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PURPOSE AND METHODS: Botrytis cinerea is the primary disease affecting cucumber production. It can be managed by applying pesticides and cultivating disease‐resistant cucumber strains. However, challenges, such as drug resistance in pathogenic bacteria and changes in physiological strains, are obstacles in the effective management of B. cinerea. Nano‐selenium (Nano‐Se) has potential in enhancing crop resistance to biological stress, but the exact mechanism for boosting disease resistance remains unclear. Here, we used metabolomics and transcriptomics to examine how Nano‐Se, as an immune activator, induces plant resistance. RESULT: Compared with the control group, the application of 10.0 mg/L Nano‐Se on the cucumber plant's leaf surface resulted in increased levels of chlorophyll, catalase (10.2%), glutathione (326.6%), glutathione peroxidase (52.2%), cucurbitacin (41.40%), and metabolites associated with the phenylpropane synthesis pathway, as well as the total antioxidant capacity (21.3%). Additionally, the expression levels of jasmonic acid (14.8 times) and related synthetic genes, namely LOX (264.1%), LOX4 (224.1%), and AOC2 (309.2%), were up‐regulated. A transcription analysis revealed that the CsaV3_4G002860 gene was up‐regulated in the KEGG enrichment pathway in response to B. cinerea infection following the 10.0 mg/L Nano‐Se treatment. DISCUSSION: In conclusion, the activation of the phenylpropane biosynthesis and branched‐chain fatty acid pathways by Nano‐Se promotes the accumulation of jasmonic acid and cucurbitacin in cucumber plants. This enhancement enables the plants to exhibit resistance against B. cinerea infections. Additionally, this study identified a potential candidate gene for cucumber resistance to B. cinerea induced by Nano‐Se, thereby laying a theoretical foundation for further research in this area. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the molecular epidemiological characteristics and genetic variations of human adenovirus (HAdV) in acute respiratory tract infections in Beijing. Whole‐genome sequencing and phylogenetic analyses were performed for 83 strains of HAdV with different types in Beijing from 2014 to 2019. The clinical characteristics of HAdV infection were analyzed statistically. HAdV‐B was divided into four genotypes, including B3 (n = 11), B7 (n = 13), B14 (n = 4), and B55 (n = 2). HAdV‐C was divided into three genotypes, including C1 (n = 14), C2 (n = 13), and C5 (n = 10). In HAdV‐C, nine recombinant adenovirus strains were identified in type 1, and seven recombinant strains were found in type 2. In type 1, we found three newly emerged intraspecific recombinant strains (A47, A48, and A52) collected in 2017, 2018, and 2019, respectively. In addition, the previously reported recombinant strains of HAdV‐C1 showed more severe disease than other strains of HAdV‐C, causing severe community‐acquired pneumonia in both the elderly and children. Continuous population‐wide molecular epidemiological surveillance of HAdV is essential for the prevention and control of respiratory infectious diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The isomerism of glucaric acids and the complexity of the composition of Leonurus japonicus Houtt. increased the difficulty of the separation of glucaric acids from the herb. In the present study, three glucaric acids were isolated from Leonurus japonicus Houtt. by using high‐speed countercurrent chromatography combined with semi‐preparative high‐performance liquid chromatography. Cation exchange resin chromatography was applied to remove the alkaloids and enrich the glucaric acid fractions. Preliminary separation of the glucaric acid extract by high‐speed countercurrent chromatography was carried out at 45℃ by using an optimized solvent system of ethyl acetate/n‐butanol/formic acid/water (1:1:0.01:2, v/v/v/v) with satisfied stationary phase retention and separation factor. The semi‐preparative high‐performance liquid chromatography was used for further separation and purification of the target fractions, and three monomeric compounds were obtained with purities of 90.0, 91.0, and 95.3%. UV spectroscopy, NMR spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry were employed to identify their structures, which were assigned as 2‐syringyl glucaric acid, 2,4‐disyringyl glucaric acid, and 3,4‐disyringyl glucaric acid, respectively, and 2,4‐disyringyl glucaric acid was reported for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creatinine and purines are gout‐related metabolites commonly quantified by liquid chromatography coupled with ultraviolet and mass spectrometry. However, the high cost of liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry hindered its extensive use in ordinary hospitals and clinical laboratories. Using the traditional liquid chromatography method, the full separation of these metabolites in complex biological samples is still not achieved. In this study, an improved ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet spectroscopy method was reported for quantitative determination of five gout‐related metabolites (i.e., creatinine, uric acid, hypoxanthine, xanthine, and inosine) in human serum within 10 min. A UHPLC system equipped with a hydrophilic C18 column was used to improve separation, shorten analysis time, and increase analysis throughput. The performance of the method was validated by evaluating linearity (squared correlation coefficient > 0.9991), recovery (92.8–100.0%, with relative standard deviation < 4.7%), accuracy (relative errors < 14.6%), precision (0.2‐4.1% for intraday and 2.1‐7.3% for interday) and stability (‐14.1 to 8.3% in autosampler for 12 h and ‐13.3 to 2.2% for freeze‐thaw cycles). This method was successfully applied to quantify gout‐related metabolites in serum samples of healthy controls and gout patients, which was expected to be used in the clinical