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Abstract Background Associations between Helicobacter pylori infection and lifestyle factors vary greatly by geographic location. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in the Hunan cohort of central China and analyze the associations between Helicobacter pylori infection and lifestyle factors in different occupations. Methods This was a cross-sectional study. Participants who received an annual physical examination were invited. Helicobacter pylori infection was detected by the 13 C-urea breath test. Self-reported physical examination questionnaires were used to analyze participants’ demographic information, diet, exercise status, and sleep situations. Results 23254 participants finished this study. The Helicobacter pylori infection rate in the Hunan area was 25.8%, with the lowest prevalence in students (8.5%) and the highest prevalence in business managers (29.9%). The risk factors for Helicobacter pylori infection were marital status (divorced or married) (OR:1.16, 95%CI:1.090–1.234), overeating (OR:1.105, 95%CI: 1.001–1.220), and consumption of eggs (OR:1.047, 95%CI:1.004–1.092), animal viscera (OR: 1.077, 95%CI:1.014–1.144) and coffee (OR:1.074, 95%CI:1.019–1.132). Participants’ education level (OR:0.911, 95%CI:0.881-0942), consumption of midnight snack (OR:0.926, 95%CI:0.877–0.977), and vegetable (OR:0.927, 95%CI: 0.884–0.972) were protective factors against Helicobacter pylori infection. Whether participants exercised regularly or had sleep problems had no significant effect on Helicobacter pylori infection. Different professionals showed significant differences in the rates of overeating, eating three meals on time, midnight snack, and consuming coffee, eggs, animal viscera, and vegetables > 3 times/week (P values

Abstracts: Background: In the low-resource rural areas, older adults may experience prolonged and severe depressive symptoms. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between uric acid, depressive symptoms and immunoinflammatory among rural older adults. Method: This case-control study was conducted in 17 rural villages in Hunan Province, China, between January 2023 and April 2024. This study included 180 participants: (1) Rural Older Adults with Depressive Symptoms group:90 patients with first-time diagnosed with depressive symptoms (Geriatric Depression Scale-15, GDS-15 ≥ 5 scores); (2) Control group: 90 individually matched (age and sex) healthy subjects (GDS-15

Photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) has gained increasing popularity in biomedical imaging, providing new opportunities for tissue monitoring and characterization. With the development of deep learning techniques, convolutional neural networks have been used for PAM image resolution enhancement and denoising. However, there exist several inherent challenges for this approach. This work presents a Unified PhotoAcoustic Microscopy image reconstruction Network (UPAMNet) for both PAM image super-resolution and denoising. The proposed method takes advantage of deep image priors by incorporating three effective attention-based modules and a mixed training constraint at both pixel and perception levels. The generalization ability of the model is evaluated in details and experimental results on different PAM datasets demonstrate the superior performance of the method. Experimental results show improvements of 0.59 dB and 1.37 dB, respectively, for 1/4 and 1/16 sparse image reconstruction, and 3.9 dB for image denoising in peak signal-to-noise ratio.

Abstract All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) has emerged as a promising adjunctive treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. However, the mechanism by which ATRA mitigates arthritis remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to explore ATRA alleviation of arthritis and the role of ATRA in regulating intestinal homeostasis. Thus, we established a collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model in Wistar rats. After 6 weeks of ATRA treatment, the arthritis index of CIA rats decreased, synovial inflammation was alleviated, and the disruption of Th17/Treg differentiation in peripheral blood was reversed. Additionally, the Th17/Treg ratio in the mesenteric lymph nodes decreased and the expression of Foxp3 mRNA increased and that of IL-17 mRNA decreased in the colon and ileum. Microscopically, we observed reduced intestinal inflammation. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that ATRA could repair tight junctions, which was accompanied by an increase in the expression of Claudin-1, Occludin and ZO-1. Moreover, ATRA regulated the composition of the gut microbiota, as was characterized based on the reduced abundance of Desulfobacterota and the increased abundance of Lactobacillus. In conclusion, ATRA demonstrates the potential to alleviate arthritis in CIA rats, which might be correlated with modulating the gut microbiota and regulating the intestinal immune response. Our findings provide novel insights into ATRA-mediated alleviation of arthritis.

