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Salinity and drought are two significant abiotic stresses that restrict crop production globally. While past research has primarily concentrated on crop responses to individual stresses, recent studies indicate that comprehending the combined effects of drought and salinity is essential for enhancing crop tolerance and productivity. This study aims to investigate the impact of single and combined stresses at varying concentrations of salt and drought on sugar beet. Chlorophyll content, net photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, intercellular CO2, and transpiration in sugar beet increased by 13%, 15%, 4%, and 4%, respectively, while growth parameters also improved under low salinity conditions. Conversely, under drought and high salinity conditions, the carotenoid content and indicators of oxidative damage (malondialdehyde and electrolyte leakage) in sugar beet plants increased significantly by 50% and 67%, respectively, leading to a marked reduction in photosynthesis and severely inhibiting plant growth. However, under the combined effect of low salinity and drought, the relative water content, water potential, and chlorophyll content increased sequentially to 17%, 20%, and 29% percent, photosynthetic efficiency, nutrient content, and potassium (K+) content of the plants increased significantly. On the other hand, sodium (Na+) content decreased significantly compared to the single drought condition. Meanwhile, the activities of antioxidant enzymes, such as catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase, were down-regulated by 10%, 19%, 3%, and 40% sequentially in plants under this combined condition. This suggests that under the combined conditions of low salinity and drought, sugar beet effectively mitigated the negative effects of drought on growth through mechanisms such as improved nutrient uptake, maintenance of water and ion balance, and regulation of antioxidant enzyme activities and that this synergistic effect was mainly attributed to the positive impact of ion balance and osmoregulation. In contrast, the combination of high salinity and drought exacerbated the adverse effects caused by individual stressors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing highly effectively peroxidase-like nanozyme for salicylic acid (SA) colorimetric detection is very important for biotechnology of aspirin. Herein, Wells-Dawson polyoxometalate (POMs) boosting Fe2O3 composite (P2W18@Fe2O3) was designed and prepared by calcinating P2W18@MIL-101(Fe) as self-sacrificial precursors and templates. As a result, P2W18@Fe2O3 shows better peroxidase-like activity than Fe2O3, owing to the strong ion conductivity and multi-electron redox of P2W18. Meanwhile, because SA has good strong complexation ability to Fe3+, a sensitive SA colorimetric detection was developed with the detection limit at 0.21 µM in the linear range of 1 − 100 µM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Continuous cropping effects are a major constraint to the sugar beet industry. Although the microbial community of continuously cropped sugar beets has been studied, the effect of continuous cropping on microbial symbiotic networks and their function during plant development is unclear. Methods: We analyzed bulk soil and rhizosphere from continuously cropped sugar beet at four growth stages using amplicon and metagenome sequencing and explored the microbial composition, co-occurrence networks, and potential functions of the microbiome at each plant developmental stage. Soil metrics were correlated with microbial communities, and sugar beet from fields with a maize-beet crop rotation acted as a control group. Results: Continuous cropping and the plant developmental stage had far-reaching effects on plant compartment microbial diversity, composition, and cross-kingdom networks, with the strongest effects observed in the rhizosphere of plants at the sugar accumulation stage. Metagenomic analyses further showed that continuous cropping profoundly affects the assembly and function of the soil microbiome at the host developmental stage. Significant changes in the compositions of the fungal and bacterial communities were observed as the plants developed especially during the sugar accumulation stage, as disease-associated pathogens increased and became the core microbial population in the continuously cropped group. Conclusions: Continuous cropping alters the structure of the microbial core population and resulting in very strong selective regulation of the composition and potential function of the soil microbiome during plant development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two fungal strains (K-2T and S1) were isolated from the deepest ocean sediment of the Challenger Deep located in the Mariana Trench. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) gene sequences of the isolates K-2T and S1 differed from those of closely related species, such as Talaromyces assiutensis and T. trachyspermus. Phylogenetic analyses based on single and concatenated alignments of the genes, namely ITS, β-tubulin (benA), calmodulin (cam), and the second-largest subunit fragment of the RNA polymerase II (rpb2) showed that the isolates K-2T and S1 were clustered together with other Talaromyces species, such as T. trachyspermus and T. assiutensis, as evidenced by the position on a terminal branch with high bootstrap support. They could also be distinguished from their closest relatives with valid published names via morphological and physiological characteristics, for example, growth at 4 °C–50 °C with a pH in the range of 1.5–12. Based on their phylogenetic, morphological, and physicochemical properties, the isolates K-2T and S1 represent a novel species in the genus Talaromyces, and the proposed name is Talaromyces sedimenticola sp. nov. The type strain is K-2T (= GDMCC 3.746T = JCM 39451T). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mortierella alpina is popular for lipid production, but the low carbon conversion rate and lipid yield are major obstacles for its economic performance. Here, external addition of organic acids involved in tricarboxylic acid cycle was used to tune carbon flux and improve lipid production. Citrate was determined to be the best organic acid that can be used for enhancing lipid production. By the addition of citrate, the lipid titer and content were approximately 1.24 and 1.34 times higher, respectively. Meanwhile, citrate supplement also promoted the accumulation of succinate, an important value-added platform chemical. Owing to the improved lipid and succinate production through adding citrate, the carbon conversion rate of M. alpina reached up to 52.17%, much higher than that of the control group (14.11%). The addition of citrate could redistribute carbon flux by regulating the expression level of genes related to tricarboxylic acid cycle metabolism. More carbon fluxes flow to lipid and succinate synthesis, which greatly improved the carbon conversion efficiency of M. alpina. This study provides an effective and straightforward strategy with potential economic benefits to improve carbon conversion efficiency in M. alpina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming