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Brown planthopper (BPH) is the most destructive insect pest of rice. Drought is the most detrimental environmental stress. BPH infestation causes adaxial leaf-rolling and bulliform cells (BCs) shrinkage similar to drought. The BC-related abaxially curled leaf1 (ACL1) gene negatively regulates BPH resistance and drought tolerance, with decreased cuticular wax in the gain-of-function mutant ACL1-D. ACL1 shows an epidermis-specific expression. The TurboID system and multiple biochemical assays reveal that ACL1 interacts with the epidermal-characteristic rice outermost cell-specific (ROC) proteins. ROC4 and ROC5 positively regulate BPH resistance and drought tolerance through modulating cuticular wax and BCs, respectively. Overexpression of ROC4 and ROC5 both rescue ACL1-D mutant in various related phenotypes. ACL1 competes with ROC4/ROC5 in homo-dimer and hetero-dimer formation, and interacts with the repressive TOPLESS-related proteins. Altogether, we illustrate that ACL1–ROC4/5 complexes synergistically mediate drought tolerance and BPH resistance through regulating cuticular wax content and BC development in rice, a mechanism that might facilitate BPH-resistant breeding. Brown planthopper is a rice-specific piercing-sucking pest. This study reveals that ACL1-ROC4/5 complexes regulate both brown planthopper resistance and drought tolerance in rice through modulating bulliform cell development and cuticular wax content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manipulating grain size demonstrates great potential for yield promotion in cereals since it is tightly associated with grain weight. Several pathways modulating grain size have been elaborated in rice, but possible crosstalk between the ingredients is rarely studied. OsmiR396 negatively regulates grain size through targeting OsGRF4 (GS2) and OsGRF8, and proves to be multi-functioning. Here we showed that expression of GS3 gene, a Gγ-protein encoding gene, that negatively regulates grain size, was greatly down-regulated in the young embryos of MIM396, GRF8OE and GS2OE plants, indicating possible regulation of GS3 gene by OsmiR396/GRF module. Meanwhile, multiple biochemical assays proved possible transcriptional regulation of OsGRF4 and OsGRF8 proteins on GS3 gene. Further genetic relation analysis revealed tight genetic association between not only OsmiR396 and GS3 gene, but also GS2 and GS3 gene. Moreover, we revealed possible regulation of GS2 on four other grain size-regulating G protein encoding genes. Thus, the OsmiR396 pathway and the G protein pathway cross talks to regulate grain size. Therefore, we established a bridge linking the miRNA-transcription factors pathway and the G-protein signaling pathway that regulates grain size in rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microplastics (MPs) are emerging persistent pollutants, and heavy metals are typical environmental pollutants, with their coexistence potentially compounding pollution and ecological risks. However, the interactive impacts and the relevant mechanisms of heavy metal and different types of MPs in plant-soil systems are still unclear. This study investigated the differential impacts of polyethylene MPs (PE MPs) and biodegradable polybutylene adipate MPs (PBAT MPs) on chromium (Cr) uptake in peanuts, focusing on plant performance and rhizosphere soil microenvironment. Compared with nondegradable PE-MPs, biodegradable PBAT MPs produced less significant influences on plant phytotoxicity, soil Cr bioavailability, and soil properties such as pH, CEC, DOC, and MBC, with the exception of MBN in Cr-contaminated soils. Compared to the control, soil pH and cation exchange capacity (CEC) decreased by MPs, while soil-soluble carbon (DOC), microbial biomass carbon, and nitrogen (MBC and MBN) increased by MPs. Compared to the control, soil-bioavailable Cr increased by 11.8–177.8% under PE MPs treatments, while increased by 5.1–156.9% under PBAT MPs treatments. The highest Cr content in shoots and roots was observed at 500.0 mg·kg−1 Cr level, which increased by 53.1% and 79.2% under 5% PE MPs treatments, respectively, as well as increased by 38.3% and 60.4% under 5% PBAT MPs treatments, respectively, compared with the control. The regression path analysis indicated that pH, MBC, MBN, and soil-bioavailable Cr played a vital role in the changes of soil properties and Cr uptake by peanuts induced by MPs. Soil bacterial community analysis revealed that Nocardioides, Proteobacteria, and Sphingomonas were reduced by the inhibition of MPs, which affected Cr uptake by peanuts. These results indicated that the peanut soil microenvironment was affected by PBAT and PE MPs, altering the Cr bioavailability and plant Cr uptake in Cr-contaminated soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The safety of the source of drinking water is important to human health, and monitoring the occurrence of contamination, particularly antibiotics and toxic organic compounds, is critically essential. Such information also helps in managing and improving water quality. However, the degree and details of this contamination in drinking water sources of Guangdong province are still not clear. This study determined the residues of antibiotics and bisphenol compounds (BPs) in three water sources, including two reservoirs and one river, in Guangdong province, aiming to evaluate the drinking water safety and health risk. The results showed that a total of 32 antibiotics and 3 BPs (BPAF, BPs, BPA) were detected in March. The total concentration antibiotics and BPs ranged from not detected (nd) to 243.65 ng/L and nd to 7.47 ng/L, respectively. In August, a total of 35 antibiotics and 3 BPs (BPAF, BPS, BPA) were detected. The total concentrations of antibiotics and BPs ranged from 0.11 to 1793.72 ng/L and nd to 59.15 ng/L, respectively. The concentration of pollutants in August (wet season) was significantly higher than that in March (dry season). Principal component analysis showed that non-point source pollution concentrations increased in river-type water sources. The concentration of pollutants was generally higher in river water than in reservoir water. In addition, seasonal variations were observed. Health risk assessments for antibiotics indicate that chlortetracycline and oxytetracycline pose risks to the 0–3 month and 3–4 year age groups. The results of the ecological risk assessment revealed that in March and August, sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, clarithromycin, lincomycin, roxithromycin, oxytetracycline, and enoxacin posed moderate or high risks. BPS posed a moderate risk at all sampling sites, while BPA presented a high risk. This study reveals the contamination problems of drinking water sources and provides the basis for the pollution control of water in Guangdong Province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acidic wastewater from mining activities contains a large amount of Sb(III). Biochar can provide with an economical and efficacious method for removing of Sb(III). However, highly efficient removal was still challenging under acidic environment. In this study, bamboo charcoal biochar and rice straw biochar were modified with glutaraldehyde and chitosan to examine their Sb(III) adsorption performances in terms of adsorption isotherms, adsorption kinetics and thermodynamics under different treatment conditions, i.e. biochar dosages, pH values, adsorption durations, coexisting substances and temperatures. Characterizations including Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, scanning electron microscope coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry as well as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were employed to further reveal the mechanisms. Results showed that the modified bamboo biochar and modified rice straw biochar showed excellent Sb(III) adsorption efficiency of 94.29% and 93.36%, respectively, under strongly acidic environment. The maximum Sb(III) adsorption capacities of the modified bamboo biochar and modified rice straw biochar reached to 81.16 mg/g and 72.92 mg/g, respectively. Langmuir adsorption isotherm model and quasi-secondary kinetic model best described the adsorption processes. Thermodynamic studies showed that the adsorption of Sb(III) by modified biochar was a spontaneous, exothermic and irreversible process. It was proposed that