@Ag(C≡CBu)[(BuPO)VO](DMF)(NO)} ·{(NO)@Ag(C≡CBu)[(BuPO)VO](DMF)(py)(NO)} ·DMF ·5HO, in which the central cavity of each Ag cluster is occupied by two nitrate ions that function as a template. Furthermore, from the reaction of AgC≡CBu with (NH)[VO( d,l-citrate)] ·4HO, we isolated a new high-nuclearity silver(I)-ethynide cluster [(VO)@Ag(C≡CBu)(NO)]·8HO that encapsulates a pair of templating orthovanadate ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The title compound, CHNO, was synthesized and structurally characterized by elemental analysis, MS, H NMR and single crystal X-ray diffraction. It crystallizes in monoclinic system space group C 2/c with a = 27.981(6) Å, b = 12.996(3) Å, c = 8.0900(16) Å, β = 91.06(3)°, V = 2941.4(10) Å, Z = 8, R = 0.0675, wR = 0.1626, and T = 298(2) K. The X-ray structure determination revealed that the center furanone ring is nearly coplanar with p-methoxybenzene ring and forms a dihedral angle of 87.2(1)° with the nitrobenzene ring. O-H···O Intermolecular hydrogen bonds link pairs of molecules into centrosymmetric dimers, making a graph set motif of R(10). The dimers are further assembled into a chain of edge-fused R(34) rings running along the [001] direction. The final three-dimensional supramolecular architecture is stabilized by weak π-π interactions. Graphical Abstract: The dimers were assembled into a chain of edge-fused R(34) rings running along the [001] direction and a co-chain is formed with an 'x' pattern of the cross section.[Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In karst regions, forests often grow on bedrock outcrops, however the water sources used by the forest vegetation are not known. This study aimed at investigating whether there were seasonal shifts (dry/wet season) of water sources for plants growing on the continuous dolostone outcrops, and comparing their differences with those growing on nearby thin soils in karst areas of southwest China. Rainwater, soil water within 0-30 cm depths, spring water (as a reflection of local deep water sources) and plant xylem water were sampled in March (late dry season) and July (mid rainy season) 2009, respectively. A direct inference approach and the IsoSource mixing model were used to estimate the contributions of different sources to the plant xylem water. On the outcrops, the deciduous tree species Radermachera sinica mainly used deep water sources during the dry season and a mixture of rainwater and deep water sources during the wet season. By contrast, the deciduous small shrub Alchornea trewioides largely relied on recent rainwater during both dry and wet seasons. Three non-deciduous species ( Sterculia euosma, Schefflera octophylla and Ficus orthoneura) appear to rely on deep water sources during the wet seasons. In nearby thin soils, R. sinica mainly utilized deep water in the dry season and a mixture of soil water and deep water in the wet season. A. trewioides relied on the same water sources (rainwater-derived soil water) in the different seasons. The above results indicate that inter-specific differences in rooting patterns and leaf phenologies may lead to the differences in the sources of water used by coexisting plant species in karst regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with chronic non-specific low back pain (LBP) walk with more synchronous (in-phase) horizontal pelvis and thorax rotations than controls. Low thorax-pelvis relative phase in these patients appears to result from in-phase motion of the thorax with the legs, which was hypothesized to affect arm swing. In the present study, gait kinematics were compared between LBP patients with lumbar disc herniation and healthy controls during treadmill walking at different speeds and with different step lengths. Movements of legs, arms, and trunk were recorded. The patients walked with larger pelvis rotations than healthy controls, and with lower relative phase between pelvis and thorax horizontal rotations, specifically when taking large steps. They did so by rotating the thorax more in-phase with the pendular movements of the legs, thereby limiting the amplitudes of spine rotation. In the patients, arm swing was out-of phase with the leg, as in controls. Consequently, the phase relationship between thorax rotations and arm swing was altered in the patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electronic structure and optical properties of 13 chelating heteroatomic conjugated molecules such as pyridine, benzoxazole, and benzothiazole derivatives, which are used as C–N ligands in organometallic compounds, have been investigated. The geometries of the ground and first excited states were obtained by the DFT and CIS methods, respectively, followed by the SAC-CI calculations of the transition energies for absorption and emission. For six compounds whose experimental data are available, the SAC-CI calculations reproduced the experimental values satisfactorily with deviations of less than 0.3 eV for absorption and 0.1 eV for emission except