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Musk secreted by male forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii) musk glands is an invaluable component of medicine and perfume. Musk secretion depends on musk gland maturation; however, the mechanism of its development remains elusive. Herein, using single cell multiome ATAC + gene expression coupled with several bioinformatic analyses, a dynamic transcriptional cell atlas of musk gland development was revealed, and key genes and transcription factors affecting its development were determined. Twelve cell types, including two different types of acinar cells (Clusters 0 and 10) were identified. Single‐nucleus RNA and single‐nucleus ATAC sequencing analyses revealed that seven core target genes associated with musk secretion (Hsd17b2, Acacb, Lss, Vapa, Aldh16a1, Aldh7a1, and Sqle) were regulated by 12 core transcription factors (FOXO1, CUX2, RORA, RUNX1, KLF6, MGA, NFIC, FOXO3, ETV5, NR3C1, HSF4, and MITF) during the development of Cluster 0 acinar cells. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment showed significant changes in the pathways associated with musk secretion during acinar cell development. Gene set variation analysis also revealed that certain pathways associated with musk secretion were enriched in 6‐year‐old acinar cells. A gene co‐expression network was constructed during acinar cell development to provide a precise understanding of the connections between transcription factors, genes, and pathways. Finally, intercellular communication analysis showed that intercellular communication is involved in musk gland development. This study provides crucial insights into the changes and key factors underlying musk gland development, which serve as valuable resources for studying musk secretion mechanisms and promoting the protection of this endangered species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The gut microbiota is closely associated with human health, and alterations in gut microbiota can influence various physiological and pathological activities in the human body. Therefore, microbiota regulation has become an important strategy in current disease treatment, albeit facing numerous challenges. Nanomaterials, owing to their excellent protective properties, drug release capabilities, targeting abilities, and good biocompatibility, have been widely developed and utilized in pharmaceuticals and dietary fields. In recent years, significant progress has been made in research on utilizing nanomaterials to assist in regulating gut microbiota for disease intervention. This review explores the latest advancements in the application of nanomaterials for microbiota regulation and offers insights into the future development of nanomaterials in modulating gut microbiota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: A rapid and reliable method was developed and validated for the simultaneous analysis of 52 antibiotics (cephalosporins, penicillins, carbapenems, lincosamides, quinolones, nitroimidazoles, macrolides, sulfonamides, tetracyclines, glycopeptide) in urine and whole blood by high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). Method: Analytes were extracted by dilution or protein precipitation and analyzed on an Agilent 1260 HPLC system coupled to an Agilent 6470 Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer. Results: The method attended method validation criteria. The limits of detection were equal or lower than 2.0 ng/mL, whereas the limits of quantification ranged from 0.1 to 10.0 ng/mL, from 0.1 to 5.0 ng/mL, in urine and whole blood, respectively. For all analytes, the bias and intra- and inter-day precision values were less than 14.7%. The ranges of recovery values of all antibiotics were 76.5–124.5% in whole blood and 76.3–121.8% in urine, values of the effects were lower than 25% in two matrices. No evidence of carryover was observed. The study of sample stability showed that almost all analytes were stable at 24 °C for 24 h, all analytes were stable at −20 °C for 14 days and at −80 °C for 30 days. Freeze–thaw cycles stability showed that antibiotics were stable except for imipenem. Autosampler stability study showed that all analytes were stable for 24 h, except for imipenem and amoxicillin. Applicability was proven by analyzing authentic whole blood (n = 86) and urine (n = 79) samples from patients under antibiotics treatment. Therefore, this method was applied to the analysis 3 forensic allergy cases, which were positive for at least one analyte. Conclusions: A simple, sensitive and high-throughput method for the simultaneous determination of different classes of antibiotics in urine and whole blood samples was developed and applied. This sensitive method was successfully applied to forensic cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Musk is a scarce and precious medical resource secreted by male forest musk deer (FMD). Current research to promote musk secretion in FMD has used almost exclusively hormone injections, but this approach can be detrimental to the health of FMD. In order to conserve this endangered species as much as possible while increasing the production of musk, this study first used bioinformatics methods to predict the function of quercetin, a flavonoid that promotes testosterone (T) production and prevents late‐onset male hypogonadism. On the basis of good prediction effect, different concentrations of quercetin were added to the diet of FMD. The results showed that quercetin could change the levels of T, luteinizing hormone releasing hormone, luteinizing hormone, and estradiol, and regulate the structure of intestinal microorganisms and musk microorganisms of FMD. Moreover, there is a correlation among musk components, hormones, intestinal microorganisms, and musk microorganisms, which indicates that the production of musk may be regulated by these three at the same time, and the addition of quercetin with 800 mg per kg diet could significantly increase the yield of muscone (P < 0.05), the most effective ingredient in musk. In addition, quercetin decreased the high level of cortisol during musk secretion, which may relieve the stress on FMD in this process. This may help to protect the health of FMD. Combined with the results of software prediction, we finally proposed a possible mechanism for the complex process of musk secretion in FMD with a view to providing ideas for further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Count time series exhibiting seasonal patterns are frequently encountered in practical scenarios. For example, the number of hospital emergency service arrivals may show seasonal behavior (Moriña et al. 2011 Stat Med 30:3125–3136). Numerous models have been proposed for the analysis of seasonal count time series with an unbounded support, yet seasonal patterns in bounded count time series, which are sometimes suffered in environmental science such as the number of monthly rainy-days and air quality level data, have not received formal attention. The contribution of this article lies in coping with the modeling challenges associated with seasonal count time series with a bounded support, which is beneficial for enhancing the applicability of environmental science data. This is achieved by introducing a seasonal structure and seasonally varying model parameters into the first-order binomial autoregressive (BAR(1)) model (McKenzie 1985 J Am Water Resour Assoc 21:645–650). The probabilistic and statistical properties, marginal distribution and some special cases of the proposed model are studied. Estimation of model parameters is conducted using the Yule-Walker, conditional least squares and maximum likelihood methods. The asymptotic normality of the estimators is also presented. To demonstrate the utility of our model in environmental data, applications are carried out on the monthly number of rainy-days in two Russian cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is still a global public health issue, and