electrostatic attraction, complexation with functional groups (e.g., C = O, -NH2, -OH), as well as oxidation of Sb(III) were involved in the adsorption processes. The modified biochar has greater removal capacity for Sb(III) than pristine one, suggesting its potential applications for the wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leaf morphology is a crucial agronomic characteristic of rice that influences crop yield directly. One primary cause of rice leaf rolling can be attributed to alterations in bulliform cells. Several HD-ZIP IV genes have been identified to be epidemical characterized and function in leaf rolling in rice. Still others need to be studied to fully understand the overall function of HD-ZIP IV family. Among the nine ROC genes encoding HD-ZIP IV family transcription factors in rice, ROC1 exhibits the highest expression in the leaves. Overexpression of ROC1 decreased the size of bulliform cells, and thus resulted in adaxially rolled leaves. To the contrary, knockout of ROC1 (ROC1KO) through Crispr-cas9 system enlarged bulliform cells, and thus led to abaxially rolled leaves. Moreover, ROC1KO plants were sensitive to drought. ROC1 could form homodimers on its own, and heterodimers with ROC5 and ROC8 respectively. Compared to ROC1KO plants, leaves of the ROC1 and ROC8 double knocked out plants (ROC1/8DKO) were more severely rolled abaxially due to enlarged bulliform cells, and ROC1/8DKO plants were more drought sensitive. However, overexpression of ROC8 could not restore the abaxial leaf phenotype of ROC1KO plants. Therefore, we proved that ROC1, a member of the HD-ZIP IV family, regulated leaf rolling and drought stress response through tight association with ROC5 and ROC8. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the freshwater phytoplankton Scenedesmus, morphological defense induced by infochemicals released from grazers (such as Daphnia) is considered to be a defensive strategy. In this study, we investigated the response of Scenedesmus obliquus to long-term repeated grazing infochemicals exposure, with two stimulation intervals (short period of 4 days and long period of 7 days per round). Results demonstrated that the defensive response of S. obliquus gradually degenerated with periodically repeated exposure to Daphnia infochemicals and the degeneration rate was positively correlated with stimulation frequency, that is, shorter intervals caused a faster decrease in average algal colony size. According to nonlinear regression fitting, a harmonic oscillator function with exponential attenuation could be applied to illustrate S. obliquus morph changes, with which the growth rate was positively correlated. Our study suggests that the optimal defensive colony size in S. obliquus might depend on trade-offs between its anti-grazing defense and other functions. This insight contributes to the understanding of algal inducible defense mechanism, serving as a complement to the optimal defense theory. Additionally, long-term periodic grazing threats without causing concrete damage may disrupt feedback mechanisms and real biomass loss is assumed to be an important precondition for sustaining enduring defensive phenotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clay minerals are abundant on Earth and have been crucial to the advancement of human civilization. The ability of clay minerals to absorb chemicals is frequently utilized to remove hazardous compounds from aquatic environments. Moreover, clay-based adsorbent products are both environmentally acceptable and affordable. This study provides an overview of advances in clay minerals in the field of groundwater remediation and related predictions. The existing literature was examined using data and information aggregation approaches. Keyword clustering analysis of the relevant literature revealed that clay minerals are associated with groundwater utilization and soil pollution remediation. Principal component analysis was used to assess the relationships among clay mineral modification methods, pollutant properties, and the Langmuir adsorption capacity (Qmax). The results demonstrated that pollutant properties affect the Qmax of pollutants adsorbed by clay minerals. Systematic cluster analysis was utilized to classify the collected data and investigate the relationships. The pollution adsorption mechanism of the unique structure of clay minerals was investigated based on the characterization results. Modified clay minerals exhibited changes in surface functional groups, internal structure, and pHpzc. This review provides a summary of recent clay-based materials and their applications in groundwater remediation, as well as discussions of their challenges and future prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lycium barbarum L. has a high concentration of active ingredients and is well known in traditional Chinese herbal medicine for its therapeutic properties. However, there are many Lycium barbarum cultivars, and the content of active components varies, resulting in inconsistent quality between Lycium barbarum cultivars. At present, few research has been conducted to reveal the difference in active ingredient content among different cultivars of Lycium barbarum at the molecular level. Therefore, the transcriptome of 'Ningqi No.1' and 'Qixin No.1' during the three development stages (G, T, and M) was constructed in this study. A total of 797,570,278 clean reads were obtained. Between the two types of wolfberries, a total of 469, 2394, and 1531 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained in the ‘G1 vs. G10,’ ‘T1 vs. T10,’ and ‘M1 vs. M10,’ respectively, and were annotated with Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) orthology identifiers. Using these transcriptome data, most DEGs related to the metabolism of the active ingredients in 'Ningqi No.1' and 'Qixin No.1' were identified. Moreover, a widely targeted metabolome analysis of the metabolites of 'Ningqi 1' and 'Qixin 1' fruits at the maturity stage revealed 1,135 differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) in ‘M1 vs. M10,’ and many DEMs were associated with active ingredients such as flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, and so on. We further quantified the flavonoid, lignin, and carotenoid contents of the two Lycium barbarum cultivars during the three developmental stages. The present outcome provided molecular insight into the dynamics of multiple active ingredients biosynthesis and accumulation across different cultivars of Lycium barbarum, which would provide the basic data for the formation of Lycium barbarum fruit quality and the breeding of outstanding strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the spatial and temporal effects of atmospheric pollutants, using the geographically and temporally weighted regression and geo-intelligent random forest (GTWR-GeoiRF) model and Sentinel-5P satellite remote sensing data, combined with meteorological, emission inventory, site observation, population, elevation, and other data, the high-precision ozone concentration and its spatiotemporal distribution near the ground in China from March 2020 to February 2021 were estimated. On this basis, the pollution status, near-surface ozone concentration, and population exposure risk were analyzed. The findings demonstrate that the estimation outcomes of the GTWR-GeoiRF model have high precision, and the precision of the estimation results is higher compared with that of the non-hybrid model. The downscaling method enhances estimation results to some extent while addressing the issue of limited spatial resolution in some data. China's near-surface ozone concentration distribution in space shows obvious regional and seasonal characteristics. The eastern region has the highest ozone concentrations and the lowest in the northeastern region, and the wintertime low is higher than the summertime high. There are significant differences in ozone population exposure risks, with the highest exposure risks being found in China's eastern region, with population exposure risks mostly ranging from 0.8 to 5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reduce the crop losses associated with biotic and abiotic stresses, novel sensor technologies that can monitor plant health and predict and track plant diseases in real time are required. Plant sensors based on wearable technologies are placed directly