is contributing to an increase in the frequency of extreme climate events, leading to more frequent droughts that pose significant abiotic stressors affecting the growth and yield of sugar beet. To address the detrimental effects of drought stress on sugar beet seedlings, this study simulated a drought environment and examined the impact of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) symbiosis on seedling growth. The findings revealed that AMF inoculation under drought conditions enhanced the photosynthesis rate and increased the content of photosynthetic pigments in the leaves of sugar beet. Additionally, it effectively mitigated cell membrane damage in the seedlings, elevated the levels of osmoregulatory substances, and enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities in both leaves and roots. The inoculation of AMF regulates the physiological processes associated with sugar beet growth, alleviates the adverse effects of drought stress, and promotes seedling development. Consequently, AMF can be regarded as a valuable bioregulator in sugar beet cultivation under drought conditions, providing significant practical benefits for improving sugar beet yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Crop rotation can effectively alleviate the obstacles of continuous cropping and restore the agroecological balance, and then determining the optimal length of crop rotation is the cornerstone of effective crop rotation. To delve into this issue, we conducted a six-year rotation experiment aimed at exploring how different rotation lengths impact sugar beet yield, soil properties, and microbial communities. Methods: Conduct field experiments to gather rhizosphere soil samples from treatments with different rotation lengths of sugar beet and analyze their physicochemical properties and microbial characteristics. Subsequently, establish a model linking sugar yield with the physicochemical properties and microbial characteristics of the rhizosphere soil. Results: Sugar beet, sugar content, and sugar yield significantly increased while decreasing disease symptoms, with increases in crop rotation length. Longer rotations significantly ameliorated soil acidification and improved soil fertility. On the other hand, extending the crop rotation length significantly altered the community structure of microbial sub-communities with varying abundances. Additionally, the fungal diversity increased and ecological network became more complex, and a multitude of potentially beneficial microbiota were enriched in the rhizosphere soil with rotation length. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that extending the crop rotation length improved soil conditions, and increased sugar beet yield. In addition, we recommend that sugar beet rotation length should be at least three years or more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.), a biennial sugar crop, contributes about 16% of the world’s sugar production. The transition from vegetative growth, during which sugar accumulated in beet, to reproductive growth, during which sugar exhausted in beet, is determined by vernalization and photoperiod. GIGANTEA (GI) is a key photoperiodic flowering gene that is induced by vernalization in sugar beet. To identify the upstream regulatory factors of BvGI, candidate transcription factors (TF) that were co-expressed with BvGI and could bind to the BvGI promoter were screened based on weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and TF binding site prediction. Subsequently, their transcriptional regulatory role on the BvGI was validated through subcellular localization, dual-luciferase assays and yeast transformation tests. A total of 7,586 differentially expressed genes were identified after vernalization and divided into 18 co-expression modules by WGCNA, of which one (MEcyan) and two (MEdarkorange2 and MEmidnightblue) modules were positively and negatively correlated with the expression of BvGI, respectively. TF binding site predictions using PlantTFDB enabled the screening of BvLHY, BvTCP4 and BvCRF4 as candidate TFs that negatively regulated the expression of BvGI by affecting its transcription. Subcellular localization showed that BvLHY, BvTCP4 and BvCRF4 were localized to the nucleus. The results of dual-luciferase assays and yeast transformation tests showed that the relative luciferase activity and expression of HIS3 was reduced in the BvLHY, BvTCP4 and BvCRF4 transformants, which suggested that the three TFs inhibited the BvGI promoter. In addition, real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR showed that BvLHY and BvTCP4 exhibited rhythmic expression characteristics similar to that of BvGI, while BvCRF4 did not. Our results revealed that vernalization crosstalked with the photoperiod pathway to initiate bolting in sugar beet by inhibiting the transcriptional repressors of BvGI.Key message: BvLHY, BvTCP4 and BvCRF4, which were negative regulatory transcription factors of BvGI, were repressed by vernalization for bolting in sugar beet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demand for 2-ethylhexanol is rising in several sectors, yet this chemical is actually almost exclusively produced from petroleum resources, calling for sustainable alternatives. Here we review the production of 2-ethylhexanol from lignocellulosic biomass-derived chemicals with emphasis on 2-ethylhexanol synthesis and applications. 2-Ethylhexanol can be synthesized from ethanol, butanol, butyraldehyde, and syngas. Applications comprise biofuels, lubricants, plasticizers, and surfactants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cuprotosis, a new type of cell death, provides great opportunities for the treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma, as nanocarriers of copper ions can induce cuprotosis and immunogenic death. Here, we studied an editor that enables production of a nanoparticle "storm" in oral squamous cell carcinoma, maximizing the toxic effect of these particles and reprogramming the tumor microenvironment; as a result, T cells and natural killer (NK) cells can infiltrate the tumor microenvironment to activate an antitumor immune response. On this basis, the editor can be combined with optical therapy to improve patient prognosis. In this study, the metal ratio was regulated in response to the nanocarrier of acid response type. Thus, in the presence of a specific copper ion content, the nanocarrier could change the permeability of the tumor cell membrane. Based on these results, the nanoparticles were cracked in an acidic environment and then released copper ions. Finally, the nanoparticles contributed to cuprotosis and immunogenic death. In addition, the editor could inhibit murine oral cancer 1 (MOC1) tumors in C57BL/6 without toxicity. The rate of tumor growth inhibition was as high as approximately 80%. This strategy provides a new idea for immunotherapy. Moreover, it can improve the interaction between immunotherapy and the copper-induced death of oral squamous cell carcinoma. Above all, this study will provide a new opportunity for the effective treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly metastatic and heterogeneous type of breast cancer with poor outcomes. Precise, non-invasive methods for diagnosis, monitoring and prognosis of TNBC are particularly challenging due to a paucity of TNBC biomarkers. Glycans on extracellular vesicles (EVs) hold the promise as valuable biomarkers, but conventional methods for glycan analysis are not feasible in clinical practice. Here, we report that a lectin-based thermophoretic assay (EVLET) streamlines vibrating membrane filtration (VMF) and thermophoretic amplification, allowing for rapid, sensitive, selective and cost-effective EV glycan profiling in TNBC plasma. A pilot cohort study shows that the EV glycan signature reaches 91% accuracy for TNBC detection and 96% accuracy for longitudinal monitoring of TNBC therapeutic response. Moreover, we demonstrate the potential of EV glycan signature for predicting TNBC progression. Our EVLET system lays the foundation for non-invasive cancer management by EV glycans. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) lacks precise diagnostic and monitoring methods due to limited biomarkers. Here the authors develop a lectin-based thermophoretic assay (EVLET) that combines vibrating membrane filtration and thermophoretic amplification for efficient extracellular vesicle (EV) glycan profiling in the plasma of TNBC patients, enabling non-invasive cancer management by leveraging EV glycans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effective management of bacterial infections that are resistant to multiple drugs remains a substantial clinical challenge. The eradication of drug-resistant bacteria and subsequent promotion of angiogenesis are imperative for the regeneration of the infected wounds. Here, a novel and facile peptide containing injectable hydrogel with sustained antibacterial and angiogenic capabilities is developed. The antibacterial peptide that consists of 11 residues (CM11, WKLFKKILKVL) is loaded onto acrylate-modified gelatin through charge interactions. A vascular endothelial growth factor mimetic peptide KLT (KLTWQELYQLKYKGI) with a GCG (Gly-Cys-Gly) modification at the N-terminal is covalently coupled through a visible light-induced thiol-ene reaction. In this reaction, the acrylate gelatin undergoes cross-linkage within seconds. Based on the physical/chemical double crosslinking strategy, the bioactive peptides achieve sustained and sequential release. The results show that the hydrogel significantly inhibits methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) growth through the rapid release of CM11 peptides at early stage; it forms obvious growth inhibition zones against pathogenic bacterial strains. Moreover, cell counting kit-8 assay and scratch test confirm that the CM11/KLT-functionalized hydrogels promote cell proliferation and migration through the later release of KLT peptides. In a mouse skin wound infected with self-luminous MRSA, the CM11/KLT-functionalized hydrogels enhance wound healing, with rapidly bacterial infection reduction, lower expression of inflammatory factors, and neovascularization promotion. These results suggest that the rationally designed, sustained and sequential release CM11/KLT-functionalized hydrogels have huge potential in promoting the healing of multi-drug resistant bacterial infected wounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reaction system of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) catalyzed by nanozyme has a broad prospect in antibacterial treatment. However, the complex catalytic activities of nanozymes lead to multiple pathways reacting in parallel, causing uncertain antibacterial results. New approach to effectively regulate the multiple catalytic activities of nanozyme is in urgent need. Herein, Cu single site is modified on nanoceria with various catalytic activities, such as peroxidase-like activity (POD) and hydroxyl radical antioxidant capacity (HORAC). Benefiting from the interaction between coordinated Cu and CeO2 substrate, POD is enhanced while HORAC is inhibited, which is further confirmed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Cu-CeO2 + H2O2 system shows good antibacterial properties both in vitro and in vivo. In this work, the strategy based on the interaction between coordinated metal and carrier provides a general clue for optimizing the complex activities of nanozymes. Nanozymes used for antibacterial therapy conventionally have complex catalytic activities that cause multiple pathways in parallel and unwanted outcome. Here, the authors report a Cu-CeO2 single site nanozyme in which Cu single site modification can enhance the peroxidase-like activity and inhibit the hydroxyl radical antioxidant capacity of CeO2 to optimise the antibacterial effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep ocean polymetallic nodules, rich in cobalt, nickel, and titanium which are commonly used in high-technology and biotechnology applications, are being eyed for green energy transition through deep-sea mining operations. Prokaryotic communities underneath polymetallic nodules could participate in deep-sea biogeochemical cycling, however, are not fully described. To address this gap, we collected sediment cores from Nazimov guyots, where polymetallic nodules exist, to explore the diversity and vertical distribution of prokaryotic communities. Our 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing data, quantitative PCR results, and phylogenetic beta diversity indices showed that prokaryotic diversity in the surficial layers (0–8 cm) was > 4-fold higher compared to deeper horizons (8–26 cm), while heterotrophs dominated in all sediment horizons. Proteobacteria was the most abundant taxon (32–82%) across all sediment depths, followed by Thaumarchaeota (4–37%), Firmicutes (2–18%), and Planctomycetes (1–6%). Depth was the key factor controlling prokaryotic distribution, while heavy metals (e.g., iron, copper, nickel, cobalt, zinc) can also influence significantly the downcore distribution of prokaryotic communities. Analyses of phylogenetic diversity showed that deterministic processes governing prokaryotic assembly in surficial layers, contrasting with stochastic influences in deep layers. This was further supported from the detection of a more complex prokaryotic co-occurrence network in the surficial layer which suggested more diverse prokaryotic communities existed in the surface vs. deeper sediments. This study expands current knowledge on the vertical distribution of benthic prokaryotic diversity in deep sea settings underneath polymetallic nodules, and the results reported might set a baseline for future mining decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought stress seriously inhibits the physiological development of agricultural plants. Melatonin regulates physiological processes and improves tolerance to stress. In our study, the physiological and biochemical mechanism of exogenous melatonin for improving drought resistance of sugar beet seedlings was studied by spraying different concentrations of melatonin solution on the leaves. The results showed that under drought stress, compared with the treatment without spraying melatonin (Drought), different concentrations of melatonin increased the dry and fresh weight of sugar beet seedlings, and 100 μmol·L−1 melatonin increased the biomass by up to 47%. Leaf relative water