for benzoxazoles. For other molecules, the theoretical absorption and emission spectra were predicted. The lowest ππ* excited-state geometries was calculated to be planar for most of the molecules with two or three conjugated rings connected by single bond. The geometry change due to the ππ* excitation was qualitatively interpreted by electrostatic force theory based on SAC/SAC-CI electron density difference. The excitations are relatively localized in the central region and in the lowest ππ* excited state, the inter-ring single bond shows large change, with a contraction of 0.05–0.09 Å. The present calculations provide reliable information regarding the energy levels of these chelating heteroatomic conjugated compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the association between polymorphisms of the COL1A1 gene and liver cirrhosis. A total of 111 liver cirrhotic patients and 95 matched controls were recruited. Polymorphisms -1997T>G, -1663 ins/del T and -1363C>G of the COL1A1 gene were detected by direct sequencing. The activities of the putative promoters containing these polymorphisms were analyzed by means of the reporter gene system. No polymorphism at -1663 ins/del T was observed in any subject. Linkage disequilibrium was shown between -1997T>G and -1363C>G. The frequency of haplotype -1997T/-1363C was significantly higher in patients than that in controls. The putative promoters containing -1997T/-1363C resulted in higher reporter gene activity in LX-2. Strong transcriptional inhibition by IFN gamma was shown in both cells. The T allele at -1997 of COL1A1 is crucial to the increased transcriptional activity. COL1A1 gene polymorphism might be associated with liver fibrogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we first consider the least-squares solution of the matrix inverse problem as follows: Find a hermitian anti–reflexive matrix corresponding to a given generalized reflection matrix J such that for given matrices X,B we have min A ‖ AX − B‖. The existence theorems are obtained, and a general representation of such a matrix is presented. We denote the set of such matrices by S E . Then the matrix nearness problem for the matrix inverse problem is discussed. That is: Given an arbitrary A*, find a matrix  ∈ S E which is nearest to A* in Frobenius norm. We show that the nearest matrix is unique and provide an expression for this nearest matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Cetuximab is an essential drug for the treatment of wild-type K-RAS colorectal cancer (CRC). It improves the overall survival of patients. However, acquired resistance prevents its clinical efficacy. Tumor heterogeneity may be a nonnegligible reason for cetuximab resistance. We attempted to explore the corresponding molecular mechanism.Methods: Cetuximab-resistant CRC cell RKO and cetuximab-sensitive CRC cell Caco-2 were applied in this study. Cells were centrifuged to determine the concentration in the culture supernatant (CS). MTT, EdU, and colony formation assays were utilized to evaluate cell survival and proliferation. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and promoter-luciferase reporter assays were employed to confirm the direct binding of transcription factors. Western blot and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays were used to detect the expression of molecular markers in the pathway.Results: Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) was up-regulated in RKO cell culture supernatant and induced cetuximab resistance in Caco-2 cells. SRY-Box Transcription Factor 8 (SOX8) bound to the promoter sequence of HGF. HGF activated the HGF/MET bypass pathway and induced cetuximab resistance in Caco-2 cells.Conclusion: The SOX8/HGF/MET axis played a crucial role in the communication between cetuximab-resistant cells and cetuximab-sensitive cells, inducing treatment resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wrinkling is the key forming defect in thin-wall tube bending process, when the wall thickness-to-diameter ratio is smaller than 0.01. The granular media-based thin-wall elbow push-bending process involves filling a tube with spherical particles and pushing the tube into a die to bend a tubular blank into an elbow shape. If the wall thickness of tube is smaller than the particle size, wrinkling significantly depends on micro contact force distribution in granular media, and the granular media cannot be approximately simulated by FEM. In the present paper, an elbow tube with 0.3 mm wall thickness, 30 mm outer diameter, and 90 mm bending radius is formed by granular media-based push-bending process. The wrinkling is investigated; especially, the micro contact force distribution at the initial buckling location is observed based on a 3D FEM-DEM coupling model. In the coupling model, FEM is used to simulate bending deformation of tubular blank, and DEM is used to simulate micro contact forces of particle flow. Finally, a simplified formulation is proposed for predicting wrinkling of thin-wall elbow tube in granular media-based push-bending process and validated by experiment of an elbow tube with 0.7 mm wall thickness, 70 mm outer diameter, and 105 mm bending radius. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: We identified FLY as a previously uncharacterized RNA-binding-family protein that controls flowering time by positively regulating the expression of FLC clade members. The ability of flowering plants to adjust the timing of the floral transition based on endogenous and environmental signals contributes to their adaptive success. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the MADS-domain protein FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) and the FLC clade members FLOWERING LOCUS M/MADS AFFECTING FLOWERING1 (FLM/MAF1), MAF2, MAF3, MAF4, and MAF5 form nuclear complexes that repress flowering under noninductive conditions. However, how FLM/MAF genes are regulated requires further study. Using a genetic strategy, we showed that the previously uncharacterized K-homology (KH) domain protein FLOWERING LOCUS Y (FLY) modulates flowering time. The fly-1 knockout mutant and FLY artificial microRNA knockdown line flowered earlier than the wild type under long- and short-day conditions. The knockout fly-1 allele, a SALK T-DNA insertion mutant, contains an ~ 110-kb genomic deletion induced by T-DNA integration. FLC clade members were downregulated in the fly-1 mutants and FLY artificial microRNA knockdown line, whereas the level of the FLC antisense transcript COOLAIR was similar to that of the wild type. Our results identify FLY as a regulator that affects flowering time through upregulation of FLC clade members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spermatogenesis is a complicated process of germ cell differentiation that occurs within the seminiferous tubule in the testis. Peritubular myoid cells (PTMCs) produce major components of the basement membrane that separates and ensures the structural integrity of seminiferous tubules. These cells secrete niche factors to promote spermatogonial stem cell (SSC) maintenance and mediate androgen signals to direct spermatid development. However, the regulatory mechanisms underlying the identity and function of PTMCs have not been fully elucidated. In the present study, we showed that the expression of pancreatic lipase-related protein 2 (Pnliprp2) was restricted in PTMCs in the testis and that its genetic ablation caused age-dependent defects in spermatogenesis. The fertility of Pnliprp2 knockout animals (Pnliprp2−/−) was normal at a young age but declined sharply beginning at 9 months. Pnliprp2 deletion impaired the homeostasis of undifferentiated spermatogonia and severely disrupted the development and function of spermatids. Integrated analyses of single-cell RNA-seq and metabolomics data revealed that glyceride metabolism was changed in PTMCs from Pnliprp2−/− mice. Further analysis found that 60 metabolites were altered in the sperm of the Pnliprp2−/− animals; notably, lipid metabolism was significantly dysregulated. Collectively, these results revealed that Pnliprp2 was exclusively expressed in PTMCs in the testis and played a novel role in supporting continual spermatogenesis in mice. The outcomes of these findings highlight the function of lipid metabolism in reproduction and provide new insights into the regulation of PTMCs in mammals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cellular structures are promising applicants for additive manufacturing (AM), due to their best capabilities over solid ones such as high strength-to-weight ratio, having porosity, and light in weight. New vintile cellular structures and with the existing five different cellular structures namely cubic, tetrahedron, hexagon, octagon, and rhombic dodecahedron were designed and the effect of unit size, lattice topology, porosity, and optimization of cellular structures on the mechanical properties were discussed in this study. Eighty-four samples with different cell sizes, lattice topologies, and porosities were printed using VisiJet M3 Crystal material on Projet 3510 HDMax 3D printer. Then, electro-optical microscopic is used to determine the pore size. Based on predesigned cellular structures, finite element analysis (FEA) and experimental work were performed to estimate and evaluate the mechanical properties of cellular structures. Results shown that the cellular structure with vintile lattice topology performs less stress and less deformation than the other cellular structures. The experiment results were in good conformance with the result obtained from simulation. This study is not only limited to cellular structure design for biomedical applications but also compared the mechanical performance of uniform density and variable density cellular structures. Both non-optimized and optimized vintile cellular structures is finally tested with FEA and experiments have been carried out on samples fabricated by material jetting, and both