on the plant leaf or stem. The health status of the plant is reflected by various biomarkers and microenvironmental parameters, which are converted into electric readouts by the sensors for convenient analysis. Herein, the latest research progress in the field of wearable plant sensors is evaluated, and the sensors are classified according to their individual functions. Moreover, the design principles and working mechanisms of previously reported wearable sensors are analyzed, and the design features adopted to overcome the difficulties associated with precision agriculture are explored. Finally, the challenges and future development prospects in this field are outlined. This review contributes to the growing body of literature on wearable plant sensors, underscoring their critical role in mitigating crop losses through real-time plant health monitoring and disease prediction. Advancements in wearable plant sensors could ultimately revolutionize crop production and sustainability by enabling more precise, efficient, and proactive farming practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this paper is using the analytic methods and the number of the solutions of some congruence equations to study the calculating problem of the fourth power mean of a new two-term exponential sums, and give an exact calculating formula and a sharp asymptotic formula for it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy is a leading cause of late morbidity in childhood cancer survivors. Aberrant DNA methylation plays a role in de novo cardiovascular disease. Epigenetic processes could play a role in anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy but remain unstudied. We sought to examine if genome-wide differential methylation at 'CpG' sites in peripheral blood DNA is associated with anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy. This report used participants from a matched case–control study; 52 non-Hispanic White, anthracycline-exposed childhood cancer survivors with cardiomyopathy were matched 1:1 with 52 survivors with no cardiomyopathy. Paired ChAMP (Chip Analysis Methylation Pipeline) with integrated reference-based deconvolution of adult peripheral blood DNA methylation was used to analyze data from Illumina HumanMethylation EPIC BeadChip arrays. An epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) was performed, and the model was adjusted for GrimAge, sex, interaction terms of age at enrollment, chest radiation, age at diagnosis squared, and cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs: diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia). Prioritized genes were functionally validated by gene knockout in human induced pluripotent stem cell cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. DNA-methylation EPIC array analyses identified 32 differentially methylated probes (DMP: 15 hyper-methylated and 17 hypo-methylated probes) that overlap with 23 genes and 9 intergenic regions. Three hundred and fifty-four differential methylated regions (DMRs) were also identified. Several of these genes are associated with cardiac dysfunction. Knockout of genes EXO6CB, FCHSD2, NIPAL2, and SYNPO2 in hiPSC-CMs increased sensitivity to doxorubicin. In addition, EWAS analysis identified hypo-methylation of probe 'cg15939386' in gene RORA to be significantly associated with anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy. In this genome-wide DNA methylation profile study, we observed significant differences in DNA methylation at the CpG level between anthracycline-exposed childhood cancer survivors with and without cardiomyopathy, implicating differential DNA methylation of certain genes could play a role in pathogenesis of anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The effectiveness of surgical interventions, whether direct or indirect, for Moyamoya disease (MMD) remains controversial. This study aims to investigate CT perfusion (CTP) as an objective method to evaluate the outcomes of different surgical modalities for adult MMD. Methods: The clinical and imaging data of 41 patients who underwent superficial temporal artery-middle cerebral artery (STA-MCA) bypass and 43 who received encephaloduroarteriosynangiosis (EDAS) were retrospectively analyzed. Intra- and intergroup differences in the Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score, the change in clinical symptoms, collateral grade, and CTP parameters pre- and postoperatively were compared. Results: The overall level of the change in clinical symptoms in the STA-MCA group was higher than in the EDAS group (p < 0.05). In the operative area, the relative cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was significantly higher whereas the relative time to peak (rTTP) and the relative mean transit time (rMTT) were significantly lower in the STA-MCA and EDAS groups postoperatively than preoperatively (all p < 0.05). In the ipsilateral frontal lobe and basal ganglia, the postoperative rCBF was significantly higher, and the rTTP was significantly lower than the preoperative in the STA-MCA group (all p < 0.05). The postoperative rCBF improvement was higher in each brain area for STA-MCA than in the EDAS group (all p < 0.05). Conclusion: Highlighting the utility of CTP, this study demonstrates its effectiveness in assessing postoperative cerebral hemodynamic changes in adult MMD patients. STA-MCA yielded a larger postoperative perfusion area and greater improvement compared to EDAS, suggesting CTP's potential to elucidate symptom variation between two surgical revascularization procedures. Critical relevance statement: We analyzed computed tomography perfusion parameters in pre- and postoperative adult Moyamoya disease patients undergoing superficial temporal artery-middle cerebral artery bypass and encephaloduroarteriosynangiosis. Our findings suggest computed tomography perfusion's potential in objectively elucidating symptom variations between these surgical revascularization approaches for MMD. Key points: • Postoperative perfusion improvement is only confined to the operative area after EDAS. • Besides the operative area, postoperative perfusion in the ipsilateral frontal lobe and basal ganglia was also improved after STA-MCA. • The degree of perfusion improvement in each brain area in the STA-MCA group was generally greater than that in the EDAS group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Main conclusion: Sunlight boosts anthocyanin synthesis/accumulation in sunny pericarp of litchi fruit, directly leading to uneven pigmentation. Distribution discrepancy of mineral element aggravates uneven coloration by modulating synthesis/accumulation of anthocyanin and sugar. Uneven coloration, characterized by red pericarp on sunny side and green pericarp on shady side, impacts fruit quality of ‘Feizixiao’ (cv.) litchi. The mechanisms of this phenomenon were explored by investigating the distribution of chlorophyll, flavonoids, sugars, and mineral elements in both types of pericarp. Transcriptome analysis in pericarp was conducted as well. Sunny pericarp contained higher anthocyanins in an order of magnitude and higher fructose, glucose, co-pigments (flavanols, flavonols, ferulic acid), and mineral elements like Ca, Mg and Mn, along with lower N, P, K, S, Cu, Zn and B (P < 0.01), compared to shady pericarp. Sunlight regulated the expression of genes involved in synthesis/accumulation of flavonoids and sugars and genes functioning in nutrient uptake and transport, leading to asymmetric distribution of these substances. Anthocyanins conferred red color on sunny pericarp, sugars, Ca and Mg promoted synthesis/accumulation of anthocyanins, and co-pigments enhanced color display of anthocyanins. The insufficiencies of anthocyanins, sugars and co-pigments, and inhibition effect of excess K, S, N and P on synthesis/accumulation of anthocyanins and sugars, jointly contributed to green color of shady pericarp. These findings highlight the role of asymmetric distribution of substances, mineral elements in particular, on uneven pigmentation in litchi, and provide insights into coloration improvement via precise fertilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curdlan is an extracellular polysaccharide produced by microorganisms with various applications in the food and biomedical fields. In order to reduce the cost of producing curdlan, the production of curdlan by Agrobacterium