Introduction Depression is a major global health problem, with high prevalence rates of depressive symptoms observed among the elderly population in China, particularly exacerbating in rural areas. Due to a lack of professional mental health training and inadequate psychotherapy capacity within primary medical staff, rural elderly individuals grappling with depressive symptoms often encounter challenges in receiving timely diagnosis and treatment. In this landscape, the modified behavioural activation treatment (MBAT) emerges as a promising approach due to its practicality, ease of therapist training and application, patient acceptability, and broad applicability. However, existing evidence for MBAT mainly hails from developed countries, leaving a gap in its adaptation and implementation within rural China. This study aims to develop an MBAT training programme for primary medical staff to manage depressive symptoms among rural elderly and evaluate its effectiveness.Methods and analysis A cluster randomised controlled trial will be conducted in 10 randomly selected township hospitals in Lengshuijiang and Lianyuan, Hunan Province. We aim to recruit 150 participants, with 5 township hospitals selected for each group, each consisting of 15 participants. The intervention group will implement the MBAT training programme, while the control group will receive usual care training programme. Depressive symptoms, psychosocial functioning, quality of life and satisfaction will be measured at baseline, immediately post-intervention, and at 3 and 6 months post-intervention. Effectiveness will be assessed using linear or generalised linear mixed models.Ethics and dissemination This study has obtained approval from the Institutional Review Board of the Third Xiangya Hospital, Centre South University (No.: 2022-S261). Results will be disseminated through publication in international peer-reviewed journals and presentations at national and international conferences.Trial registration number ChiCTR2300074544.

Nano zero-valent iron (nZVI) acting as a high-cost disposable material in soil Cr(VI) remediation faces significant challenges due to its easily oxidizable nature and biological toxicity. In addressing this issue, the present study undertook the synthesis of a series of modified nZVI and combined the selected material with Cr(VI)-resistant filamentous fungus Penicillium oxalicum SL2 for real-site chromium pollution remediation. Adsorption experiments demonstrated that the inclusion of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) significantly enhanced the adsorption capacity of nZVI for Cr(VI) by 19.3% (from 73.25 to 87.4 mg/L), surpassing both biochar (37.42 mg/L) and bentonite modified nZVI (48.03 mg/L). Characterization results validated the successful synthesis of the nano composite material. Besides, oxidative stress analysis explained the unique detoxification effects of CMC on SL2, acting as a free radical scavenger and isolating layer. In real-sites soil remediation experiments, a low dosage (0.4% w/w) of nZVI/CMC@SL2 (CMC modified nZVI combined with SL2) exhibited an impressive reduction of over 99.5% in TCLP-Cr(VI) and completely transformed 18% of unstable Cr to stable forms. Notably, nZVI/CMC demonstrated its capability to facilitate SL2 colonization in highly contaminated soil and modulate the microbial community structure, enriching chromium-removing microorganisms. In summary, the synergistic system of nZVI/CMC@SL2 merges as a cost-effective and efficient approach for Cr(VI) reduction, providing meaningful insights for its application in the remediating contaminated site soils.

ABSTRACT: The health benefits of nutritional interventions targeting the gut microbiota in early life are transient, such as probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics. This study sought to determine whether supplementation with Bifidobacterium infantis 79 (B79), 2′-fucosyllactose (2′-FL), or both (B79+2′FL) would lead to persistent health benefits in neonatal BALB/c mice. We found that at postnatal day (PND) 21, Ki67 and MUC2 expression increased, while total serum IgE content decreased in the B79, 2′-FL, and B79+2′-FL groups. The gut microbiota structure and composition altered as well. The levels of propionic acid, sIgA, and IL-10 increased in the 2′-FL group. Moreover, butyric acid content increased, while IL-6, IL-12p40, and tumor necrosis factor-α decreased in the B79+2′-FL group. At PND 56, Ki67 and MUC2 expression increased, whereas the gut microbiota remained altered in all 3 groups. The serum total IgG level increased only in the B79+2′-FL group. In conclusion, our study suggests that early-life supplementation with B79, 2′-FL, or their combination persistently alters the gut microbiome and promotes intestinal development; the immunomodulatory capacity of B79 and 2'-FL occurs during weaning, and their combination may persist into adulthood.

Abstract Background Alexithymia, a subclinical cognitive-affective impairment, is prevalent in older people and increases the risk of mental disorders. There is a vast alexithymia treatment gap, with majority of older people in nursing homes lacking access to adequate mental health care. The study aimed to evaluate the effects of rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) on alexithymia, anxiety, depression and sleep quality of older people in nursing homes. Methods This quasi-experimental study was conducted with two groups (the control group and intervention) from March to November 2021. This study enrolled 86 participants, two of whom were lost to follow-up; 42 received usual care (control group) and 42 received REBT based on usual care (intervention group) in nursing homes. The older people in both groups were evaluated at baseline (T0), within one-week post-intervention (T1), and at 3-month follow-up (T3). Generalized estimating equations were used by SPSS version 26 to assess the differential change in the outcomes between the two groups. Results The intervention group shows significantly greater improvement in alexithymia than the control group at both T1 (β = -8.167, 95%CI= -10.965, -5.368, P