results have shown that the optimized cellular structure had much less stress and lower deformation than the non-optimized cellular structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Permian marine strata have gradually become a research focus in the world. The marine strata of the Late Permian Dalong Formation (P3d) in the Fenghai area, Fujian Province, have become more and more important as their geochemical characteristics record important geological information and are a good indicator for recovering and reconstructing the paleo-sedimentary environments and tectonic attributes. The major elements, trace elements and rare earth elements were analyzed by XRF and ICP-MS, respectively. Based on the results of detailed field geological surveys, profile measurements as well as typical sample collection, the tectonic setting and provenance of Permian marine mudstone were comprehensively discussed. The results showed that the Dalong Formation (P3d) was deposited in an active continental margin tectonic environment as revealed by the relation between Fe2O3 + MgO and TiO2 and Al2O3/SiO2. The fingerprint characteristics of Mn, Fe, Co, Ni and REE and the ratio of U/Th, V/Cr, Sr/Ba, (La/Yb)N and V/(V + Ni) indicated that the sedimentary provenance was mainly derived from potassium feldspar, followed by muscovite. Sedimentary water bodies showed a gradually decreasing depositional rate trend, water depth gradually shallowing and paleo-salinity and productivity gradually increasing. Moreover, since transient delamination occurred during sedimentary processes, sedimentary water bodies showed obvious neritic characteristics. It was consistent with the results revealed by lithological and geochemical characteristics. Calcareous mudstone and siltstone transitioned into fine sandstone from bottom to top, indicating paleo-water bodies became shallow. The research results provided good reference and guidance for understanding Permian paleo-sedimentary environments and tectonic attributes of the Yong'an area, Fujian Province, southeastern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen is an important factor affecting crop yield, but excessive use of chemical nitrogen fertilizer has caused decline in nitrogen utilization and soil and water pollution. Reducing the utilization of chemical nitrogen fertilizers by biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) is feasible for green production of crops. However, there are few reports on how to have more ammonium produced by nitrogen-fixing bacteria (NFB) flow outside the cell. In the present study, the amtB gene encoding an ammonium transporter (AmtB) in the genome of NFB strain Kosakonia radicincitans GXGL-4A was deleted and the △amtB mutant was characterized. The results showed that deletion of the amtB gene had no influence on the growth of bacterial cells. The extracellular ammonium nitrogen (NH4+) content of the △amtB mutant under nitrogen-free culture conditions was significantly higher than that of the wild-type strain GXGL-4A (WT-GXGL-4A), suggesting disruption of NH4+ transport. Meanwhile, the plant growth-promoting effect in cucumber seedlings was visualized after fertilization using cells of the △amtB mutant. NFB fertilization continuously increased the cucumber rhizosphere soil pH. The nitrate nitrogen (NO3−) content in soil in the △amtB treatment group was significantly higher than that in the WT-GXGL-4A treatment group in the short term but there was no difference in soil NH4+ contents between groups. Soil enzymatic activities varied during a 45-day assessment period, indicating that △amtB fertilization influenced soil nitrogen cycling in the cucumber rhizosphere. The results will provide a solid foundation for developing the NFB GXGL-4A into an efficient biofertilizer agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report aimed to provide the full results of QoL assessment in INFORM study. QoL was assessed by FACT-L questionnaire. QoL improvement ratio in gefitinib arm was higher than placebo arm (FACT-L: 46% vs. 22%, p < 0.001; TOI: 41% vs. 18%, p < 0.001; LCS: 46% vs. 22%, p < 0.001). Gefitinib prolonged time-to-worsening of QoL (FACT-L: 2.8 m vs 1.4 m, p = 0.019; TOI: 3.5 m vs 1.4 m, p = 0.006; LCS: 2.8 vs 1.4 m, p = 0.028). Patients with an improvement in QoL had longer PFS (FACT-L: 9.4 m vs. 2.8 m vs. 2.7 m, P < 0.001; TOI: 9.9 m vs. 2.8 m vs. 2.1 m, P < 0.001; LCS: 9.4 m vs. 2.9 m vs. 2.1 m, P < 0.001) and OS (FACT-L: 25.4 m vs. 19.9 m vs. 14.4 m, P = 0.003; TOI: 25.7 m vs. 19.0 m vs. 12.7 m, P = 0.002; LCS: 25.4 m vs. 19.3 m vs. 14.7 m, P = 0.004) compared with patients with stable or worsened QoL. Furthermore, in patients with good QoL at baseline, the treatment of gefitinib couldn't improve OS compared to placebo, whereas patients with low QoL experienced marginal significant improvement in OS (20.6 m vs 14.4, p = 0.051). Our study indicated that gefitinib could improve patients' QoL, confirmed the prognostic value of QoL changes during treatment, and