the development of an effective prophylactic vaccine inducing potent neutralizing antibodies remains a significant challenge. This study aims to explore the inflammation‐related proteins associated with the neutralizing antibodies induced by the DNA/rTV vaccine. In this study, we employed the Olink chip to analyze the inflammation‐related proteins in plasma in healthy individuals receiving HIV candidate vaccine (DNA priming and recombinant vaccinia virus rTV boosting) and compared the differences between neutralizing antibody‐positive (nab +) and –negative(nab‐) groups. We identified 25 differentially expressed factors and conducted enrichment and correlation analysis on them. Our results revealed that significant expression differences in artemin (ARTN) and C‐C motif chemokine ligand 23 (CCL23) between nab+ and –nab‐ groups. Notably, the expression of CCL23 was negatively corelated to the ID50 of neutralizing antibodies and the intensity of the CD4+ T cell responses. This study enriches our understanding of the immune picture induced by the DNA/rTV vaccine, and provides insights for future HIV vaccine development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Kawasaki disease (KD) is an autoimmune disease with cardiovascular disease as its main complication, mainly affecting children under 5 years old. KD treatment has made tremendous progress in recent years, but intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) resistance remains a major dilemma. Bibliometric analysis had not been used previously to summarize and analyze publications related to IVIG resistance in KD. This study aimed to provide an overview of the knowledge framework and research hotspots in this field through bibliometrics, and provide references for future basic and clinical research. Methods: Through bibliometric analysis of relevant literature published on the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database between 1997 and 2023, we investigated the cooccurrence and collaboration relationships among countries, institutions, journals, and authors and summarized key research topics and hotspots. Results: Following screening, a total of 364 publications were downloaded, comprising 328 articles and 36 reviews. The number of articles on IVIG resistance increased year on year and the top three most productive countries were China, Japan, and the United States. Frontiers in Pediatrics had the most published articles, and the Journal of Pediatrics had the most citations. IVIG resistance had been studied by 1889 authors, of whom Kuo Ho Chang had published the most papers. Conclusion: Research in the field was focused on risk factors, therapy (atorvastatin, tumor necrosis factor‐alpha inhibitors), pathogenesis (gene expression), and similar diseases (multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, MIS‐C). "Treatment," "risk factor," and "prediction" were important keywords, providing a valuable reference for scholars studying this field. We suggest that, in the future, more active international collaborations are carried out to study the pathogenesis of IVIG insensitivity, using high‐throughput sequencing technology. We also recommend that machine learning techniques are applied to explore the predictive variables of IVIG resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reduce energy consumption and save economic costs, waste-derived secondary resources can be considered as cement substitutes for emulsified asphalt. Considering emulsion type and red mud–based alkali-activated materials dosage and curing time, this study determined the feasibility of using red mud–based geopolymer to replace the commonly used cement in emulsified asphalt. Experimental tests, including pH tests, optical microscopy tests, dynamic shear rheological (DSR) tests, and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy tests were performed to characterize the rheological properties, interaction, and microstructure characteristic of red mud–based geopolymer emulsified asphalt composite binder (REACB). Cement emulsified asphalt composite binder (CEACB) was selected for comparison. The pH test and optical microscope tests demonstrated that the influence of red mud–based geopolymer on demulsification speed of stearyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (STAC) emulsion was greater than that of sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS) emulsion. The dynamic shear rheological test results showed that with the increase of curing time and red mud–based alkali-activated materials dosage, both the deformation resistance and the elastic recovery ability of REACB were improved, and the interaction ability between red mud–based geopolymer and SDBS emulsified asphalt gradually became stronger than that of STAC emulsified asphalt. Moreover, geopolymerization reactions in two kinds of REACB were proved using stretching vibration peaks of the asymmetric functional group T-O-Si. This study will promote the utilization of red mud–based aluminosilicate waste in emulsified asphalt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) might be associated with maternal spontaneous fetal loss, while evidence among Chinese population is limited. This study aims to explore the associations of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among women and their spouses with the risk of spontaneous abortion and stillbirth. Method: Data were from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) 2014 survey. ACEs were categorized into intra-familial ACEs and extra-familial ACEs. The associations of maternal and paternal ACEs with women's history of spontaneous abortion and stillbirth were investigated by logistic regression. Results: 7,742 women were included with 9.05% and 2.47% experiencing at least one spontaneous abortion or stillbirth, respectively. Women exposed to 2, 3, and ≥ 4 ACEs were at significantly higher odds of spontaneous abortion, with adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of 1.52 (95% [CI, Confidence Interval] 1.10–2.10), 1.50 (95% CI 1.07–2.09) and 1.68 (95% CI 1.21–2.32), respectively. A significant association between ≥ 4 maternal intra-familial ACEs and stillbirth (OR 2.23, 95% CI 1.12–4.42) was also revealed. Furthermore, paternal exposures to 3 and ≥ 4 overall ACEs were significantly associated with their wives' history of spontaneous abortion, with adjusted ORs of 1.81 (95% CI 1.01–3.26) and 1.83 (95% CI 1.03–3.25), respectively. Conclusion: Both maternal and paternal ACEs were associated with spontaneous abortion, and potential mediators might need to be considered to further explore impacts of maternal and paternal ACEs on maternal reproductive health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-negative integer-valued time series with a finite range are sometimes suffered in environmental science, such as the weekly number of rainy-days in European cities (Góuveia et al. in Stoch Environ Res Risk Assess 32:2495–2514, 2018) and the air quality level in Chinese cities (Liu et al. in J Time Ser Anal 43:460–478, 2022). To enhance the applicability of these environmental science data, this article employs a combination of Pegram and binomial thinning operators to develop a novel first-order mixture binomial autoregressive (BAR(1)) model. The proposed model represents an improved and generalized version of the mixture BAR(1) model introduced by Kang et al. (Stat Pap 62:745–767, 2021). The probabilistic and statistical properties, marginal distribution and some special cases of the proposed model are also studied. The conditional maximum likelihood estimation via EM algorithm and Bayesian estimation via Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling scheme are employed to estimate model parameters. Applications to the weekly number of rainy-days and air quality level counts are conducted to illustrate the usefulness of the new model in data analysis of the environmental studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular mechanism by which the