sp. DH-2 using sugarcane molasses as a carbon source was investigated. Pretreatment of sugarcane molasses reduced the metal content and resulted in an increase in curdlan production compared to untreated molasses. The composition of the medium based on pretreated molasses was optimized for curdlan production. The addition of (NH4)2HPO4 was found to be effective in increasing curdlan production, while the addition of corn steep liquor, CaCO3, KH2PO4, and MgSO4 did not have a significant effect. An orthogonal design was used to optimize the amount of (NH4)2HPO4 added and the sugar concentration of pretreated molasses. Maximum curdlan production of 13.0 g/L was obtained in the optimized medium, which contained a sugar concentration of 60 g/L of pretreated molasses and 1.0 g/L of (NH4)2HPO4. The curdlan produced in the molasses-based medium had an average molecular weight of 0.49 × 106 Da. FT-IR spectra and TGA thermal analysis showed that there were no significant differences between the curdlan produced and commercial curdlan. These results suggested that pretreated sugarcane molasses supplemented with (NH4)2HPO4 as a nitrogen resource could be used for economical production of curdlan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brown planthopper (BPH) is the most destructive insect pest to rice that causes tremendous yield loss each year in rice planting Asia and South-East Asia areas. Compared with traditional chemical-based treatment, utilization of plant endogenous resistance is a more effective and environmental-friendly way for BPH control. Accordingly, quite a few quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for BPH resistance were cloned using forward genetics. However, BPH is apt to change quickly into new biotypes to overcome plant resistance, therefore, new resistance resources and genes are continuously needed. miRNAs are important regulators in both plant development and physiological regulation including immunity, and might be used as effective supplements for BPH resistance QTLs. miR159 is an ancient and conserved miRNA. In this study, we found that each OsMIR159 gene in rice responded to BPH feeding very obviously, and genetic function assay proved them to negatively regulate BPH resistance, with STTM159 showing resistance to BPH, and over expression of OsmiR159d susceptible to BPH. One target genes of OsmiR159, OsGAMYBL2, positively regulated BPH resistance. Further biochemical studies revealed that OsGAMYBL2 could directly bind to the promoter of G-protein γ subunit encoding GS3 gene and repress its expression. And genetically, GS3 responded to BPH feeding promptly and negatively regulated BPH resistance, GS3 over expression plants were susceptible to BPH, while GS3 knock-out plants were resistant to BPH. Thus, we identified new function of OsmiR159–OsGAMYBL2 in mediating BPH response, and revealed a new OsmiR159–G protein pathway that mediates BPH resistance in rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glucose is the most abundant monosaccharide, serving as an essential energy source for cells in all domains of life and as an important feedstock for the biorefinery industry. The plant-biomass-sugar route dominates the current glucose supply, while the direct conversion of carbon dioxide into glucose through photosynthesis is not well studied. Here, we show that the potential of Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 for photosynthetic glucose production can be unlocked by preventing native glucokinase activity. Knocking out two glucokinase genes causes intracellular accumulation of glucose and promotes the formation of a spontaneous mutation in the genome, which eventually leads to glucose secretion. Without heterologous catalysis or transportation genes, glucokinase deficiency and spontaneous genomic mutation lead to a glucose secretion of 1.5 g/L, which is further increased to 5 g/L through metabolic and cultivation engineering. These findings underline the cyanobacterial metabolism plasticities and demonstrate their applications for supporting the direct photosynthetic production of glucose. Photosynthetic glucose production is well controlled due to its complex interactions with other cellular processes. Here, the authors identify that the native glucokinase activity is the bottleneck restricting the metabolism potential for glucose synthesis and engineer a cyanobacterium strain that can produce 5 g/L of glucose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combining environmental isotope analysis with principal component analysis can be an effective method to discriminate the inflows and sources of contamination in mining-affected watersheds. This paper presents a field-scale study conducted at an acid mine drainage (AMD)-contaminated site adjacent to a pyrite mine in South China. Samples of surface water and groundwater were collected to investigate transport in the vadose zone using stable isotopes of oxygen (δ18O) and hydrogen (δD) as environmental tracers. Principal component analysis of hydrogeochemical data was used to identify the probable sources of heavy metals in the AMD. The heavy metal pollution index (HPI) was applied to evaluate the pollution status of heavy metals in the groundwater. The groundwater associated with the Datai reservoir was recharged by atmospheric precipitation and surface water. On the side near the AMD pond, the groundwater was significantly affected by the soluble metals produced by pyrite oxidation. The concentrations of some metals (Al, Mn, and Pb) in all of the samples exceed the desirable limits prescribed by the World Health Organization (Guidelines for drinking-water quality, 4th edn. World Health Organization, Geneva, 2011). Among them, the concentration of Al is more than 30,000 times higher than the desirable limits prescribed by the World Health Organization (2011), and the concentration of Mn is more than 3000 times higher. The HPI values based on these heavy metal concentrations were found to be 10–1000 times higher than the critical pollution index value of 100. These findings provide a reference and guidance for research on the migration and evolution of heavy metals in vadose zone water in AMD-contaminated areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To clarify the ambiguity of the function of CMTM3 in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and explore its molecular mechanism. Methods: The Cmtm3-KO C57BL/6 mouse strain was established using CRISPR-Cas9. Acute liver damage and HCC models were induced by peritoneal injection of 100 or 25 mg/kg.BW N-Nitrosodiethylamine (DEN) to male mice. Liver function and histology were evaluated by blood serum levels of AST and ALT, and HE staining. Gene and protein expression in liver tissues was investigated by RNA-seq, RT-qPCR, Western blotting, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence. Protein–protein interactions were studied by STRING and topological measures. The mRNA expression of CMTM3 and PPARs and patient survival were analyzed using the UALCAN database. Results: Global knockout of Cmtm3 in KO mice was successfully confirmed. Cmtm3 knockout alleviated DEN-induced acute damage to liver histological integrity and liver function, reduced DNA damage and apoptosis, and also caused a significantly reduced number (WT: 8.7 ± 5.5 vs. KO: 2.7 ± 3.1, P = 0.0394) and total size of tumors (WT: 130.9 ± 181.8 mm2vs. KO: 9.3 ± 11.5 mm2, P = 0.026) in the liver. Mechanistically, Cmtm3 knockout resulted in reduced expression and inactivation of Pparγ and its downstream lipid metabolism genes (e.g. Adipoq) upon DEN intoxication. CMTM3 and PPARγ were both overexpressed in HCC, and higher levels of both genes were associated with worse overall survival of HCC patients. Conclusion: This study clarified the pro-tumorigenesis role of CMTM3 in HCC in vivo, possibly through the upregulation of PPARγ and activation of the PPAR pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a typical two-dimensional material, graphitic carbon nitride (g-CN) has attracted great interest because of its distinctive electronic, optical, and catalytic properties. However, the absence of a feasible route toward large-area and high-quality films hinders its development in optoelectronics. Herein, high-quality g-CN films have been grown on Si substrate via a vapor-phase transport-assisted condensation method. The g-CN/Si heterojunction shows