investigation of gout at different stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitogen activated protein kinase kinase kinase 18 (MAPKKK18) mediated signaling cascade plays important roles in Arabidopsis drought stress tolerance. However, the post‐translational modulation patterns of MAPKKK18 are not characterized. In this study, we found that the protein level of MAPKKK18 was tightly controlled by the 26S proteasome. Ubiquitin ligases RGLG1 and RGLG2 ubiquitinated MAPKKK18 at lysine residue K32 and K154, and promoted its degradation. Deletion of RGLG1 and RGLG2 stabilized MAPKKK18 and further enhanced the drought stress tolerance of MAPKKK18‐overexpression plants. Our data demonstrate that RGLG1 and RGLG2 negatively regulate MAPKKK18‐mediated drought stress tolerance in Arabidopsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) is a small molecule (19–25 nucleotide) noncoding RNA that inhibits the expression of target messenger RNA (mRNA) at the posttranscriptional level as an endogenous regulator. There is an increasing evidence that miR‐199a‐3p has a significant effect on the development of multiple tumors. However, the specific roles of miR‐199a‐3p in myocardial differentiation of embryonic stem cell still need to be investigated. Method of the hanging drop was used to build the model of cardiomyocyte differentiation of stem cell and beating rate of embryoid bodies (EBs) was calculated. The levels of intracellular MEF2C, a‐MHC, GATA4, Nkx2.5, and cTnT mRNA were measured by real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, while the expressions of miR‐199a‐3p were detected simultaneously. Protein levels of MEF2C, a‐MHC, GATA4, Nkx2.5, and cTnT were quantified by western blot analysis. Immunoreactivities of MEF2C and cTnT were analyzed by immunofluorescence. The interaction between miR‐199a‐3p and its predicted target (3′‐untranslated region of MEF2C mRNA) was verified by luciferase assay. MiR‐199a‐3p levels increased during cardiogenesis. MiR‐199a‐3p inhibitor increased the beating rate of EBs and promoted expressions of cardiac‐specific markers (GATA4, Nkx2.5, cTnT, and a‐MHC). Notably, miR‐199a‐3p inhibition brought upregulation of MEF2C, which is the target of miR‐199a‐3p that we predicted and verified experimentally. In addition, MEF2C siRNA decreased miR‐199a‐3p inhibitor promoted EBs beating and attenuated miR‐199a‐3p inhibitor‐induced cTnT and MEF2C expressions. The results above showed that MEF2C was involved in the process of promoting the differentiation of stem cells into cardiac myocytes by miR‐199a‐3p inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Offshore practical training is extremely challenging for undergraduate students from the point of view of security. In order to create a safe training environment for offshore oil and gas engineering education, three virtual emulation laboratories have been developed. The components, functions, and connections of the emulators are described in this paper. The use of these laboratories and the feeling of students are discussed. It is evident from the evaluation of learning outcomes that using such virtual laboratories is a preferred approach to cultivate the practical skills of undergraduate students more safely and economically. Moreover, the confidence and innovative capability are enhanced significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Obsessive-compulsive disorder ( OCD) is associated with deficits in response inhibition and planning, which are governed by the central executive network. The objective of this study was to investigate both intra- and inter-regional resting-state connectivity within the central executive network in OCD. Methods Thirty OCD patients and 30 matched healthy controls were scanned using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. The independent component analysis was used on a separate sample of healthy controls to generate the central executive network mask for the subsequent OCD analyses. Regional homogeneity ( ReHo) and seed-based functional connectivity analyses were used to explore the differences between intra- and inter-regional synchronized activity within the central executive network in OCD patients at rest. Results Increased ReHo and functional connectivity in the key regions of the central executive network, such as the orbitofrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and the angular gyrus, were found in OCD patients. Furthermore, changes in both the ReHo within the orbitofrontal cortex and the functional connectivity between the orbitofrontal cortex and angular gyrus were negatively correlated with OCD duration. Conclusion The increased resting-state functional organization within the central executive network may be related to OCD patients' deficits in cognitive control and symptom progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In the field of oral implantology, there is a trend toward computer-aided implant surgery, especially the application of computerized tomography (CT)-derived surgical templates. However, because of relatively unsatisfactory match between the templates and receptor sites, conventional surgical templates may not be accurate enough for the severely resorbed edentulous cases during the procedure of transferring the preoperative plan to the actual surgery. The purpose of this study is to introduce a novel bone–tooth-combined-supported surgical guide, which is designed by utilizing a special modular software and fabricated via stereolithography technique using both laser scanning and CT imaging, thus improving the fit accuracy and reliability. Materials and Methods: A modular preoperative planning software was developed for computer-aided oral implantology. With the introduction of dynamic link libraries and some well-known free, open-source software libraries such as Visualization Toolkit (Kitware, Inc., New York, USA) and Insight Toolkit (Kitware, Inc.) a plug-in