implied patients with low QoL at baseline may be the potential population which will gain OS benefit from maintenance EGFR-TKI therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work was the first to report that the kanamycin-binding DNA aptamer (5′-TGG GGG TTG AGG CTA AGC CGA-3′) can form stable parallel G-quadruplex DNA (G4-DNA) structures by themselves and that this phenomenon can be verified by nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and circular dichroism spectroscopy. Based on these findings, we developed a novel label-free strategy for kanamycin detection based on the G4-DNA aptamer-based fluorescent intercalator displacement assay with thiazole orange (TO) as the fluorescence probe. In the proposed strategy, TO became strongly fluorescent upon binding to kanamycin-binding G4-DNA. However, the addition of kanamycin caused the displacement of TO from the G4-DNA-TO conjugate, thereby resulting in decreased fluorescent signal, which was inversely related to the kanamycin concentration. The detection limit of the proposed assay decreased to 59 nM with a linear working range of 0.1 μM to 20 μM for kanamycin. The cross-reactivity against six other antibiotics was negligible compared with the response to kanamycin. A satisfactory recovery of kanamycin in milk samples ranged from 80.1% to 98.0%, confirming the potential of this bioassay in the measurement of kanamycin in various applications. Our results also served as a good reference for developing similar fluorescent G4-DNA-based bioassays in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kosakonia radicincitans GXGL-4A, a gram-negative nitrogen-fixing (NF) bacterial strain is coated with a thick capsulatus on the surface of cell wall, which becomes a physical barrier for exogenous DNA to enter the cell, so the operation of genetic transformation is difficult. In this study, an optimized Tn5 transposon mutagenesis system was established by using a high osmotic HO-1 medium combined with the electroporation transformation. Eventually, a mutant library containing a total of 1633 Tn5 insertional mutants were established. Of these mutants, the mutants M81 and M107 were found to have an enhanced capability to synthesize siderophore through the CAS agar plate assay and the spectrophotometric determination. The bacterial cells of two mutants were applied in cucumber growth-promoting experiment. Cucumber seedlings treated with M81 and M107 cells had a significant increase in biomass including seedling height, seedling fresh weight, root fresh weight, and root length. The whole genome sequencing of the mutants M81 and M107 showed that the integration sites of Tn5 transposon element were located in MmyB-like helix-turn-helix transcription regulator (locus tag: A3780_19720, trX) and aminomethyltransferase-encoding genes (locus tag: A3780_01680, amt) in the genome of GXGL-4A, respectively. The ability of siderophore synthesis of the target mutants was improved by Tn5 insertion mutagenesis, and the mutants obtained showed a good plant growth-promoting effect when applied to the cucumber seedlings. The results suggest that the identified functional genes regulates the biosynthesis of siderophore in azotobacter GXGL-4A, and the specific mechanism needs to be further investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a research study conducted on patients residing in Yichang Shi,China and suffering from type 2 diabetes including diabetic complications. Topics discussed include cerebral vascular disease (CVD), evaluations of associated symptoms through multivariate logistics, and association of other linked diseased conditions like hypertension.

microRNAs act as fine-tuners in the regulation of plant growth and resistance against biotic and abiotic stress. Here we demonstrate that rice miR1432 fine-tunes yield and blast disease resistance via different modules. Overexpression of miR1432 leads to compromised resistance and decreased yield, whereas blocking miR1432 using a target mimic of miR1432 results in enhanced resistance and yield. miR1432 suppresses the expression of LOC_Os03g59790, which encodes an EF-hand family protein 1 (OsEFH1). Overexpression of OsEFH1 leads to enhanced rice resistance but decreased grain yield. Further study revealed that miR1432 and OsEFH1 are differentially responsive to chitin, a fungus-derived pathogen/microbe-associated molecular pattern (PAMP/MAMP). Consistently, blocking miR1432 or overexpression of OsEFH1 improves chitin-triggered immunity responses. In contrast, overexpression of ACOT, another target gene regulating rice yield traits, has no significant effects on rice blast disease resistance. Altogether, these results indicate that miR1432 balances yield and resistance via different target genes, and blocking miR1432 can simultaneously improve yield and resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Diabetes mellitus (DM) leads to disorders such as cardiac hypertrophy, cardiac myocyte apoptosis, and cardiac fibrosis. Previous