an obvious response to ultraviolet-visible-near infrared photons with a responsivity of 133 A·W−1, which is two orders of magnitude higher than the best value ever reported for g-CN photodetectors. A position-sensitive detector (PSD) has been developed using the lateral photovoltaic effect of the g-CN/Si heterojunction. The PSD shows a wide response spectrum ranging from 300 to 1,100 nm, and a position sensitivity and rise/decay time of 395 mV·mm−1 and 3.1/50 µs, respectively. Moreover, the application of the g-CN/Si heterojunction photodetector in trajectory tracking and acoustic detection has been realized for the first time. This work unveils the potential of g-CN for large-area photodetectors, and prospects for their applications in trajectory tracking and acoustic detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: A new physiological disorder, dark pericarp disease (DPD) in litchi fruit is recently observed in South China. DPD occurs after heavy rain and is aggregated by insolation, leading to undesirable fruit appearance. This work aims to reveal the cause of DPD, and seek efficient solutions for it. Methods: A field experiment was conducted to investigate the link between pericarp nutrients and DPD occurrence in litchi grown in soil with abundant available Mn. The antioxidase activities, subcellular location of dark materials, phenol compounds in dark pericarp fruit (DPF) and soil properties affected by dolomite broadcast and dolomite broadcast plus foliar K2SiO3 spray were examined as well. Results: Mn contents in tissues significantly decreased in the order: dark pericarp of DPF > normal pericarp of DPF > pericarp of normal fruit (P < 0.01), indicating that DPD is associated with excessive Mn. Dark materials dominated in the upper mesocarp of DPF. Nanoparticles of dark materials were formed from phenol grains in vacuole, and sequestered into vesicle from vacuole, then excreted to cytoplasm. Dolomite broadcast significantly mitigated DPD by raising soil pH, lowering soil available Mn and regulating antioxidase activities in pericarp (P < 0.05). However, it is unexpected that additional Si spray significantly offset the role of dolomite application, probably due to its alkality. Conclusions: This study first reports that DPD is caused by excessive Mn in litchi. Dark materials are probably comprised of oxidized and/or polymerized phenols in pericarp of DPF. Dolomite application efficiently alleviates DPD, but extra foliar alkaline Si spray counteracts its role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thallium (Tl) is a highly toxic element with two species, Tl(I) and Tl(III). We discovered the Tl uptake in rice exposed to Tl(III) hydroponic treatment was significantly lower than that to Tl(I) treatment, but the content of oxalic acid secreted from roots in Tl(III) treatment was higher than that in Tl(I). The physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying the difference between the two Tl species were studied using a hydroponic system. The results showed the reduction of oxalic acid content had no effect on the amount of Tl on the root surface, indicating oxalic acid might not immobilize Tl to affect the Tl uptake. Therefore, the secretion of oxalic acid from roots may not be a strategy for detoxifying Tl in rice. Notably, Tl(III) increased the expression of Oryza sativa H+-ATPase genes OsAs and the activity of H+-ATPase, and decreased potassium transport gene expression of OsKAT1.1 and OsHKT2;4, which indicated that the difference in Tl uptake of rice between the two Tl species mainly cause by the potassium transport system rather than oxalic acid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with t(8;21)/AML1-ETO is considered to have favorable prognosis. However, outcome is not universally satisfactory. The aim of this study was to search for potential prognostic risk factors which can help individualized treatment in t(8;21) AML patients. All available clinical and laboratory indicators were analyzed retrospectively in 103 t (8;21) AML patients. All patients were followed up for median of 30 months (range 0.3–73 months). CD56 and IDH1 were found to be closely related to high recurrence (p = 0.002; p = 0.001) and incidence of cumulative recurrence (p = 0.001; p < 0.0001). C-KIT was associated with a high cumulative incidence of non-relapse mortality (p < 0.0001). Elevated galectin-3 (gal-3) had a significantly adverse effect on overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) of patients receiving standard-dose cytarabine-based consolidation chemotherapy. In multivariable analysis, gal-3 (p = 0.01), CD56 (p = 0.002), IDH1 (p = 0.007) and C-KIT (p = 0.041) were the independent unfavorable factors for OS. CD56 (p = 0.019), IDH1 (p = 0.001) and consolidation chemotherapy regimen (p = 0.041) were the independent risk factors in terms of DFS. A scoring system incorporating gal-3, CD56, IDH1 and C-KIT proved to be helpful for predicting OS in t (8;21) AML patients. Our results revealed that those carrying four factors mentioned above should be considered to be high-risk patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Browning of fresh-cut eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) reduces its sensory and nutritional qualities and further influences consumption. Polyphenolic oxidases (PPOs) are key enzymes involved in browning, but the mechanisms that regulate the expression of PPO genes are still unclear. Here, 12 SmPPO genes were identified and phylogenetic analysis clustered these genes into four branches. Protein and cis-regulatory element analyses showed that the SmPPO gene family has a conserved gene structure and diverse functions. Gene expression analysis in different tissues showed that the expression of SmPPO2, SmPPO3, SmPPO6, SmPPO7, and SmPPO10 was higher in the flesh of the browning-sensitive inbred line '36' than in the flesh of the browning-resistant line 'Fu'. Furthermore, almost all SmPPO genes in '36' were upregulated at 4 °C and 36 °C compared with those in 'Fu', and the expression increased earlier after harvest. In addition, SmPPO1, SmPPO6, SmPPO7, and SmPPO10 expression was significantly elevated in '36' after 2 days at 36 °C. These results suggest that SmPPOs are key modulators of eggplant browning and provide candidate genes for further research on the mechanisms regulating fruit browning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the high toxicity of thallium (Tl), Tl-containing wastewater has caused severe environmental problems. In this study, we have developed a new sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)–modified nano-FeS material (CMC-FeS) as adsorben to remove Tl(I) from water. The adsorbents are compared with the adsorbents of ferrous sulfide-zero valent iron composite (FeS-Fe). The physical and chemical properties of the adsorbents were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). These adsorption experiments show that the adsorption capacity could reach 86.97 mg/g at a CMC-FeS dosage of 2 g/L. The influence of different pH, solid–liquid ratios, co-existing ions, and temperature on the adsorbent has been investigated. The results show that the adsorbent is a potential adsorbent and the modified method by using sodium carboxymethyl cellulose is a very effective method for removing thallium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Populus euphratica Oliv. response to salinity stress has been mainly studied at a whole-plant level. However, many genes associated with salinity tolerance are constitutively expressed or show strong organ-or tissue-specific, and the relationship between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the antioxidant system has been rarely investigated. In present work, the effects of salinity treatments (0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 mM NaCl) on cell ultrastructure, ROS, antioxidant enzymes, and relevant gene expressions were investigated to get an overview of salinity stress response of P. euphratica micro-shoots under in vitro conditions. Antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), etc., were activated in the presence of low and moderate salt stress (≤ 150 mM NaCl). Regulation of ROS levels and the cellular redox equilibrium, as well as an increase in glutathione (GSH) and ascorbic acid (AsA) content, were also recorded at 150 mM NaCl. PeCu/ZnSOD upregulation occurred 12 h before PeAPX2 upregulation at 100 mM NaCl. The enzymes SOD, APX, CAT, and POD were inhibited by high salinity stress (200 mM NaCl), whereas the level of H2O2 was significantly increased. PeCu/ZnSOD expression increased after 12 h, whereas PeAPX2 expression increased after 36–72 h at 200 mM NaCl. This resulted in a burst of O2.