evolutive software architecture was established, allowing for expandability, accessibility, and maintainability in our system. To provide a link between the preoperative plan and the actual surgery, a novel bone–tooth-combined-supported surgical template was fabricated, utilizing laser scanning, image registration, and rapid prototyping. Clinical studies were conducted on four partially edentulous cases to make a comparison with the conventional bone-supported templates. Results: The fixation was more stable than tooth-supported templates because laser scanning technology obtained detailed dentition information, which brought about the unique topography between the match surface of the templates and the adjacent teeth. The average distance deviations at the coronal and apical point of the implant were 0.66 mm (range: 0.3–1.2) and 0.86 mm (range: 0.4–1.2), and the average angle deviation was 1.84° (range: 0.6–2.8°). Conclusions: This pilot study proves that the novel combined-supported templates are superior to the conventional ones. However, more clinical cases will be conducted to demonstrate their feasibility and reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

J. Neurochem. (2010) 114, 237–246. Previously we demonstrated benefits of inhibiting the extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2) signaling pathway in spinal cord ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. To further identify the underlying mechanisms, we investigated the impact of ERK inhibition on apoptosis and cellular protective mechanisms against cell death. Spinal cord I/R injury induced ERK1/2 phosphorylation, followed by neuronal loss through caspase 3-mediated apoptosis. Pre-treatment with U0126, a specific inhibitor of MAPK/ERK kinases 1/2 (MEK1/2), inhibited ERK1/2 phosphorylation, and significantly attenuated apoptosis and increased neuronal survival. MEK/ERK inhibition also induced I-κB phosphorylation and enhanced nuclear factor (NF)-κB/DNA binding activity, leading to expression of cellular inhibitors of apoptosis protein 2 (c-IAP2), a known nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB)-regulated endogenous anti-apoptotic molecule. Pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate, an NF-κB inhibitor, by blocking I-κB phosphorylation, NF-κB activation, and c-IAP2 synthesis, abolished the protective effects of U0126. The MEK/ERK pathway appears to mediate cellular death following I/R injury. The U0126 neuroprotection appears related to NF-κB-regulated transcriptional control of c-IAP2. MEK/ERK inhibition at the initial stage of I/R injury may cause changes in c-IAP2 gene expression or c-IAP2/caspase 3 interactions, resulting in long lasting therapeutic effects. Future research should focus on the possible cross-talk between the MEK/ERK pathway and the NF-κB transcriptional cascade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Finding efficient central nervous system (CNS) delivery approaches has been the major challenge facing therapeutic development for treating diseases with global neurological manifestation, such as mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) IIIB, a lysosomal storage disease, caused by autosomal recessive defect of α- N-acetylglucosaminidase (NaGlu). Previously, we developed an approach, intracisternal (i.c.) injection, to deliver recombinant adeno-associated viral (rAAV) vector to the CNS of mice, leading to a widespread periventricular distribution of transduction. Methods In the present study, we delivered rAAV2 vector expressing human NaGlu into the CNS of MPS IIIB mice by an i.c. injection approach, to test its therapeutic efficacy and feasibility for treating the neurological manifestation of the disease. Results We demonstrated significant functional neurological benefits of a single i.c. vector infusion in adult MPS IIIB mice. The treatment slowed the disease progression by mediating widespread recombinant NaGlu expression in the CNS, resulting in the reduction of brain lysosomal storage pathology, significantly improved cognitive function and prolonged survival. However, persisting motor function deficits suggested that pathology in areas outside the CNS contributes to the MPS IIIB behavioral phenotype. The therapeutic benefit of i.c. rAAV2 delivery was dose-dependent and could be attribute solely to the CNS transduction because the procedure did not lead to detectable transduction in somatic tissues. Conclusions A single IC rAAV2 gene delivery is functionally beneficial for treating the CNS disease of MPS IIIB in mice. It is immediately clinically translatable, with the potential of improving the quality of life for patients with MPS IIIB. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Internuclear ophthalmoplegia is a syndrome produced by a lesion in the medial longitudinal fasciculus. Head trauma is a rare cause. We describe an unusual case of bilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia as an isolated sequela following a minor head injury that resolved completely 3 months later. Methods: Case report. Magnetic resonance images. Results: A 34-year-old male developed typical bilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia after closed head injury. Attempted convergence was normal. Magnetic resonance imaging clearly delineated the focal hemorrhage in the medial longitudinal fasciculus region by showing a small bright lesion in the pontomesencephalic junction in the midline on both T2-weighted and T1-weighted images. The diplopia resolved 4 weeks later. Three months after the accident, his versions were completely normal. Conclusion: Isolated internuclear ophthalmoplegia should be considered in the differential diagnosis when one encounters an adduction deficit in a recently traumatized patient. Magnetic resonance images enhance the ability to correlate the clinical findings with the anatomic lesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]