studies have shown that Lactobacillus reuteri GMNL-263 decreases cardiomyopathy by reducing inflammation. In this study, we investigated the potential benefit of GMNL-263 supplementation in treating diabetes-induced cardiomyocytes in rats with DM. Methods: Five-week-old male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups, control, DM, and rats with DM treated with different dosages of L. reuteri GMNL-263. After undergoing treatment for 4 weeks, all rats were euthanized for further analysis. Results: We observed that cardiac function and structure of rats with DM was rescued by GMNL-263. Activation of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-related inflammatory, hypertrophic, and fibrotic signaling pathways in the hearts of rats with DM was reduced by treatment with GMNL-263. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that GMNL-263 inhibited diabetes-induced cardiomyocytes via the repression of the TLR4 pathway. Moreover, these findings suggest that treatment with high-dose GMNL-263 could be a precautionary therapy for reducing the diabetes-induced cardiomyopathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ribosomes responsible for transcription and translation of plastid-encoded proteins in chloroplasts are essential for chloroplast development and plant growth. Although most ribosomal proteins in plastids have been identified, the molecular mechanisms regulating chloroplast biogenesis remain to be investigated. Results: Here, we identified albinic seedling mutant albino seedling lethality 4 (asl4) caused by disruption of 30S ribosomal protein S1 that is targeted to the chloroplast. The mutant was defective in early chloroplast development and chlorophyll (Chl) biosynthesis. A 2855-bp deletion in the ASL4 allele was verified as responsible for the mutant phenotype by complementation tests. Expression analysis revealed that the ASL4 allele was highly expressed in leaf 4 sections and newly expanded leaves during early leaf development. Expression levels were increased by exposure to light following darkness. Some genes involved in chloroplast biogenesis were up-regulated and others down-regulated in asl4 mutant tissues compared to wild type. Plastid-encoded plastid RNA polymerase (PEP)-dependent photosynthesis genes and nuclear-encoded phage-type RNA polymerase (NEP)-dependent housekeeping genes were separately down-regulated and up-regulated, suggesting that plastid transcription was impaired in the mutant. Transcriptome and western blot analyses showed that levels of most plastid-encoded genes and proteins were reduced in the mutant. The decreased contents of chloroplast rRNAs and ribosomal proteins indicated that chloroplast ribosome biogenesis was impaired in the asl4 mutant. Conclusions: Rice ASL4 encodes 30S ribosomal protein S1, which is targeted to the chloroplast. ASL4 is essential for chloroplast ribosome biogenesis and early chloroplast development. These data will facilitate efforts to further elucidate the molecular mechanism of chloroplast biogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) have been tested in various clinical trials in cancer treatment but the patterns of specific T cell response to personalized TAA immunization remains to be fully understood. We report antigen-specific T cell responses in patients immunized with dendritic cell vaccines pulsed with personalized TAA panels. Tumor samples from patients were first analyzed to identify overexpressed TAAs. Autologous DCs were then transfected with pre-manufactured mRNAs encoding the full-length TAAs, overexpressed in the patients' tumors. Patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) or advanced lung cancer received DC vaccines transfected with personalized TAA panels, in combination with low-dose cyclophosphamide, poly I:C, imiquimod and anti-PD-1 antibody. Antigen-specific T cell responses were measured. Safety and efficacy were evaluated. A total of ten patients were treated with DC vaccines transfected with personalized TAA panels containing 3–13 different TAAs. Among the seven patients tested for anti-TAA T cell responses, most of the TAAs induced antigen-specific CD4+ and/or CD8+ T cell responses, regardless of their expression levels in the tumor tissues. No Grade III/IV adverse events were observed among these patients. Furthermore, the treated patients were associated with favorable overall survival when compared to patients who received standard treatment in the same institution. Personalized TAA immunization-induced-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses without obvious autoimmune adverse events and was associated with favorable overall survival. These results support further studies on DC immunization with personalized TAA panels for combined immunotherapeutic regimens in solid tumor patients. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02709616 (March, 2016), NCT02808364 (June 2016), NCT02808416 (June, 2016). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]