content and water potential value increased by 61.92% and 13.67%, respectively, which was not significantly different from to control. Exogenous melatonin also significantly decreased electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde content in sugar beets, reduced soluble sugars, soluble proteins, and free proline contents, and maintained cell stability. In addition, melatonin increased the activities of enzymatic antioxidants in the leaves by 89.35% at the highest and maintained low reactive oxygen species under drought stress. Melatonin promoted leaf gas exchange, increased chlorophyll content, and promoted photosynthesis under drought stress. These results indicate that exogenous melatonin improves the ability of sugar beet seedlings to grow under drought stress, mainly by reducing the level of membrane lipid peroxidation, increasing the activities of antioxidant enzymes, and promoting chlorophyll synthesis. Melatonin could be applied as a plant growth regulator at a large-scale field level for plants under drought stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial infections pose a severe threat to human health due to the exacerbation of antibiotic resistance and intracellular bacterial infections. Research suggests that oligo(p-phenylene vinylene) (OPV), commonly employed in the manufacture of organic solar batteries, can help address this issue. This study demonstrates the ability of OPV to target and sterilize intracellular Porphyromonas gingivalis and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) photodynamically. Most notably, OPV specifically targets bacteria without affecting healthy cells under dark conditions. Its chemical composition includes a conjugated backbone and ionic imidazole side chains, which allow OPV to bind to cell membranes. Furthermore, dental blue light curing lamps may excite OPV. Compared with antibiotics and traditional photosensitizers, OPV proves to be a potentially superior solution to eradicate intracellular microbial infections, both in fundamental research and clinical applications. This paper introduces OPV, an organic semiconductor material, as a novel photosensitizer to kill intracellular bacteria that are infectious and antibiotic-resistant. It explains how OPV binds to bacterial membranes and produces reactive oxygen species by blue light, guiding photodynamic therapy design. It proves the excellent antibacterial effect of OPV against Porphyromonasgingivalis and MRSA in vitro and in vivo, without damaging normal cells or tissues, indicating good biocompatibility and safety. It also shows that OPV can be excited by dental blue light curing lamps, facilitating clinical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis is associated with the significantly increased friction of the joint, which results in progressive and irreversible damage to the articular cartilage. A synergistic therapy integrating lubrication enhancement and drug delivery is recently proposed for the treatment of early-stage osteoarthritis. In the present study, bioinspired by the self-adhesion performance of mussels and super-lubrication property of articular cartilages, a biomimetic self-adhesive dopamine methacrylamide—poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) (DMA—MPC) copolymer was designed and synthesized via free radical polymerization. The copolymer was successfully modified onto the surface of biodegradable mesoporous silica nanoparticles (bMSNs) by the dip-coating method to prepare the dual-functional nanoparticles (bMSNs@DMA—MPC), which were evaluated using a series of surface characterizations including the transmission electron microscope (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), etc. The tribological test and in vitro drug release test demonstrated that the developed nanoparticles were endowed with improved lubrication performance and achieved the sustained release of an anti-inflammatory drug, i.e., diclofenac sodium (DS). In addition, the in vitro biodegradation test showed that the nanoparticles were almost completely biodegraded within 10 d. Furthermore, the dual-functional nanoparticles were biocompatible and effectively reduced the expression levels of two inflammation factors such as interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). In summary, the surface functionalized nanoparticles with improved lubrication and local drug release can be applied as a potential intra-articularly injected biolubricant for synergistic treatment of early-stage osteoarthritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the assistance of NH4VO3 and surfactant PEG-400, a new Keggin-type polyoxometalates (POMs) based Zn-organic framework (Zn-MOF), [Zn(H2O)(bpe)(H3PW12O40)]2bpe·2H2O (Zn(bpe)PW12, bpe = 1,2-bis (4-pyridyl) ethylene), was successfully synthesized by the surfactant-assisted solvothermal method. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that compound Zn(bpe)PW12 exhibits a fascinating pseudo three-dimensional POM-pillared Zn-MOFs containing left- and right-handed helical chains, and the total accessible volume is 11.17%. More importantly, the peroxidase-like activities of Zn(bpe)PW12 as one kind of POMOFs containing Zn element was studied for the first time, and the results show that the title compound Zn(bpe)PW12 exhibits excellent peroxidase-like activity including selectivity, anti-interference, stability, and reproducibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Low temperature, which is one of the main environmental factors that limits geographical distribution and sucrose yield, is a common abiotic stress during the growth and development of sugar beet. As a regulatory hub of plant response to abiotic stress, activity in the chloroplasts is related to many molecular and physiological processes, particularly in response to low temperature stress. Results: The contents of chlorophyll (Chl) and malondialdehyde (MDA), relative electrical conductivity (REL), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were measured. The results showed that sugar beet could manage low temperature stress by regulating the levels of Chl, REL and MDA, and the activity of SOD. The physiological responses indicated that sugar beets respond positively to low temperature treatments and are not significantly damaged. Moreover, to determine the precise time to response low temperature in sugar beet, well-known abiotic stresses-responsive transcript factor family, namely DEHYDRATION RESPONSIVE ELEMENT BINDING PROTEIN (DREB), was selected as the marker gene. The results of phylogenetic analyses showed that BvDREBA1 and BvDREBA4 were in the same branch as the cold- and drought-responsive AtDREB gene. In addition, the expression of BvDREBs reached its maximum level at 24 h after low temperature by RNA-Seq and qRT-PCR analysis. Furthermore, the changes in chloroplast proteome after low temperature at 24 h were detected using a label-free technique. A total of 416 differentially expressed proteins were identified. GO enrichment analysis showed that 16 GO terms were significantly enriched, particularly chloroplast stroma, chloroplast envelope, and chloroplast thylakoid membrane. It is notable that the transport of photosynthetic proteins (BvLTD and BvTOC100), the formation