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Crops often face light intensity fluctuations in natural settings. Intercropping is widely used to improve crop yield and resource utilization worldwide, but crops suffer from high-frequency and high-intensity light fluctuations due to mutual crop influence. Soybean is an important legume crop and is often intercropped with other crops, but little is known about soybean's response to light fluctuation environments. Herein, three fluctuation frequencies (1, 10, and 20 min/cycle) were used to analyze soybean photosynthesis responses by measuring leaf growth, chlorophyll content, gas exchange, and electron transfer. Our data revealed that faster fluctuation frequencies led to the stronger suppression of soybean morphology and photosynthesis, with significant reductions of 31.31% and 21.58%, respectively. Damage to photosystems II (PSII) and I (PSI) also intensified, with significant decreases of 18.52% and 18.38% in their effective quantum yields Y(II) and Y(I). Additionally, increased fluctuation frequency exacerbated the consumption of the plastoquinone pool and linear electron flow but enhanced the cyclic electron flow across the thylakoid membrane and, thus, increased heat dissipation in PSII. Our findings indicate that an increased fluctuation frequency inflicted more severe damage on the soybean photosynthesis system. However, PSI-enhanced CEF improved NPQ and coordinated photoprotection to some extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to summarize the intensive care experience of a patient undergoing combined multi-organ cluster ("larynx-trachea-thyroid-hypopharynx-esophagus") transplantation., Methods: The intensive care management plan for this case was developed by a multidisciplinary team, with focus on 6 aspects: (1) stabilizing the circulation and reducing anastomotic tension by position management to improve the survival chances of transplanted organs, (2) adopting goal-directed analgesia and sedation protocols, as well as preventing anastomotic fistula, (3) implementing a bedside ultrasound-guided nutrition plan, (4) employing "body-mind" synchronous rehabilitation to facilitate functional recovery, (5) taking antirejection treatment and protective isolation measures, (6) monitoring and nursing thyroid function., Results: During the intensive care, the patient's vital signs were stable. The patient was successfully weaned from the ventilator and transferred to the general ward for further treatment at 9 days postoperatively, and discharged upon recovery at 58 days postoperatively. The patient was in good condition during follow-up., Conclusion: This study provides reference for the care of patients who undergo similar transplantation in the future., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins play a crucial role in protecting cells from stress, making them potential contributors to abiotic stress tolerance. This study focuses on apricot (P. armeniaca L. × P. sibirica L.), where a comprehensive genome-wide analysis identified 54 LEA genes, categorized into eight subgroups based on phylogenetic relationships. Synteny analysis revealed 14 collinear blocks containing LEA genes between P. armeniaca × P. sibirica and Arabidopsis thaliana, with an additional 9 collinear blocks identified between P. armeniaca × P. sibirica and poplar. Examination of gene structure and conserved motifs indicated that these subgroups exhibit consistent exon-intron patterns and shared motifs. The expansion and duplication of LEA genes in P. armeniaca × P. sibirica were driven by whole-genome duplication (WGD), segmental duplication, and tandem duplication events. Expression analysis, utilizing RNA-seq data and quantitative real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR), indicated induction of PasLEA2-20, PasLEA3-2, PasLEA6-1, Pasdehydrin-3, and Pasdehydrin-5 in flower buds during dormancy and sprouting phases. Coexpression network analysis linked LEA genes with 15 cold-resistance genes. Remarkably, during the four developmental stages of flower buds in P. armeniaca × P. sibirica - physiological dormancy, ecological dormancy, sprouting period, and germination stage - the expression patterns of all PasLEAs coexpressed with cold stress-related genes remained consistent. Protein-protein interaction networks, established using Arabidopsis orthologs, emphasized connections between PasLEA proteins and cold resistance pathways. Overexpression of certain LEA genes in yeast and Arabidopsis conferred advantages under cold stress, including increased pod length, reduced bolting time and flowering time, improved survival and seed setting rates, elevated proline accumulation, and enhanced antioxidative enzymatic activities. Furthermore, these overexpressed plants exhibited upregulation of genes related to flower development and cold resistance. The Y1H assay confirmed that PasGBF4 and PasDOF3.5 act as upstream regulatory factors by binding to the promoter region of PasLEA3-2. PasDOF2.4, PasDnaJ2, and PasAP2 were also found to bind to the promoter of Pasdehydrin-3, regulating the expression levels of downstream genes. This comprehensive study explores the evolutionary relationships among PasLEA genes, protein interactions, and functional analyses during various stages of dormancy and sprouting in P. armeniaca × P. sibirica. It offers potential targets for enhancing cold resistance and manipulating flower bud dormancy in this apricot hybrid., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interests., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Introduction: Oridonin possesses remarkable anti-inflammatory, immunoregulatory properties. However, the renoprotective effects of Oridonin and the underlying molecular mechanisms have not been explored in Diabetic Nephropathy (DN). We hypothesized that Oridonin could ameliorate diabetes‑induced renal fibrosis., Methods: We used streptozocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats combined high-fat diet to establish a type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) animal model, and then treated with Oridonin (10,20mg/kg/day) for two weeks. Kidney function and renal fibrosis were assessed. We also treated high glucose-induced human renal proximal tubule epithelial cells (HK-2) with Oridonin. In addition, the expression of inflammatory factors and fibrotic markers were analyzed., Results: Oridonin treatment preserved kidney function and markedly limited the renal fibrosis size in diabetic rats. The renal fibrotic markers were inhibited in the 10mg/kg/day group and 20mg/kg/day group compared to the T2DM group. Moreover, the expression levels of TXNIP/NLRP3 and NF‑κB pathway were decreased and the level of PPARγ were increased in the Oridonin treatment group compared to non-treated group. In vitro, intervention of PPARγ could significantly regulate the effect of Oridonin on the high glucose-induced inflammatory changes in HK-2., Conclusion: Oridonin reduces renal fibrosis and preserves kidney function via the inhibition of TXNIP/NLRP3 and NF‑κB pathway by activating PPARγ in T2DM rat model, which indicates potential therapeutic effect of Oridonin on DN., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)