− and H2O2, which accelerated membrane lipid peroxidation, significantly reduced chlorophyll content, and eventually led to chlorosis and cellular damage. In this study, the bigger contributing markers to salt tolerance were AsA, APX, CAT, and SOD. Our results indicated the coordinated alterations between enzymatic, ROS and gene expressions facilitated the resistance to salinity in P. euphratica micro-shoots under moderate salinity. Key message: The micro-shoots of P. euphratica could endure 150 mM NaCl stress. The coordinated changes in PeCu/ZnSOD and PeAPX2 expression and antioxidative enzymes facilitated in vitro Populus euphratica resistance to salinity stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed at to comparing the effectiveness of portable ultrasound guided REBOA vs. traditional manual extracorporeal compression in stopping iliac artery hemostasis. Methods: Twelve swine were included in this study (treatment group vs. control group, 6:6). A biopsy device was used to create an iliac artery rupture and hemorrhage in each swine. After 30 s of bleeding, the treatment group received REBOA under the guidance of ultrasound, whereas the control group received traditional manual extracorporeal compression. General physiological conditions were recorded at 0 s (baseline, T1), 30 s (initiation of therapies to stop bleeding, T2), 10 min (T3) and 30 min (T4) after bleeding. Intraperitoneal and retroperitoneal hemorrhage and specimens of iliac artery were collected after all swine were euthanized. Results: One swine was excluded because of accidental death not related to the experiment; thus, 11 swine were analyzed in this study. The general physiological characteristics of the two groups showed no difference at T1. Hemorrhagic shock occurred in both groups. After the hemostatic procedure was performed, systolic pressure, diastolic pressure and heart rate first increased significantly between T2 and T3, and then became stable between T3 and T4; these indicators in the control group deteriorated over time. The total blood loss in the treatment group (1245.23 ± 190.07 g) was much significantly less than that in the control group (2605.63 ± 291.67 g) with p < 0.001. Conclusions: Performing REBOA under the guidance of portable ultrasound is an effective way to stop bleeding. It suggests a potential alternative method for iliac artery hemostasis in the pre-hospital setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Burkholderia pseudomallei is a Gram-negative intracellular bacterium that causes melioidosis, a life-threatening disease. The interaction of B. pseudomallei with its host is complicated, and cellular response to B. pseudomallei infection is still largely unknown. In this study, we aimed to determine host-cell responses to B. pseudomallei at the proteomics level. We performed proteomic profiling of B. pseudomallei HNBP001-infected mouse macrophage RAW264.7 cells to characterize the cellular response dynamics during infection. Western blot analysis was utilized for the validation of changes in protein expression. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses were conducted using the clusterProfiler R package. Compared with the negative control (NC) group, 811 common proteins varied over time, with a cut-off level of two fold change and an adjusted P-value less than 0.05. The bioinformatics analysis revealed that the proteins significantly changed in the B. pseudomallei HNBP001 infection group (Bp group) were enriched in glycometabolism pathways, including glycolysis, fructose and mannose metabolism, pentose phosphate pathway, galactose metabolism, and carbon metabolism. Western blot analysis verified three selected proteins involved in glycometabolism pathways, namely PGM1, PKM, and PGK1 were increase over time post the infection. Furthermore, in vitro functional analysis revealed an increased glucose uptake and decreased ATP production and O-GlcNAcylation in the Bp group compared with control group, suggesting that B. pseudomallei HNBP001 infection induces changes in glycometabolism in RAW264.7 cells. These results indicate that glycometabolism pathways change in RAW264.7 cells post B. pseudomallei HNBP001 infection, providing important insights into the intimate interaction between B. pseudomallei and macrophages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When an organic ligand named tris(4-(4H-1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)phenyl)amine (L) reacted with Co(NO3)2·6H2O, a new tridimensional polymeric complex with the chemical composition of {[CoL(H2O)]·2NO3·2DMA}n (1) had been resoundingly created in a DMA aqueous solution. Based on the results from the structural analysis, we found that the most suitable efficient heterogeneous catalyst for the Knoevenagel reaction is complex 1. Furthermore, the heterogeneity and catalytic mechanism of the reaction were also explored. Its therapeutic effect and mechanism on breast cancer cell metastasis combined with sevoflurane were explored in this research. Firstly, the inhibitory activity of the compound combined with sevoflurane on the ability of breast cancer migration was determined with trans-well assay. Beyond that, the real-time RT-PCR was performed, and degrees of activation of the YAP signaling pathway were further measured after compound treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spinetoram is one of the most worldwidely used pesticides for its high insecticidal efficacy and low human toxicity. Following the large usage of spinetoram, the ecotoxicity and environmental risks to aquatic ecosystems have call for urgent study. In the present study, we investigated the combined effects of spinetoram and the harmful alga Microcystis aeruginosa in freshwater, on survival and reproduction of Daphnia pulex. Acute toxicity test of spinetoram resulted in negative effects on survival, with a 48-h LC50 value of 37.71 μg L−1. Under the long-time exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations (0.18 and 0.35 μg L−1) of spinetoram and a low composition of Microcystis (30%) in the diet, D. pulex showed both shorter longevity and lower fecundity; the time to first brood also increased. At population level, carrying capacity was highly decreased by spinetoram and Microcystis, whereas a significant decrease of intrinsic growth rate was observed at 0.35 μg L−1 spinetoram with 30% Microcystis as food. The present study highlighted that pesticide spinetoram had highly toxic effects on D. pulex and could reduce the tolerance of D. pulex to M. aeruginosa, causing great effects on D. pulex population in natural waterbodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curdlan is an edible microbial polysaccharide and can be used in food, biomedical and biomaterial fields. To reduce the cost of curdlan production, this study investigated the suitability of cassava starch hydrolysates as carbon source for curdlan production. Cassava starch was hydrolyzed into maltose syrup using β-amylase and pullulanase at various enzyme dosages, temperature, time and addition order of two enzymes. The maltose yield of 53.17% was achieved at starch loading 30% by simultaneous addition β-amylase 210 U/g starch and pullulanase 3 U/g starch at 60 °C for 9 h. Cassava starch hydrolysates were used as carbon source for curdlan production by Agrobacterium sp. DH-2. The curdlan production reached 28.4 g/L with the yield of 0.79 g/g consumed sugar and molecular weight of 1.26 × 106 Da at 96 h with cassava starch hydrolysate at 90 g/L initial sugar concentration. Curdlan produced from cassava starch hydrolysates was characterized using FT-IR spectra and thermo gravimetric analysis. This work indicated that cassava starch was a potential renewable feedstock for curdlan production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible photodetectors (PDs) are indispensable components for next-generation wearable electronics. Recently, two-dimensional (2D) materials have been implemented as functional flexible optoelectronic devices due to their characteristics of atomically thin layers, excellent flexibility, and