of starch granules (BvPU1, BvISA3, and BvGWD3) and the scavenging of reactive oxygen species (BvCu/Zn-SOD, BvCAT, BvPrx, and BvTrx) were the pathways used by sugar beets to respond to low temperatures at an early stage. Conclusions: These results provide a preliminarily analysis of how chloroplasts of sugar beet respond to low temperature stress at the translational level and provide a theoretical basis for breeding low temperature resistant varieties of sugar beet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Agricultural soil contamination by heavy metals is a serious environmental problem, and developing feasible and effective soil remediation technologies is a top priority. In this study, a microbial consortium dominated by sulfur-oxidizing bacteria was constructed to enhance Cd and Zn removal from contaminated soil. Materials and methods: During treatments, changes in pH and Eh and the removal efficiencies of Cd and Zn were investigated. Fractionation of Cd and Zn, soil fertility indexes, and the microbial community were also analyzed before and after bioleaching. Results and discussion: The results show that under the same conditions, the best removal efficiencies for Cd and Zn were observed in the bioleaching group compared to other treatments (acid leaching and sulfur treatment). When the sulfur concentration was 15 g/kg, 79.3% of Cd and 45.2% of Zn were removed, while undissolved Cd and Zn mainly remained in the residual fraction, accounting for 93.1% and 84.0% of their remaining totals, respectively. After remediation, the bioleaching group showed a reduction of the total phosphorus and available potassium, with a decrease of 53.7% and 41.2%, respectively. Furthermore, the exogenous microbes in the inoculum had a competitive advantage and became the dominant population at the end of the run. Conclusions: The consortium obtained in this study can effectively improve remediation processing and be used to remediate heavy metal-contaminated soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How to recycle metals from the waste resources becomes a hotspot all around the world. Non-ferrous residues, which was produced by non-ferrous melting industry, and various of Cu and Co compounds exist in the residues in the form of CuxOy, CuxSy, CoxSy. In order to efficiently extract valuable metals from the non-ferrous residues, this study investigated the bioleaching behavior of Cu and Co from non-ferrous residues, using iron-oxidizing bacteria (IOB, Leptospirillum ferriphilum CS13) and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (SOB, Acidithiobacillus caldus S2) by controlling the microbial composition, initial pH, and initial ferrous ion concentration. The results showed that IOB had a better performance on extracting Cu and Co than that of SOB, especially for Cu. Furthermore, 77.7 and 79.8% of Cu and Co were extracted under the optimal ratio of the initial number of IOB and SOB (1:1) after bioleaching, which was more than that when bioleaching by any one of these two kinds of bacteria. However, the changes of initial pH and ferrous ion concentration could not significantly enhance bioleaching performance. The results indicated that bioleaching had a good performance on recovering of metals from non-ferrous residues and excellent application prospect for the cleaner resource recycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal-containing plant incineration ash (MPIA), which was the by-product for metal extraction from soil by phytoextraction process, contains various kinds of heavy metal that have post potential risk to the environment. This study investigated the leaching efficiency and metal redistribution of MPIA using organic acid as leaching agents. The MPIA before and after leaching was characterized using the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCPL) test, X-ray diffraction, scanning electronic microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results showed that all tested organic acids resulted in the dissolution of metals, especially 1 mol L−1 citric acid leaching achieved for the dissolution efficiency of 84% Mn, 87.01% Cd, 66.97% Zn, and 55.83% Pb. During leaching progress, the synergetic of chelation and acid soluble action accelerated the metal release and redistribution, and the dissolution of Mn, Zn, Pb, and Cd fit best to the shrinking core model of chemical control. Meanwhile, the leaching residue reached the regulatory standard. Thus, organic acid leaching may be a feasible strategy for detoxification of MPIA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of ecological environment is not only an important basis for judging the sustainable development of economy but also an important factor to complete the construction of ecological civilization. Therefore, this paper puts forward the application of remote sensing ecological index to evaluate the lake wetland ecotourism resources. In this study, the Manas Lake wetland area in Xinjiang was taken as the research object, and based on the remote sensing ecological index evaluation method, the ecological resources of Manas Lake wetland were evaluated. The results showed that RSEI (Remote Sensing Based Ecological Index) showed a steady upward trend from 2000 to 2016, which reflected that the ecological environment of the study area had been improved in the past 20 years; the area with poor ecological environment condition was 4.02 km2, the area improved was 8.18 km2, and the area with little change or unchanged was 3543 km2; the area around the downstream corridor was the main area with poor ecological quality, around the lake, and far away surrounding the area for improvement. Climate change and human activities have a common effect on the ecological environment of Manas Lake wetland. Increasing human activities are the main reason for wetland degradation. Over the years, extensive agricultural development has caused serious imbalance among population, economy, and ecological environment in Manas River Basin. From the perspective of optimizing the allocation of water resources, it is proposed that the ecological value and sustainable development of tail lake wetland should be paid attention to while the large-scale development of water and soil resources in the main source river basins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new complexes based on pipemidic acid (HPPA) and Co2+/Cd2+ ions, [Co(PPA)2]·2H2O (1) and Cd(PPA)2 (2), have been synthesized and structurally characterized. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis shows that complexes 1 and 2 exhibit similar structures containing two-fold meso-helices and 1D supramolecular channels. The interaction of calf-thymus (CT-DNA) with complexes 1 and 2 with was explored by UV spectrum, and competitive studies with ethidium bromide (EB) by fluorescence spectrum. Notably, these results indicate that complexes 1 and 2 possess the higher binding DNA affinity than free HPPA drugs, maybe attributed to the coordinated metal ions and the helical channels. And the resultant hypochromism suggests the tight binding of 1 and 2 with CT-DNA probably by the intercalative mode. Moreover, the relatively high Ksv value also indicates that 1 and 2 can bind to CT-DNA for the intercalative binding sites. Two new complexes based on HPPA were synthesized and structural description, and exhibit similar structures containing two-fold meso-helices. The result of the interaction with CT-DNA indicates that complexes can bind to the CT-DNA by the intercalative mode and possess the higher binding constant to CT-DNA than free HPPA drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: BnA10.RCO positively regulates the development of leaf lobes in Brassica napus, and cis-regulatory divergences cause the different allele effects. The functional importance of lobed leaves in rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) has been identified with potential advantages for high-density planting and hybrid production. Our previous studies indicated that the tandemly duplicated LMI1-like genes BnA10. RCO and BnA10.LMI1 are candidate genes of an incompletely dominant locus, which is responsible for the lobed-leaf shape in rapeseed. We provided strong evidence that BnA10.LMI1 positively regulates leaf lobe formation. Here, we show that BnA10.RCO is a nucleus-specific protein, encoding an HD-ZIP I transcription factor, which is responsible for the lobed-leaf shape in rapeseed. Sequence analysis of parental alleles revealed that no vital sequence variation was detected in the coding sequence of BnA10.RCO, whereas abundant variations were identified in the regulatory regions. Consistent with this finding, the expression level of BnRCO was substantially elevated in the lobed-leaved parent HY compared with its near-isogenic line. Moreover, the altered expression of BnA10.RCO in transgenic lines showed a positive connection with leaf complexity without a substantial change in BnLMI1 transcript level. Furthermore, CRISPR/Cas9-induced null mutations of BnA10.RCO in the lobed-leaved parent HY were sufficient to produce an unlobed leaf without alteration in BnLMI1 transcript level. Our results indicate that BnA10.RCO functions together with BnA10.LMI1 to positively determine the lobed-leaf development, providing a fundamental basis for crop improvement by targeting leaf shape in rapeseed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To develop a deep learning approach based on deep residual neural network (ResNet101) for the automated detection of glaucomatous optic neuropathy (GON) using color fundus images, understand the process by which the model makes predictions, and explore the effect of the integration of fundus images and the medical history data from patients. Methods: A total of 34,279 fundus images and the corresponding medical history data were retrospectively collected from cohorts of 2371 adult patients, and these images were labeled by 8 glaucoma experts, in which 26,585 fundus images (12,618 images with GON-confirmed eyes, 1114 images with GON-suspected eyes, and 12,853 NORMAL eye images) were included. We adopted 10-fold cross-validation strategy to train and optimize our model. This model was tested in an independent testing dataset consisting of 3481 images (1524 images from NORMAL eyes, 1442 images from GON-confirmed eyes, and 515 images from GON-suspected eyes) from 249 patients. Moreover, the performance of the best model was compared with results obtained by two experts. Accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, kappa value, and area under receiver operating characteristic (AUC) were calculated. Further, we performed qualitative evaluation of model predictions and occlusion testing. Finally, we assessed the effect of integrating medical history data in the final classification. Results: In a multiclass comparison between GON-confirmed eyes, GON-suspected eyes and NORMAL eyes, our model achieved 0.941 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.936–0.946) accuracy, 0.957 (95% CI, 0.953–0.961) sensitivity, and 0.929 (95% CI, 0.923–0.935) specificity. The AUC distinguishing referrals (GON-confirmed and GON-suspected eyes) from observation was 0.992 (95% CI, 0.991–0.993). Our best model had a kappa value of 0.927, while the two experts' kappa values were 0.928 and 0.925 independently. The best 2 binary classifiers distinguishing GON-confirmed/GON-suspected eyes from NORMAL eyes obtained 0.955, 0.965 accuracy, 0.977, 0.998 sensitivity, and 0.929, 0.954 specificity, while the AUC was 0.992, 0.999 respectively. Additionally, the occlusion testing showed that our model identified the neuroretinal rim region, retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) defect areas (superior or inferior) as the most important parts for the discrimination of GON, which evaluated fundus images in a way similar to clinicians. Finally, the results of integration of fundus images with medical history data showed a slight improvement in sensitivity and specificity with similar AUCs. Conclusions: This approach could discriminate GON with high accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and AUC using color fundus photographs. It may provide a second opinion on the diagnosis of glaucoma to the specialist quickly, efficiently and at low cost, and assist doctors and the public in large-scale screening for glaucoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Progesterone supplementation prevents preterm birth (PTB) in some high-risk women, but its mechanism of action is unknown. One-third of PTB is associated with preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROMs). We have previously shown that progesterone inhibits basal and Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) α-induced apoptosis in an explant model of human fetal membranes. This study investigates the molecular mechanisms responsible for progesterone-mediated inhibition of apoptosis in fetal membranes. Methods: Human fetal membranes were collected at elective cesarean at term (no labor, no infection; n = 6), washed, and pretreated with/without progesterone (125 ng/mL) for 24 hours. Thereafter, membranes were treated with/without TNFα (50 ng/mL) and/or progesterone for 48 hours, harvested, and homogenized. Apoptosis was determined by evaluating caspase-3, -8, and -9 activities. Expression of pro- BH3 interacting domain death against, Bc1-2 associated X protein (BID, BAX) and antiapoptotic proteins (X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein [XIAP], Bcl-2, FLICE inhibitory protein [FLIP]) were measured by Western blot. Results: TNFα increased apoptosis (measured by caspase-3, -8, and -9 activities) in fetal membranes, and this effect was abrogated by progesterone. Under basal conditions, progesterone suppressed expression of the proapoptotic protein, BID, by 0.45 (0.14)-fold, and increased expression of the antiapoptotic proteins, Bcl-2 and XIAP; no change was seen in BAX or FLIP. In contrast, TNFα increased BID expression by 5.15 (2.92)-fold, which was prevented by pretreatment with progesterone. Conclusions: Progesterone inhibits apoptosis in fetal membranes by suppressing expression of the proapoptotic protein, BID (for both basal and TNFα-induced apoptosis), and upregulating expression of the antiapoptotic proteins, XIAP and Bcl-2 (under basal conditions only). These data provide a mechanism by which progesterone supplementation may prevent PPROM and PTB in some women at high risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salinity