transcription factor ETS1 regulates N‐myc downstream regulatory gene 1 (NDRG1) to provide a new theoretical basis for the study of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Methods: In this study, eight human OSCC and paraneoplastic samples were collected. The expressions of NDRG1, ETS1, and Ki67 were detected by immunohistochemistry; apoptosis was detected by tdt‐mediated dUTP notched end labeling; cell migration and invasion were detected by Transwell; quantitative real‐time PCR was performed to detect the expression of NDRG1; RNA‐binding protein immunoprecipitation (RIP) assays detected NDRG1 expression; immunofluorescence assays detected ETS1 expression. Results: NDRG1 and ETS1 expression was significantly upregulated in cancer tissues and CAL‐27 and SCC‐6 cells. Knockdown of NDRG1 and ETS1 inhibited cell proliferation, migration, invasion, cloning, and EMT while promoting apoptosis and inhibited tumor development; ETS1 positively regulated NDRG1 expression; Finally, overexpression of NDRG1 in vivo and in vitro reversed the effect of ETS1 knockdown on CAL‐27 and SCC‐6 cells. Conclusions: ETS1 positively regulates the expression of NDRG1 and promotes OSCC. Therefore, ETS1 may serve as a new target for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of OSCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of efficient noble metal-free heterogeneous catalysts with simple synthesis processes is of great value in synthetic chemistry. So far, the performance of heterogeneous catalysts under different acidic and alkaline conditions has rarely been considered. Herein, we demonstrate a multifunctional Cu@C2N catalyst for pH switchable hydration of alkynes and the Glaser–Hay reaction, with maximum yields reaching 92% and 95%, respectively. The efficient conversion arises from strong metal–support synergistic effects, as the C2N support adsorbs the reaction substrate and the Cu metal activates the reaction substrate well, collaboratively facilitating the conversion of alkynes. Furthermore, the Cu@C2N catalyst shows good substrate compatibility and recyclability, which can be simply recovered and reused five times without significant loss of its catalytic activity. In addition, the Cu@C2N catalyst has abundant acidic and alkaline sites, and the valence state and dispersed form of Cu can be well stabilized by C2N. This work proves the successful application of a C2N-based catalyst in the field of organic synthesis and points out the directions for designing low-cost, widely adaptable and environmentally-friendly catalytic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dark septate endophytes (DSE) are widespread colonizers of plant roots and have important ecological functions such as the regulation of plant growth and nutrient uptake. The mechanisms by which DSE mycelium and its extracellular metabolites promote plant growth have not yet been determined. Here, the growth‐promoting effects of DSE mycelium (H) and extracellular metabolites (M) on alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) were investigated. Treatments H, M and HM increased the total biomass of alfalfa by 23.9%, 47.2% and 47.1%, respectively. H and M modified root structure by increasing root volume and reducing root tissue density, and promoting nutrient uptake. Metabolomic analysis indicates that alfalfa root exudates contained 204 metabolites of different types, mainly lipids and lipid‐like molecules, organic acids and derivatives, benzenoids. There were more organoheterocyclic compounds and fewer organic acids and derivatives in root exudates in treatment H than in treatment M. Pathway analysis shows that DSE and its extracellular metabolites had greater effects on glycerophospholipid metabolism and N‐glycan biosynthesis pathway. The results provide information on the mechanisms involved in the metabolic regulation of plant growth promotion by DSE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is a highly aggressive malignancy with dismal prognosis. This study aimed to identify the independent risk factors and construct a readily-to-use nomogram to predict the probability of early death in ATC patients. Method: Patients diagnosed with ATC between 2004 and 2015 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database were enrolled in this study for model development and internal validation. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify independent risk factors for early death of ATC. Nomograms for predicting the probability of all-cause early death (ACED) and cancer-specific early death (CSED) of ATC were subsequently developed. The performance of the nomograms was comprehensively evaluated and validated in an internal cohort. Result: A total of 696 ATC patients were included in this study, of which 488 patients in the training cohort and 208 patients in the validation cohort. The univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses identified five independent factors (tumor size, M stage, surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy) in the ACED model and six variables in the CSED (gender, tumor size, M stage, surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy) model for the establishment of the nomograms. Calibration curves and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves showed satisfactory efficacy and consistency both in the training (ACED: AUC values: 0.814 (0.776–0.852); CSED: 0.778 (0.736–0.820)) and validation sets (ACED: 0.762 (0.696–0.827); CSED: 0.745 (0.678–0.812)). In addition, the decision curve analysis (DCA) demonstrated the favorable potential of the two nomograms in clinical application. Conclusion: The two nomograms assist clinicians to identify risk factors and predict the early death probability among ATC patients, thus guide individualized treatment to improve the prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lysozyme plays a crucial role in the innate immune response against bacterial phagocytosis by hydrolyzing the peptidoglycan layer of the bacterial cell wall. In this study, we characterized a goose-type lysozyme gene (TrLysG) in Japanese pufferfish. It is made up of an ORF of 573 bp that encodes a polypeptide of 190 amino acids. TrLysG includes a characteristic bacterial soluble lytic transglycosylase (SLT) domain, which contains three catalytic residues (Glu71, Asp84 and Asp95) and a highly conserved GLMQ motif (Gly90, Leu91, Met92 and Gln93). Phylogenetic analyses revealed that TrLysG is clustered together with its counterparts from other teleost fishes. Furthermore, mRNA expression analyses showed that TrLysG was highly expressed in healthy mucosal tissues (intestines and gills), and considerably up-regulated in response to Vibrio harveyi infection in the intestines, gills, and liver. At pH 6 and 55 °C, the pure recombinant TrLysG (rTrLysG) exhibits optimum activity. It also displayed antimicrobial activity against three Gram-positive bacteria (Streptococcus parauberis, Staphylococcus pasteuri and Staphylococcus epidermidis) as well as five Gram-negative bacteria (Shewanella, Aeromonas hydrophila, Escherichia coli, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and V. harveyi). Our results highlighted the significant role of TrLysG in immune defense against invading pathogens, thereby contributing to the prevention and alleviation of disease spread in aquaculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Telomerase overexpresses in almost all cancer cells and has been deemed a universal biomarker for cancer diagnosis and therapy. However, simple and ultrasensitive detection of telomerase activity in single-cells is still a huge challenge. Herein, we wish to report Cas12a-lighting up single microbeads (Cas12a-LSMBs) for ultrasensitive detection of telomerase activity without nucleic acid amplification. In this platform, single-strand DNA reporter (ssDNA reporter)-functionalized single-microbeads (functionalized-SMBs) are employed as a reactor for the trans-cleavage of telomerase-activated CRISPR/Cas12a as