strain sensitivity. In this work, we developed a flexible photodetector based on MoS2/NiO heterojunction, and Fabry-Perot (F-P) and piezo-phototronic effect have been employed to enhance the responsivity (R) and external quantum efficiency (EQE) of the devices. The F-P effect is utilized to improve the optical absorption of the MoS2, resulting in an enhancement in the photoluminescence (PL) of monolayer MoS2 and the EQE of the photodetector by 30 and 130 times, respectively. The flexible photodetector exhibits an ultrahigh detectivity (D*) of 2.6 × 1,014 Jones, which is the highest value ever reported for flexible MoS2 PDs. The piezo-potential of monolayer MoS2 decreases the valence band offset at the interface of MoS2/NiO, which increases the transfer efficiency of the photon-generated carriers significantly. Under 1.17% tensile strain, the R of the flexible photodetector can be enhanced by 271%. This research may provide a universal strategy for the design and performance optimization of 2D materials heterostructures for flexible optoelectronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of compressible supercapacitors strongly relies on the design of electrode materials combining superior compressibility, high conductivity with the stable electrochemical cycling performance. In this work, we report a facile yet scalable strategy to construct a highly compressible supercapacitor by integrating the current collector, active materials and the separator into one device. We use the highly compressive melamine foam (MF) as scaffold and the Ti3C2Tx nanosheets as the active materials. Filling the few-layer Ti3C2Tx nanosheets into the skeleton of MF by capillary force followed by freeze-drying yields the MF/Ti3C2Tx composite with superior structural integrity that can be compressed at a large strain of 50% for 100 cycles. The electrochemical performances of the all-in-one supercapacitor were systematically investigated under diverse compression strains. The improved conductivity and reduced ion diffusion length allow the all-in-one supercapacitor to exhibit fast ion and electron kinetics even at high strain of 60%, delivering a maximal volumetric specific energy of 0.37 mWh·cm−3 at power density of 0.42 mW·cm−3 and extraordinary cycling performance during the 2,500 compression cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quest for solar-blind photodetectors with outstanding optoelectronic properties and weak signals detection capability is essential for their applications in the field of imaging, communication, warning, etc. To date, Ga2O3 has demonstrated potential for high-performance solar-blind photodetectors. However, the performance usually decays superlinearly at low light intensities due to carrier-trapping effect, which limits the weak signal detection capability of Ga2O3 photodetectors. Herein, a Ga2O3 solar-blind photodetector with ultra-thin absorbing medium has been designed to restrain trapping of photo-generated carriers during the transporting process by shortening the carrier transport distance. Meanwhile, multiple-beam interference is employed to enhance the absorption efficiency of the Ga2O3 layer using an Al/Al2O3/Ga2O3 structure. Based on the ultra-thin absorbing medium with enhanced absorption efficiency, a 7 × 7 flexible photodetector array is developed, and the detectivity can reach 1.7 × 1015 Jones, which is among the best values ever reported for Ga2O3 photodetectors. Notably, the performance of the photodetector decays little as the illumination intensity is as weak as 5 nW/cm2, revealing the capacity to detect ultra-weak signals. In addition, the flexible photodetector array can execute the functions of imaging, spatial distribution of light source intensity, real-time light trajectory detection, etc. Our results may provide a route to high-performance solar-blind photodetectors for ultra-weak light detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been successfully applied to a variety of complex diseases and identified many genetic variants underlying complex diseases via single marker tests, there is still a considerable heritability of complex diseases that could not be explained by GWAS. One alternative approach to overcome the missing heritability caused by genetic heterogeneity is gene-based analysis, which considers the aggregate effects of multiple genetic variants in a single test. Another alternative approach is transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS). TWAS aggregates genomic information into functionally relevant units that map to genes and their expression. TWAS is not only powerful, but can also increase the interpretability in biological mechanisms of identified trait associated genes. In this study, we propose a powerful and computationally efficient gene-based association test, called Overall. Using extended Simes procedure, Overall aggregates information from three types of traditional gene-based association tests and also incorporates expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) information into a gene-based association test using GWAS summary statistics. We show that after a small number of replications to estimate the correlation among the integrated gene-based tests, the p values of Overall can be calculated analytically. Simulation studies show that Overall can control type I error rates very well and has higher power than the tests that we compared with. We also apply Overall to two schizophrenia GWAS summary datasets and two lipids GWAS summary datasets. The results show that this newly developed method can identify more significant genes than other methods we compared with. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acronicta rumicis Linnaeus, 1758 is a notorious lepidopteran pest species that feed on economically impotant plants, including pears, apples and peaches. The outbreak of this pest can cause severe financial losses and threatens food security. Herein, we sequenced and annotated the entire mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of A. rumicis. The A. rumicis mitogenome was 15,384 bp in size, containing 37 genes (13 protein coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), 2 ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs)) usually found in lepidopteran mitogenomes. The mitogenome's nucleotide composition was highly biased towards using A and T, with positive AT skew and negative GC skew. All PCGs were initiated by typical ATN codons, except for the cox1, which was initiated by the CGA codon. The secondary structure of trnS1 lacked the common dihydrouridine (DHU) arm and replaced by a single loop. The seven bp overlapping region 'ATGATAA' located between atp6 and atp8, and the spacer region between trnS2 and nad1 contained an 'ATACTAA' motif, which are common in other sequenced lepidopterans. The A + T rich region was 370 bp and included a 'ATAGA' motif followed by a 19 bp poly-T stretch and a (AT)10 repeats. The phylogenetic analyses using the Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Bayesian Inference (BI) methods supported A. rumicis belonging to the subfamily Acronictinae. Furthermore, this study clarified a novel and monophyly relationship among Noctuidae with mitogenome data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the value of computed tomography perfusion (CTP) imaging for evaluating the efficacy of encephaloduroarteriosynangiosis (EDAS) treatment of moyamoya syndrome (MMS). Methods: Forty-three patients with MMS (48 hemispheres) who received EDAS treatment were examined using CTP and DSA before and after surgery. CTP of the ipsilateral cortex, contralateral mirror area, and pons region were measured, and the relative cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and volume (rCBV), mean transit time (rMTT), and time-to-peak (rTTP) were calculated. Based on postoperative DSA, 48 hemispheres were apportioned to two groups based on rich (grades 2, 3) or poor (grades 0, 1) collateral vessel formation, and the pre- and post-operative differences in perfusion changes were compared. The association between clinical outcome, CTP, and the degree of DSA collateral vessels was explored. Results: rCBF and rMTT significantly improved in both the poor and rich collateral vessel formation groups (n = 21 and 27, respectively), while rTTP significantly improved only in the latter. Postoperative CTP improved in the rich and the