stress is a major limitation to global crop production. Sugar beet, one of the world's leading sugar crops, has stronger salt tolerant characteristics than other crops. To investigate the response to different levels of salt stress, sugar beet was grown hydroponically under 3 (control), 70, 140, 210 and 280 mM NaCl conditions. We found no differences in dry weight of the aerial part and leaf area between 70 mM NaCl and control conditions, although dry weight of the root and whole plant treated with 70 mM NaCl was lower than control seedlings. As salt concentrations increased, degree of growth arrest became obvious In addition, under salt stress, the highest concentrations of Na and Cl were detected in the tissue of petioles and old leaves. N and K contents in the tissue of leave, petiole and root decreased rapidly with the increase of NaCl concentrations. P content showed an increasing pattern in these tissues. The activities of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and glutathione peroxidase showed increasing patterns with increase in salt concentrations. Moreover, osmoprotectants such as free amino acids and betaine increased in concentration as the external salinity increased. Two organic acids (malate and citrate) involved in tricarboxylic acid (TCA)-cycle exhibited increasing contents under salt stress. Lastly, we found that Rubisco activity was inhibited under salt stress. The activity of NADP-malic enzyme, NADP-malate dehydrogenase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase showed a trend that first increased and then decreased. Their activities were highest with salinity at 140 mM NaCl. Our study has contributed to the understanding of the sugar beet physiological and metabolic response mechanisms under different degrees of salt stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a changing climate, drought stress accounts for significant crop yield loss. To test the hypothesis that proteins play an important role in plant drought tolerance, we conducted physiological and proteomic analyses to investigate the stress responses of two sugar beet ( Beta vulgaris L.) cultivars with contrasting tolerance to drought stress. Under drought, the tolerant cultivar had higher relative water content, root length, dry weight, and root system area than the drought-sensitive cultivar. In addition, the tolerant cultivar had higher antioxidant enzyme activities than the sensitive cultivar to prevent ROS damage under drought stress conditions. Proteomic analysis resulted in identification of 23 and 27 drought-responsive proteins in the sensitive and tolerant cultivars, respectively. Based on their functions, these proteins were classified into nine categories. Many proteins in several different biological processes showed different abundance patterns between the genotypes (for example, oxygen-evolving enhancer proteins, choline monooxygenase, and malate dehydrogenase). Although some proteins changed similarly in trend between the two genotypes, they showed different levels of changes (for example, S-adenosylmethionine synthase). Furthermore, the poor correlation between transcription and protein levels was confirmed in this study. Our findings would lead to an improved understanding of the integrated physiology and proteome responses of the different sugar beet genotypes under drought stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of flame-retardant epoxy resin (EP) composites, with different mass ratio of intumescent flame-retardant (IFR) and hollow glass microspheres (HGM), have been prepared. The synergistic flame-retardant effects of HGM between IFR in EP blends have been examined through several conventional methods, such as limiting oxygen index (LOI) test, UL-94 test, cone calorimeter test (CCT), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TG), respectively. The LOI and UL-94 results show that when 2.0 mass% IFR is replaced by HGM, the LOI value can be increased to the maximum value of 34.7 among all samples. The data obtained from the CCT test indicate the peak value of heat release rate of EP/IFR/HGM sample with 2.0 mass% HGM reduced to 177.6 from 851.1 kW m (pure EP). The digital photographs and SEM of char residues after CCT give positive evidence of the synergistic flame-retardant effects between HGM and IFR. Firstly, HGM could promote the formation of dense and compact charred layers. Secondly, it could prevent the charred layers from cracking. The TG results reveal that EP/IFR/HGM samples show higher thermal stability at high temperature than EP/IFR sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, firstly we will give the global construction of the mixed type extremal surface in Minkowski space along the analytic light-like line. Furthermore, we construct simply the local existence of extremal surface along a single light-like line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effect of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) by observing the changes in CD4 T-lymphocyte cell count of 110 cases with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) treated continuously with TCM for 84 months. Information of 110 HIV/AIDS patients from 19 provinces and cities treated with TCM from 2004 to 2013 was collected. Changes in the indexes of CD4 counts ( ⩽ 200, 201-350, 351-500 and > 500 cells/mm) at five time points (0, 12, 36, 60 and 84 months) and different treatments [TCM and TCM plus antiretroviral therapy (ART)] were compared. Repeated measures test indicated no interaction between group and time (P > 0.05). Degrees of increasing and decreasing CD4 count of the two groups at four different frames were statistically significant compared with the baseline. The CD4 count between the two groups was not statistically significant. For CD4 count of ⩽ 200 cells/mm, the mean CD4 count changes were 21 and 28 cells/mm per year for the TCM group and TCM plus ART group, respectively. For CD4 count of 201-350 cells/mm, the mean CD4 count changes were 6 and 25 cells/mm per year for the TCM group and TCM plus ART group, respectively. For CD4 count of 351-500 cells/mm, the mean CD4 count changes were −13 and −7 cells/mm per year for the TCM group and TCM plus ART group, respectively. For CD4 count of > 500 cells/mm, the mean CD4 count changes were −34 and −17 cells/mm per year for the TCM group and TCM plus ART group, respectively. Long-term use of TCM could maintain or slow the pace of declining CD4 counts in patients with HIV/AIDS, and may achieve lasting effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper concerns about the approximation by a class of positive exponential type multiplier operators on the unit sphere $\mathbb{S}^n $ of the ( n + 1)-dimensional Euclidean space for n ⩾ 2. We prove that such operators form a strongly continuous contraction semigroup of class $(C_0 )$ and show the equivalence between the approximation errors of these operators and the K-functionals. We also give the saturation order and the saturation class of these operators. As examples, the rth Boolean of the generalized spherical Abel-Poisson operator ⊕ V and the rth Boolean of the generalized spherical Weierstrass operator ⊕ W for integer r ⩾ 1 and reals γ, κ ∈ (0, 1] have errors $\left\| { \oplus ^r