well as a reporting unit for fluorescence signal enrichment and visualization. Due to the space-confined effect and signal enrichment mechanism on the surface of the functionalized SMBs, the Cas12a-LSMBs can accurately detect telomerase activity in crude cell lysates with high specificity. Importantly, we have demonstrated that the Cas12a-LSMBs are a reliable and practical tool to detect telomerase activity in single cells and investigate cellular heterogeneity of telomerase activity from cell-to-cell variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high stocking rate can intensify wind erosion in grasslands, and strong wind can carry away soil surface particles, soil carbon (C), and nitrogen (N), which leads to soil barrenness. In this research, the dust flux, total carbon (TC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents, and fluxes of aeolian sediment were determined in the nongrowing season (mid‐October to mid‐April of the following year) and growing season (mid‐April to mid‐October) from 2017 to 2020 at a continuous grazing gradient experiment platform established in 2004 in a desert steppe in Inner Mongolia, China. The results were as follows: (1) As the stocking rate increased, fluxes of aeolian sediment at 10 cm (H10), 30 cm (H30), and 100 cm (H100) were greatly increased (p < 0.05). Aeolian sediment fluxes followed the order control (CK) < light stocking rate (LG) < moderate stocking rate (MG) < heavy stocking rate (HG). (2) The TC and TN contents of aeolian sediment decreased with an increase in stocking rate, and higher grazing intensity resulted in a difference in TC content, which decreased between the two seasons. The TC flux/aeolian sediment flux increased with an increase in stocking rate, and the ratio of TC flux increased between two seasons due to the influence of heavy grazing. Grazing disturbance had little effect on TN flux. As grazing intensity increased, wind erosion resulted in an increase in soil available carbon loss, and this loss was more severe in the nongrowing season. (3) The C/N ratio increased with increase in aeolian sediment flux. The aeolian sediment flux and C/N showed an inverse relationship with the increase in grazing intensity. Regression lines for the two seasons showed an intersecting trend, and the intersection points moved backward as height increased, indicating that higher stocking rates could reduce the influence of grassland vegetation on C/N. As height increased, the regression intercept increased, indicating that the loss of wind‐eroded soil changed from a low C/N loss to a high C/N loss. In general, high stocking rates aggravated soil wind erosion, resulting in more C pool loss than N loss in terms of soil elements and more available C loss in the nongrowing season. In the nongrowing season, vegetation characteristics are poor, coupled with grazing interference, and wind erosion in the nongrowing season is serious in general; however, the change law of C and N in wind‐eroded soil is directly related to its particle size. C and N content in fine particles is higher, and C content in soil is much higher than N, so the TC loss is relatively large; therefore, reducing the intensity of grazing can reduce the occurrence of soil wind erosion, and implementing measures to protect grassland in spring and other periods vulnerable to wind erosion would be conducive to the sustainable usage of grassland resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cobalt (Co), with its low resistivity, superior adhesion property, and void-free seamless fill ability, is being considered by the industry as a promising candidate to replace the conventional tungsten contact plugs for middle-of-the-line and the wiring metal copper interconnects for back-end-of-the-line. Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), whose demand is greatly increasing as device dimensions shrink to 7-nm node, has been recognized as one of the indispensable manufacturing approaches for the fabrication of multilevel metal interconnection structures. In addition to meeting the appropriate removal rates and removal selection of heterogeneous materials, excellent wafer surface quality and minimized residual particles, also have become the criteria in the developing process of CMP slurries for Co interconnects. This work investigates the optimization process of the final CMP step for Co interconnects by introducing surfactants in hydrogen peroxide based slurries. Various types of surfactants having different functional groups were employed and compared thoroughly by material removal rates (MRRs) and selectivity. The chemical and mechanical mechanisms of various surfactants during CMP process have been clearly revealed by various approaches, including polishing and static etching experiments, electrochemical analysis, tests of absolute zeta potentials, and particle sizes, as well as wafer surface energy measurements. Research results show that Co MRRs are directly correlated with functional groups of various surfactants. Moreover, absolute zeta potentials of abrasive particles can be deeply influenced by different types of surfactants, where the correlation between absolute zeta potentials and Co MRRs presents strong negative. On the other hand, direct positive correlation between oxide MRRs and particle sizes affected by corresponding surfactants can be summarized. Meanwhile, no obvious corresponding relationship between contact angles and MRRs was found, indicating MRRs were barely affected by wettability of wafer surfaces. At last, the selected surfactants were applied to 12-inch wafers for verification, including MRRs, removal selectivity, defects and surface roughness. Each of these surfactants could make Co and TEOS surface Ra maintain at around below 0.7 nm and 0.3 nm, with a number of residual particles lower than 600 particle/wafer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Establishing efficient synthetic pathways for microbial production of biochemicals is often hampered by competing pathways and insufficient precursor supply. Compartmentalization in cellular organelles can isolate biosynthetic pathways from competing pathways, and thus provide a more compact and conducive environment for biosynthesis. Herein, the farnesyl diphosphate biosynthetic pathway and α-bisabolene synthase were compartmentalized in the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica peroxisome to enable high-level α-bisabolene production. Along with compartmentalization of the α-bisabolene biosynthesis pathway, a systems metabolic engineering approach that comprises mediating product export with an efflux pump, optimizing the gene copy numbers of rate-limiting enzymes, balancing the distribution of the common precursor acetyl-CoA between native lipid biosynthesis and heterologous α-bisabolene production, improving ATP and acetyl-CoA supply, and dynamic regulation of peroxisomes was then employed to further enhance the bisabolene production. Consequently, the optimized engineered strain produced 3028.9 mg L−1 α-bisabolene from waste cooking oil as the sole carbon source through shake flask cultivation. Finally, fed-batch fermentation was performed to accomplish α-bisabolene production at 15.5 g L−1, the highest ever reported for α-bisabolene from an engineered microbe. Taken together, this work lays the foundation for peroxisome engineering of Y. lipolytica, towards the production of α-bisabolene in a highly sustainable manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Dark septate endophytes (DSE) were widely used in the agriculture and ecological restoration. The objective of this work was to assess the effect of culture media nonionic surfactant and emulsifier on the biomass and metabolites of DSE strain Alternaria sp. 17463. Methods and results: Changes in the composition of DSE metabolites following the addition of Tween 80 during liquid culture of a DSE fungus were analyzed and used in growth tests of alfalfa. Shaking flask fermentation was carried out and the surfactant was fed to the fungus during the fermentation. The residual sugar content and pH declined significantly in the medium and the biomass of DSE increased by 7.27% over controls with no surfactant. Metabolomic analysis showed that adding the surfactant significantly increased the content of 63 metabolites (P < 0.05). These include lipids and lipid-like molecules, organooxygen compounds, amino acids and organic acids, and flavonoids. Enrichment analysis of metabolic pathways indicates that surfactant addition promoted carbohydrate metabolism and amino acid synthesis. A plant hydroponic experiment indicated that these changes in metabolites altered the root structure of alfalfa seedlings. They also promoted significant increases in root length and root surface area, and increased alfalfa total biomass by 50.2%. Conclusions: The addition of the surfactant promoted sugar utilization by the DSE fungus and increased the synthesis of lipids and amino acids, resulting in the ability of the fungal metabolites to change root structure and promote plant growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