grade 1 collateral vessel groups (p < 0.01). The clinical improvement was consistent with the improvement of CTP (p = 0.07), but less consistent with the degree of collateral angiogenesis (p = 0.003). Conclusion: CTP can quantitatively evaluate the improvement of brain tissue perfusion in the operated area after EDAS. Brain tissue perfusion in operated areas improved regardless of postoperative rich or poor collateral vessel formation observed via DSA. A significant improvement in rTTP in the operated area may indicate the formation of abundant collateral vessels. Key Points: • CTP showed that brain tissue perfusion in the operated area after EDAS improved regardless of rich or poor collateral vessel formation observed via DSA. • Significant improvement of rTTP in the operated area may indicate the formation of abundant collateral vessels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parenchyma cells and fibers are the two dominant types of cells in the bamboo culm. Their mechanical and biological functions in bamboo differ substantially, derived from their cell wall structures and chemical compositions. The objective of this work was to comparatively study the hygroscopicity and the thermal degradation of bamboo fibers and parenchyma cells in order to better understand how to optimize heat treatment of bamboo. FTIR spectroscopy showed that parenchyma cells had a higher hemicellulose content and higher S/G lignin ratio than bamboo fibers based on the spectral changes at 1602 cm−1 with respect to 1505 cm−1. Upon heat treatment, spectral changes related to esterification reactions and loss of hydroxyl groups were observed. The heat treatment reduced hygroscopicity of parenchyma cells more than for bamboo fibers due to their lower thermal stability attributed to the higher hemicellulose content and less compact cell wall structure. Although heat treatment at 180 °C could improve the thermal stability of bamboo, mild heat treatments at 140 °C and 160 °C were found to be adequate to facilitate the degradation of bamboo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The level, source, and risk of toxic elements in traditional agricultural soils are particularly crucial for the sustainable development of agriculture. An important agricultural production base was selected, a total of 251 topsoil samples were collected, eight toxic elements (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Zn) in soil were analyzed, and environmental and health risk assessments were conducted. Results showed that all concentrations of eight elements in soil samples were lower than the risk screening values with negligible pollution risk. Approximately 83.8% of Hg in soil was originated from atmospheric deposition related to industrial emissions, 53.2% of Cd was derived from direct industrial activities, and the other elements came from soil parent materials or agricultural activities. Accumulation risk of As in agricultural products, potential ecological risk from Cd, and As's ingestion risk and Cr's dermal contact risk should be paid more attention. More stricter monitoring and coping countermeasures and strategies should be established to ensure the sustainable development of agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fresh-cut processing promotes enzymatic browning of fresh fruits and vegetables, which negatively affects the product appearance and impacts their nutrition. We used RNA-sequencing to analyze the transcriptomic changes occurring during the browning of fresh-cut eggplant fruit samples from both browning-sensitive and browning-resistant cultivars to investigate the molecular mechanisms involved in browning. A total of 8347 differentially expressed genes were identified, of which 62 genes were from six gene families (i.e., PPO, PAL, POD, CAT, APX, and GST) potentially associated with enzymatic browning. Furthermore, using qRT-PCR, we verified 231 differentially regulated transcription factors in fresh-cut eggplant fruits. The enzyme activities of PPO, POD, PAL, and CAT in '36' were significantly higher than those of 'F' fresh-cut for 15 min. Both PPO and POD play a major role in the browning of eggplant pulp and might therefore act synergistically in the browning process. Meanwhile, qPCR results of 18 browning related genes randomly screened in 15 eggplant materials with different browning tolerance showed variant-specific expression of genes. Lastly, gene regulatory networks were constructed to identify the browning-related genes. This work provides a basis for future molecular studies of eggplants, and lays a theoretical foundation for the development of browning-resistant fresh-cut fruits and vegetables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endoplasmic reticulum stress (ER stress) plays a critical role in neuronal apoptosis along with the aggravation of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that is involved in regulating ER stress in Alzheimer's disease (AD), therefore, this protein could be a promising therapeutic target for AD. Vanadium compounds, such as vanadyl acetylacetonate, sodium metavanadate and bis(maltolato)oxovanadium, are well-known as puissant PPARγ modulators. Thus, we are curious whether bis(ethylmaltolato)oxidovanadium (IV) (BEOV) can ameliorate ER stress and subsequent neuronal apoptosis by regulating PPARγ in AD models. To this end, we determined the effect of BEOV on behavioral performance, ER stress and neuronal apoptosis in the triple transgenic mouse AD model (3×Tg-AD). Our results showed that BEOV improved cognitive abilities and reduced the ER stress- and apoptosis-associated proteins in the brains of 3×Tg-AD mice. In vitro administration of BEOV in primary hippocampal neurons and N2asw cells achieved similar results in repressing ER stress. In addition, cotreatment with GW9662 (an antagonist of PPARγ) effectively blocked these neuroprotective effects of BEOV, which provided strong evidence that PPARγ-dependent signaling plays a key role in protecting against ER stress and neuronal apoptosis in AD. In conclusion, our data demonstrated that BEOV alleviated neuronal apoptosis triggered by ER stress by regulating PPARγ in a 3×Tg-AD model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Florfenicol is a chloramphenicol antibiotic that plays an essential role on bacteriostasis. Long-term use of florfenicol in livestock and poultry can cause immunetoxicity and reproductive toxicity and the consumption of animal-derived products with excessive residues of florfenicol will pose a certain threat to human health. To study residue depletion of oral florfenicol in chickens, 48 healthy 30 -day -old AA broilers received continuous administration of 150 mg/kg/d florfenicol for five days. Muscle, liver, kidney and sebum were collected at 0.16, 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 days after discontinuation of the drug and detected by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). Most previous studies have shown that acid hydrolysis is necessary for tissue sample extraction. However, the steps of acid hydrolysis are tedious and time-consuming. In this experiment, we tried to improve the solvent extraction method to simplify the pretreatment process and the effect of acid hydrolysis was further analyzed and compared. Using the WT1.4 software the withdrawal time in muscle, liver, kidney and sebum obtained by F-QuEChERS-AOAC 3202 method was 7.82, 0.06, 4.38, 13.71 days respectively while acid hydrolysis method were 8.89, 5.84, 5.39 and 9.65 days, respectively. To reduce the residues of florfenicol and ensure the safety of chicken products, it is recommended that chickens taking oral florfenicol should be subjected to a 14 -days withdrawal time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the combination of equivalence transformation and dynamical system method is performed for Harry-Dym (H-D) system. By means of the improved CK direct method, we give the relationship between the variable coefficients H-D system and the corresponding constant coefficients one. Then, the bifurcation of the nonlinear H-D system is obtained, and the existence of possible solitary wave solutions and some uncountably infinite periodic wave solutions are given by using dynamical system method. Furthermore, the explicit parametric representations of the exact solutions of the system are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]