V_t^\gamma f - f} \right\|_X \asymp \omega ^{r\gamma } (f,t^{1/\gamma } )_X $ and $\left\| { \oplus ^r W_t^\kappa f - f} \right\|_X \asymp \omega ^{r\kappa } (f,t^{1/(2\kappa )} )_X $ for all f ∈ $X$ and 0 ⩽ t ⩽ 2 π, where $X$ is the Banach space of all continuous functions or all ℒ integrable functions, 1 ⩽ p < +∞, on $\mathbb{S}^n $ with norm $\left\| \cdot \right\|_X $, and $\omega ^s (f,t)_X $ is the modulus of smoothness of degree s > 0 for f ∈ $X$. Moreover, ⊕ V and ⊕ W have the same saturation class if γ = 2 κ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rhizobacteria inhabiting the rhizosphere are beneficial to their host plants, and can potentially serve as biocontrol agents to control plant diseases. We isolated the rhizobacterium strain GW-3, which was the dominant bacterium in the rhizosphere soils of healthy banana plants. Then, we constructed an expression system with a kanamycin resistance gene to express a heterologous protein in GW-3. Using the green fluorescent protein gene as the reporter, we monitored expression of the heterologous protein by detecting fluorescence intensity and conducting western blot analyses. The standard fluorescence intensity of the recombinant strain reached 1,482 ± 3.49 RFU. To study the colonization ability of GW-3, we inoculated this bacterium into sterilized and unsterilized rhizosphere soils and monitored the bacterial population over 25 days. The populations of GW-3 in rhizosphere soils first increased, then decreased, and finally reached a balance. Laser scanning confocal microscope analyses of fluorescence in banana roots after inoculation with GW-3 confirmed that the recombinant GW-3 strain stably colonized banana root surfaces. Analyses of the bacterial population in unsterilized rhizosphere soils showed that the recombinant GW-3 strain was still the dominant bacterium in banana rhizosphere soils at 25 days after inoculation. Together, these results showed that this expression system can be used to express a heterologous protein at high levels in a dominant rhizobacterium. By incorporating relevant resistance genes into the expression system, this method could be used to genetically engineer GW-3 to control banana wilt disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a modified ELM algorithm that properly selects the input weights and biases before training the output weights of single-hidden layer feedforward neural networks with sigmoidal activation function and proves mathematically the hidden layer output matrix maintains full column rank. The modified ELM avoids the randomness compared with the ELM. The experimental results of both regression and classification problems show good performance of the modified ELM algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to investigate microbial structures and diversities in five active hydrothermal fields' sediments along the Eastern Lau Spreading Centre (ELSC) in the Lau Basin (southwest Pacific). Microbial communities were surveyed by denatured gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and clone library analysis of 16S rRNA genes. The differences in microbial community structures among sediment samples from the five deep-sea hydrothermal sites were revealed by DGGE profiles. Cluster analysis of DGGE profiles separated the five hydrothermal samples into two groups. Four different 16S rRNA gene clone libraries, representing two selected hydrothermal samples (19-4TVG8 and 19-4TVG11), were constructed. Twenty-three and 32 phylotypes were identified from166 and 160 bacterial clones respectively, including Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Nitrospirae and Planctomycetes. The phylum Proteobacteria is dominant in both bacterial libraries with a predominance of Gamma- Proteobacteria. A total of 31 and 25 phylotypes were obtained from 160 and 130 archaeal clones respectively, including Miscellaneous Crenarchaeotic Group, Marine Group I and III, Marine Benthic Group E, Terrestrial Hot Spring Crenarchaeota and Deep-sea Hydrothermal Vent Euryarchaeota. These results show a variety of clones related to those involved in sulfur cycling, suggesting that the cycling and utilization of sulfur compounds may extensively occur in the Lau Basin deep-sea hydrothermal ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process and timing of human parturition involves a complex hormonal dialogue between maternal and fetal systems that transforms the uterine muscle into the laboring state. Progesterone, through specific progesterone receptors (PRs) in uterine tissues, is key player in this process. For most of pregnancy, progesterone promotes myometrial relaxation and its withdrawal initiates parturition. In women, a functional progesterone withdrawal occurs by changes in PR isoform expression and/or function in myometrial cells. Research in the last 10 to 20 years has shown that progesterone actions are mediated by a variety of PRs including the classic nuclear PRs, PR-A and PR-B that mediate genomic actions, and a family of membrane-bound PRs that mediate non-genomic actions. Herein, we review current understanding of the PRs expressed in the human pregnancy uterus, the pathways through which they mediate progesterone actions, and their roles in controlling myometrial contractility and the parturition process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The editors have retracted this article [1] as it contains sections that substantially overlap with the following articles [2-4]. The authors have not responded to any correspondence regarding this retraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To clarify the effect of plant spacing on the growth, yield formation, and quality of sugar beet taproot. We designed field experiments in 2021–2022, and sugar beet variety KWS1176 was used as experimental material, and 9 plant spacing treatments from 8 to 32 cm were set up. The morphological indicators, photosynthetic characteristics, and the nutrient contents were determined at the stages of the leafage growing period (V1), sugar increase period of taproot (V2), sugar accumulation period I of taproot (V3), and sugar accumulation period II of taproot (V4), and the root yield and quality parameters were measured at the harvest. The results showed that in the plant spacing treatments of 11 and 14 cm, sugar beet had a suitable canopy structure and space for taproot growing. The canopy photosynthetic activity was higher, which provided sufficient photosynthetic products for root growth, and appropriate root size could balance root growth and sucrose accumulation. The highest root yield and sugar content were also obtained in the treatment of 14 cm plant spacing. With the increase of plant spacing, the yield of sugar beet decreased, and the content of α-amino N, K+, and Na+ in the root increased, which had a disadvantageous influence on the processing quality of the root. It was found that the number of cambial rings and the average distance between cambial rings could be used as qualitative indicators of the sugar content of taproot and the processing quality. Therefore, 11-14 cm was recommended as a reasonable planting spacing to obtain higher taproot and sugar yield with better quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]