APMAP is single transmembrane arylesterase which plays a cardinal role in adipogenesis. In this experiment, three tissue and blood samples of Rex rabbits at 3 growing periods were selected. The expression levels of APMAP gene in different tissues were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR and the content of APMAP in the blood was detected by Elisa. The results showed that fat deposition, the expression of APMAP in muscle and the content of APMAP in the blood increased rapidly during the growth of Rex rabbits. The correlation analysis showed that the correlation coefficient between APMAP content in the blood and the expression level of APMAP gene in longissimus lumborum muscle was 0.75(p < 0.05); the correlation coefficients between APMAP content in the blood and intramuscular fat and 24-hour pH were 0.90 (p < 0.01) and 0.75 (p < 0.05), respectively. According to the analysis results, we inferred APMAP content in the blood in Rex rabbits may influence meat quality and the meat quality of high APMAP content in the blood in Rex rabbits is better. These results revealed APMAP content in the blood may be one of the important signs for meat quality traits of molecular markers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study extends our understanding of CEO inside debt compensation under an agency problem perspective by considering the impact of a behavioural trait, namely CEO overconfidence. Using a sample of US firms in Standard & Poor's ExecuComp for the period 2006–2019, we find that overconfident CEOs exhibit greater inside debt incentives (i.e. incentives arising from defined‐benefit pensions and deferred compensation). This relationship is more pronounced among firms with higher CEO overconfidence‐induced agency cost of debt (e.g. financially unconstrained firms) managed by CEOs who are less able to align compensation with their own preferences (e.g. less powerful CEOs). The results are robust to endogeneity, self‐selection concerns and alternative explanations. We contribute to the inside compensation literature that deals with agency problems under overconfident CEOs, and optimal contracting and managerial power theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to identify key circRNAs and pathways associated with heat stress in blood samples of Holstein cows, which will provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms driving heat stress in cows. Hence, we evaluated changes in milk yield, rectal temperature, and respiratory rate of experimental cows between heat stress (summer) and non-heat stress (spring) conditions with two comparisons, including Sum1 vs. Spr1 (same lactation stage, different individuals, 15 cows per group) and Sum1 vs. Spr2 (same individual, different lactation stages, 15 cows per group). Compared to both Spr1 and Spr2, cows in the Sum1 group had a significantly lower milk yield, while rectal temperature and respiratory rate were significantly higher (p < 0.05), indicating that cows in the Sum1 group were experiencing heat stress. In each group, five animals were chosen randomly to undergo RNA-seq. The results reveal that 140 and 205 differentially expressed (DE) circRNAs were screened in the first and second comparisons, respectively. According to the gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis, these DE circRNAs were mainly enriched in five signaling pathways, including choline metabolism, the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, the HIF-1 signaling pathway, the longevity-regulating pathway, and autophagy. Then, we obtained the top 10 hub source genes of circRNAs according to the protein–protein interaction networks. Among them, ciRNA1282 (HIF1A), circRNA4205 (NR3C1), and circRNA12923 (ROCK1) were enriched in multiple pathways and identified as binding multiple miRNAs. These key circRNAs may play an important role in the heat stress responses of dairy cows. These results provide valuable information on the involvement of key circRNAs and their expression pattern in the heat stress response of cows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cells remodel glycerophospholipid acyl chains via the Lands cycle to adjust membrane properties. Membrane-bound O-acyltransferase (MBOAT) 7 acylates lyso-phosphatidylinositol (lyso-PI) with arachidonyl-CoA. MBOAT7 mutations cause brain developmental disorders, and reduced expression is linked to fatty liver disease. In contrast, increased MBOAT7 expression is linked to hepatocellular and renal cancers. The mechanistic basis of MBOAT7 catalysis and substrate selectivity are unknown. Here, we report the structure and a model for the catalytic mechanism of human MBOAT7. Arachidonyl-CoA and lyso-PI access the catalytic center through a twisted tunnel from the cytosol and lumenal sides, respectively. N-terminal residues on the ER lumenal side determine phospholipid headgroup selectivity: swapping them between MBOATs 1, 5, and 7 converts enzyme specificity for different lyso-phospholipids. Finally, the MBOAT7 structure and virtual screening enabled identification of small-molecule inhibitors that may serve as lead compounds for pharmacologic development. Wang et al. report a structure for human MBOAT7, the enzyme responsible for remodeling acyl chains of phosphatidylinositol. The structure enabled the identification of MBOAT7 inhibitors and provides insights into substrate specificity among MBOATs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA methyltransferase 2 (DNMT2) was renamed as tRNA aspartic acid methyltransferase 1 (TRDMT1) by catalyzing the methylation of tRNAAsp anti-codon loop C38. The development of sequencing of nucleic acids and protein detection techniques have prompted the demonstration that TRDMT1 mediated tRNA modification affects protein synthesis efficiency. This process affects the growth and development of animals. The DNA of 224 Qinchuan cattles aged 2–4 years old was collected in this experiment. The genetic variations of TRDMT1 exon and some intron regions were detected by mixed pool sequencing technology. qRT-PCR and Western Blot were used to detect the expression levels of mRNA and protein produced with the combination of different genetic variant loci. Three haplotypes were detected and the distribution ratios were different. Muscle tissue mRNA and protein testing showed that there were differences in mRNA expression levels among different genotypes (P < 0.05) and the protein expression levels between different genotypes show the same trend as mRNA. This study provides potential molecular materials for the improvement of Qinchuan cattle reproductivity and provides theoretical support for studying the effects of livestock TRDMT1 on animal growth and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

N-nitrosamines are human carcinogens commonly present in dried aquatic products. A method of gas chromatography – mass spectrometry combined with steam distillation was developed for the determination of 9 N-nitrosamines in dried aquatic products in Qingdao, China, with which 300 samples of fish, squid, shrimp and sea cucumber collected from Qingdao were analysed. A health risk assessment was conducted based on determined levels of N-nitrosamines by using estimated daily intake and slope factors. Results showed that fish products was the category with the highest content of N-nitrosamines, whereas squid and shrimp products were the categories with the highest frequency of presence of N-nitrosamines. The average estimated cancer risk of N-nitrosamines in dried aquatic products in Qingdao ranged from 3.57 × 10−8 to 3.53 × 10−5. Nitrosodimethylamine, N-Nitrosodiethylamine and N-Nitrosodibutylamine could be considered to pose a potential cancer risk to residents in Qingdao. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, advanced sensing techniques ensure a large number of multivariate sensing data for intelligent fault diagnosis of machines. Given the advantage of obtaining accurate diagnosis results, multi-sensor fusion has long been studied in the fault diagnosis field. However, existing studies suffer from two weaknesses. First, the relations of multiple sensors are either neglected or calculated only to improve the diagnostic accuracy of fault types. Second, the localization for multi-source faults is seldom investigated, although locating the anomaly variable over multivariate sensing data for certain types of faults is desirable. This article attempts to overcome the above weaknesses by proposing a global method to recognize fault types and localize fault sources with the help of multi-sensor relations (MSRs). First, an MSR model is developed to learn MSRs automatically and further obtain fault recognition results. Second, centrality measures are employed to analyze the MSR graphs learned by the MSR model, and fault sources are therefore determined. The proposed method is demonstrated by experiments on an induction motor and a centrifugal pump. Results show the proposed method’s validity in diagnosing fault types and sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past few years, the continuous pandemic of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 has placed a huge burden on public health. In order to effectively deal with the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants, it becomes meaningful to further enhance the immune responses of individuals who have completed the first-generation vaccination. To understand whether sequential administration using different variant sequence-based inactivated vaccines could induce better immunity against the forthcoming variants, we tried five inactivated vaccine combinations in a mouse model and compared their immune responses. Our results showed that the sequential strategies have a significant advantage over homologous immunization by inducing robust antigen-specific T cell immune responses in the early stages of immunization. Furthermore, the three-dose vaccination strategies in our research elicited better neutralizing antibody responses against the BA.2 Omicron strain. These data provide scientific clues for finding the optimal strategy within the existing vaccine platform in generating cross-immunity against multiple variants including previously unexposed strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives: To construct a predictive nomogram of the risk of nosocomial infections among patients after cardiac valve replacement surgery. Background: Nosocomial infections are a standout challenge that worsens the prognosis of patients after valve replacement surgery. However, studies on the nomogram of nosocomial infections in these patients have remained scarce. Design: A retrospective cohort study. Methods: Patients (n = 720) following valve replacement surgery from 2018 to 2019 were selected. LASSO regression and multivariate logistic regression were utilised to ascertain predictors of nosocomial infections. The predictive performance of the nomogram was appraised by calibration and discrimination. Decision and impact curves were used to assess the clinical utility. Internal validation was implemented via 1000 bootstrap samples to mitigate overfitting. TRIPOD guidelines were used in this study. Results: One hundred and fifty one patients (20.97%) experienced nosocomial infections following valve replacement surgery. Heart failure, preoperative anaemia, valve material, American Society of Anesthesiologists score ≥ IV, prolonged duration of surgery, duration of mechanical ventilation ≥ 24 h and indwelling nasogastric tube were predictors of nosocomial infections. Using these variables, we developed a predictive nomogram of the occurrence of nosocomial infections and the internal validation results demonstrated good discrimination and calibration of the nomogram. The clinical decision and impact curve revealed significant clinical utility. Conclusions: The present study constructed a nomogram for predicting the risk of nosocomial infections in patients following cardiac valve replacement surgery. This nomogram may strengthen the effective screening of patients at high risk of nosocomial infections. Relevance to clinical practice: This risk warning tool can assist clinical staff in making decisions and providing individualised infection control measures for patients, which has a significant reference value for clinical practice. No patient or public contribution: The data for this study were obtained from the hospital database, and the entire process of the study did not involve patient participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The membrane-proximal external region (MPER) is a promising HIV-1 vaccine target owing to its linear neutralizing epitopes and highly conserved amino acids. Here, we explored the neutralization sensitivity and investigated the MPER sequences in a chronic HIV-1 infected patient with neutralizing activity against the MPER. Using single-genome amplification (SGA), 50 full-length HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (env) genes were isolated from the patient's plasma at two time points (2006 and 2009). The neutralization sensitivity of 14 Env-pseudoviruses to autologous plasma and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) was evaluated. Env gene sequencing revealed that the diversity of Env increased over time and four mutation positions (659D, 662K, 671S, and 677N/R) were identified in the MPER. The K677R mutation increased the IC50 values of pseudoviruses approximately twofold for 4E10 and 2F5, and E659D increased the IC50 up to ninefold for 4E10 and fourfold for 2F5. These two mutations also decreased the contact between gp41 and mAbs. Almost all mutant pseudoviruses were resistant to autologous plasma at both the earlier and concurrent time points. Mutations 659D and 677R in the MPER decreased the neutralization sensitivity of Env-pseudoviruses, providing a detailed understanding of MPER evolution which might facilitate advances in the design of HIV-1 vaccines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces a new version of first-order binomial autoregressive (BAR(1)) process with zero-and-one inflated binomial marginals using the idea of hidden Markov models, which contains the BAR(1) and other existing processes as special cases. Stochastic properties of the new model are investigated and model parameters are estimated by the probability-based, quasi-maximum likelihood, maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods. A binomial one-inflation index is constructed and further utilized to develop a method to test whether zero and/or one inflation with respect to a BAR(1) model. We also give the asymptotic distribution of the corresponding test statistics under the null hypothesis. Applications to rainy-days and assaults-on-officers counts are conducted, which shows that the proposed model can accurately capture zero-inflation, one-inflation and overdispersion characteristics of the data. The predictive distributions are employed to identify the occurrence of anomalies and then establish early warning system of risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel treatments for autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) are highly demanded due to the limitations of existing therapeutic agents. Costunolide is a promising candidate due to its anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective function, but its effect in AIH remains obscure. In this study, we integrated network pharmacology and experimental validation to reveal the effect and mechanism of costunolide in AIH. A total of 73 common targets of costunolide and AIH were obtained from databases. Pathway enrichment analysis indicated that PI3K-AKT pathway was the core pathway of costunolide in AIH. Protein–protein interaction network analysis and molecular docking revealed that SRC and IGF1R might play critical roles. In two murine AIH models, costunolide significantly attenuated liver injury, inflammation, and fibrosis reflected by the liver gross appearance, serum transaminases, necrosis area, spleen index, immune cell infiltration, and collagen deposition. Western blot and immunohistochemistry confirmed that phosphorylated AKT, SRC, and IGF1R were upregulated in AIH models, and costunolide administration could inhibit the phosphorylation of these proteins. In summary, costunolide significantly ameliorates murine AIH. The therapeutic effect might work by suppressing the activation of PI3K-AKT pathway and inhibiting the phosphorylation of SRC and IGF1R. Our research reveals the potent therapeutic effect of costunolide in AIH and the potential role of SRC and IGF1R in AIH for the first time, which may further contribute to the novel drug development for AIH and other autoimmune diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: At present, one of the main problems hindering the development of rabbit industry is the low intramuscular fat of rabbits. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is a highly dynamic RNA modification, which plays an important regulatory role in various physiological processes of animals. Sequencing rabbit longissimus lumborum muscle and perirenal fat by MeRIP-seq (methylated RNA immunoprecipitation with next-generation sequencing), we provided key prediction pathway for producing rabbit meat with good taste. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) widely participates in various life processes of animals, including disease, memory, growth and development, etc. However, there is no report on m6A regulating intramuscular fat deposition in rabbits. In this study, m6A modification of Hycole rabbit muscle and adipose tissues were detected by MeRIP-Seq. In this case, 3 methylases and 12 genes modified by m6A were found to be significantly different between muscle and adipose tissues. At the same time, we found 3 methylases can regulate the expression of 12 genes in different ways and the function of 12 genes is related to fat deposition base on existing studies. 12 genes were modified by m6A methylase in rabbit muscle and adipose tissues. These results suggest that 3 methylases may regulate the expression of 12 genes through different pathways. In addition, the analysis of results showed that 6 of the 12 genes regulated eight signaling pathways, which regulated intramuscular fat deposition. RT-qPCR was used to validate the sequencing results and found the expression results of RT-qPCR and sequencing results are consistent. In summary, METTL4, ZC3H13 and IGF2BP2 regulated intramuscular fat by m6A modified gene/signaling pathways. Our work provided a new molecular basis and a new way to produce rabbit meat with good taste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the wormwood rod residues are pretreated with white rot fungi as the precursor to preparing porous carbon following a simple carbonization and activation process (denoted herein as FWRA sample). The FWRA sample possesses abundant hierarchical pores structure with high specific surface area (1165.7 m2 g−1) and large pore volume (1.02 cm3 g−1). As an electrode for supercapacitors, the FWRA sample offers a high specific capacitance of 443.2 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 and superb rate ability holding a specific capacitance of 270 F g−1 at 100 A g−1 in 6 M KOH electrolyte. The corresponding symmetrical capacitor has a superb cyclic stability with a low specific capacitance decay rate of 0.4% after 20,000 cycles at 5 A g−1 in 1 M Na2SO4 electrolyte. Moreover, measurements revealed that when used as adsorbent, the FWRA sample is ideal for removing methyl orange (MO) from water, exhibiting a superior adsorption ability of 260.8 mg g−1. Therefore, this study is expected to provide a simple and environmentally friendly technique for the generation of value-added and functional porous carbon materials from Chinese medicinal herbal residues, thus offering promising candidates for broad application areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: Recent studies have shown that changes in the intestinal microbiota contribute to the pathogenesis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of the fecal and intestinal mucosal microbiota in IBS patients, and the correlation between microbiota and clinical manifestations. Methods: Fecal and intestinal mucosal samples were collected from 14 constipation-predominant IBS (IBS-C) patients, 20 diarrhea-predominant IBS (IBS-D) patients, and 20 healthy controls (HCs). 16S rRNA gene sequencing and fluorescence in situ hybridization were used for the analysis of samples. Results: Community richness and diversity of the fecal microbiota in IBS patients were significantly reduced compared with the HCs. The mucosal samples in IBS patients showed decreased Bifidobacterium and increased Bacteroides caccae compared with HCs; Eubacterium and Roseburia were decreased in IBS-C patients and increased in IBS-D patients. A comparison of the fecal and mucosal microbiota in IBS patients showed significantly increased Bifidobacterium in fecal samples and a decrease in mucosal samples in IBS-C patients; Bacteroides caccae and Roseburia were significantly reduced in fecal samples and increased in mucosal samples of IBS patients. A correlation between microbiota and clinical manifestations in IBS patients showed that Bacteroides caccae and Roseburia in fecal samples and Bifidobacterium and Eubacterium in mucosal samples were associated with abdominal pain and distention. Conclusions: Distinct differences exist between the fecal and intestinal mucosal microbiota in IBS patients, with the changes in the latter appearing more consistent with the pathophysiology of IBS. Changes in intestinal microbiota were associated with the clinical manifestations in IBS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As causative oncogenes and drug targets, fusion genes play critical roles in tumorigenesis, development, and treatment and thus are regarded as tumor-specific molecular biomarkers. Specific identification and sensitive quantification of fusion genes are of great significance in cancer diagnosis, classification, and prognosis as well as minimal residual disease (MRD) monitoring. Herein, we proposed a specific and sensitive method for the quantitative detection of fusion transcripts by designing stem-loop primers to directly track fusion junctions of fusion genes and subsequently initiate reverse transcript loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). Benefitting from the specific and direct mechanism of stem-loop primers and the high amplification efficiency of LAMP, the proposed method can sensitively measure fusion gene transcripts with a detection limit of 100 aM (1 zmol) and achieve a wide linear dynamic range spanning at least six orders of magnitude (100 aM–100 pM). Significantly, the whole fusion transcript assay can be accomplished in one step under isothermal conditions, greatly simplifying the operation and detection processes. Meanwhile, the one-step analysis method in one tube may effectively eliminate false-positive results from product cross-contamination during multiple experimental operations and cover-opening measurements. We have demonstrated that the proposed method is practical and accurate for the quantitation of fusion transcripts in biological samples. Owing to the outstanding features of high sensitivity, excellent specificity, and simple operation, the new strategy may provide a robust and attractive platform for the quantification of fusion genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cathode interlayer (CIL) has significant impact on the performance of organic solar cells (OSCs), including the abilities to align energy levels, form ohmic contacts between the active layer and the electrode, and promote the electron extraction and transportation. However, the developments of CILs are still far behind the rapid explosion of active layer materials, especially for these nonfullerene acceptors (NFAs). This research provides a brand‐new CIL optimization approach by applying the nonconjugated small‐molecule zwitterion (NSMZ) as the morphology control additives (MCAs). Two novel NSMZs, 4‐(1‐methyl piperidin‐1‐ium‐1‐yl)butane‐1‐sulfonate (MPBS) and 3‐(1‐methylpiperidin‐1‐ium‐1‐yl)‐propane‐1‐sulfonate, are developed as MCAs for the improvements of short‐circuit current, fill factor, and power conversion efficiency (PCE) in various solar cell systems of the classic active layers and CILs. The interaction mechanism is systematically investigated. With the reduced energy barrier and suppressed electron recombination, a champion PCE of 18.65% on binary NFA–OSCs is achieved by incorporating the zwitterion of MPBS into the cathode interlayer as the additive, which is among the highest efficiency of the reported binary OSCs. The application of the zwitterion as MCAs for the cathode interlayer opens a novel avenue for highly efficient OSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While crop yields have historically increased, drought resistance has become a major concern in the context of global climate change. The trade-off between crop yield and drought resistance is a common phenomenon; however, the underlying molecular modulators remain undetermined. Through genome-wide association study, we revealed that three non-synonymous variants in a drought-resistant allele of ZmSRO1d-R resulted in plasma membrane localization and enhanced mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase activity of ZmSRO1d toward ZmRBOHC, which increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in guard cells and promoted stomatal closure. ZmSRO1d-R enhanced plant drought resilience and protected grain yields under drought conditions, but it led to yield drag under favorable conditions. In contrast, loss-of-function mutants of ZmRBOHC showed remarkably increased yields under well-watered conditions, whereas they showed compromised drought resistance. Interestingly, by analyzing 189 teosinte accessions, we found that the ZmSRO1d-R allele was present in teosinte but was selected against during maize domestication and modern breeding. Collectively, our work suggests that the allele frequency reduction of ZmSRO1d-R in breeding programs may have compromised maize drought resistance while increased yields. Therefore, introduction of the ZmSRO1d-R allele into modern maize cultivars would contribute to food security under drought stress caused by global climate change. This study identifies that ZmSRO1d-R , a natural variation of ZmSRO1d , could enhance maize drought resistance through activating ZmRBOHC and promoting ROS production in guard cells. However, it causes yield penalty under normal conditions. Knocking-out ZmRBOHC reduces ROS levels in guard cells and compromises drought resistance but increases the yield. Further analyses indicate that ZmSRO1d-R has been selected-against during maize domestication and modern breeding programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The current systematic review aimed to present the pooled estimated prevalence and risk factors of PPD. Background: Postpartum depression seriously affects the physical and mental health of the mother and child. However, high‐quality meta‐analysis is limited, which restricts the screening and intervention of postpartum depression. Design: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Methods: Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase and Web of Science were searched for cohort and case‐control studies investigating the prevalence and risk factors of postpartum depression from inception to December 31st, 2020. Meta‐analyses were performed to identify postpartum depression prevalence and risk factors using a random‐effects model. Results: Of the 33 citations evaluated, 27 reported the prevalence of postpartum depression in 33 separate study populations containing 133,313. subjects. Pooled prevalence in all studies was 14.0% (95%CI, 12.0%–15.0%). The prevalence varied according to country (from 5.0% to 26.32%) and developing countries, especially China, have a high prevalence of postpartum depression. The following risk factors were associated with postpartum depression: gestational diabetes mellitus(OR = 2.71, 95%CI 1.78–4.14, I2 = 0.0%), depression during pregnancy(OR = 2.40, 95%CI 1.96–2.93, I2 = 96.7%), pregnant women give birth to boys(OR = 1.62; 95%CI 1.28–2.05; I2 = 0.0%), history of depression during pregnancy(OR = 4.82, 95%CI 1.32–17.54, I2 = 74.9%), history of depression(OR = 3.09, 95%CI 1.62–5.93, I2 = 86.5%) and epidural anaesthesia during delivery(OR =.81, 95%CI.13–4.87, I2 = 90.1%). Conclusions: The prevalence of postpartum depression seems to be high, especially in developing countries. Gestational diabetes mellitus, depression during pregnancy, pregnant women give birth to boys, history of depression during pregnancy, history of depression, epidural anaesthesia during delivery were identified as risk factors for postpartum depression. Understanding the risk factors of PPD can provide the healthcare personnel with the theoretical basis for the patients' management and treatment. Implications for practice: This systematic review and meta‐analysis identified six significant risk factors for PPD, which provides nurses with a theoretical basis for managing and treating women with PPD to effectively improve the screening rate, intervention rate and referral rate of women with PPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Amyrin is an important triterpenoid and precursor to a wide range of cosmetic, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products. In this study, we metabolically engineered the oleaginous yeast, Yarrowia lipolytica to produce α- and β-amyrin on simple sugar and waste cooking oil. Results: We first validated the in vivo enzymatic activity of a multi-functional amyrin synthase (CrMAS) from Catharanthus roseus, by expressing its codon-optimized gene in Y. lipolytica and assayed for amyrins. To increase yield, prevailing genes in the mevalonate pathway, namely HMG1, ERG20, ERG9 and ERG1, were overexpressed singly and in combination to direct flux towards amyrin biosynthesis. By means of a semi-rational protein engineering approach, we augmented the catalytic activity of CrMAS and attained ~ 10-folds higher production level on glucose. When applied together, protein engineering with enhanced precursor supplies resulted in more than 20-folds increase in total amyrins. We also investigated the effects of different fermentation conditions in flask cultures, including temperature, volumetric oxygen mass transfer coefficient and carbon source types. The optimized fermentation condition attained titers of at least 100 mg/L α-amyrin and 20 mg/L β-amyrin. Conclusions: The design workflow demonstrated herein is simple and remarkably effective in amplifying triterpenoid biosynthesis in the yeast Y. lipolytica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]