BackgroundThe dynamics of education and student life have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic. Our society, especially the education system, has become largely dependent on the Internet. This paradigm shifts largely took place in the last few decades. As such, there are various ways in which we cannot comprehend the impact that the Internet can have on student psychology, and how multiple other factors could influence that. Internet addiction and its relationship with academic burnout, along with the impact of loneliness, are all essential factors that must be discussed candidly in the post-COVID-19 era. Hence, the objective of this study was, therefore, to explore the relationship between Internet addiction, loneliness, and academic burnout among Chinese college students as well as the mediating role of loneliness.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire survey at a Chinese university from October to November 2022. In total, 810 valid respondents were selected via random cluster sampling using the well-established Internet Addiction, Loneliness, and Academic Burnout Scale. The primary approach of mediation analysis and structural equation modeling testing examined the relationships among the three components.ResultsInternet addiction could be responsible for academic burnout among college students. Loneliness partially mediates the relationship between Internet addiction and academic burnout. In a mediated way, different types of loneliness contribute to different types of academic burnout.ConclusionPsychological interventions for loneliness, especially emotional loneliness prevention, are the critical aspects of the problem of Internet addiction accompanied with academic burnout. The causal relationship between Internet addiction and academic burnout, possibly of a two-way nature, needs to be further explored in the next future.

Introduction Cancer diagnosis and treatment can impair fertility, and younger female patients with cancer have a particularly strong need for fertility preservation. Fertility preservation decision aids are thought to help patients make proactive and informed treatment decisions. This systematic review aims to assess the effectiveness and feasibility of online fertility preservation decision aids for young female patients with cancer.Methods and analysis PubMed, Web of Science Core Collection, Embase, The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PsycINFO and CHINAL, along with three grey literature sources (Google Scholar, ClinicalTrials.gov and WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform), will be searched from each database’s establishment to 30 November 2022. Two trained reviewers will independently screen the articles, and the data extraction and methodological quality of eligible randomised controlled trials and quasiexperimental studies will be assessed. A meta-analysis will be performed using Review Manager V.5.4 (Cochrane Collaboration) software, and heterogeneity will be assessed using I² statistics. If a meta-analysis is not possible, a narrative synthesis will be done.Ethics and dissemination Since this systematic review is based on published data, no ethical approval is required. The study’s findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations.PROSPERO registration number CRD42022363287.

BackgroundEarly adulthood is a vulnerable period for improved nutrition at all phases of the life cycle. However, there is limited research on diversity information in young adults from middle-income countries undergoing an apparent nutritional transition. The purpose of this study was to explore dietary diversity and determinants among young adults aged 18–35 years in central China.MethodsFrom January 2015 to December 2020, a cross-sectional survey of 49,021 young adults in a health management center of central China was conducted through report and phone-assisted self-report for information. The outcome variable was the Dietary Diversity Score. Independent variables included age, sex, race, material status, education, BMI, taste preference, regular meals, midnight snacks, sugared beverage/coffee consumption, and smoking/drinking status. Multivariate logistic regression was performed.ResultsOf 49,021 young adults, 38,374 (78.3%) reported insufficient dietary diversity, and 422 (0.9%) reported sufficient dietary diversity. Light taste preference [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.325; 95% CI: 1.779, 3.039] and those who had meals regularly (aOR = 1.241; 95% CI: 1.018, 1.513) and consumed coffee (aOR = 2.765; 95% CI: 2.257, 3.387) were more likely to be associated with sufficient dietary diversity. Midnight snacks (aOR = 0.728; 95% CI: 0.588, 0.901) and sugary beverages (aOR = 0.666; 95% CI: 0.535, 0.829) were less likely to be associated with sufficient dietary diversity. Higher BMI (aOR = 1.092; 95% CI: 1.061, 1.125) was associated with higher odds of sufficient dietary diversity. Additionally, participants who were 18–30 years old, with master or above degree and away from cigarette/alcohol were more likely to report better dietary diversity.ConclusionOur results painted a less than ideal nutritional condition affecting young adults. High-fat/sugar/salt dietary practices can lead to low dietary diversity, while high dietary diversity might have adverse BMI outcomes in youth. This study highlighted the importance of increasing the diversity of healthy and selective food items before wide recommendation for dietary diversity.

This study aimed to evaluate the possible anti-obesity effects of orlistat and ezetimibe and determine the mechanism by which they alter the composition of gut microbiota and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in mice with a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity. Eighty male, specific pathogen-free C57BL/6J mice aged 3 weeks were divided into four groups (n = 20). The NCD group was fed with a normal diet, and the HFD, HFD+ORL, and HFD+EZE groups were fed with HFD for 20 weeks. From the 13th week onward, the HFD+ORL and HFD+EZE groups were administered with orlistat and ezetimibe, respectively. The glucose and lipid metabolism of the tested mice were evaluated by analyzing blood biochemical indicators during the intervention. Furthermore, the changes in the structure of the fecal microbiota and the fecal SCFA content were analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, respectively. HFD induced the obesity phenotype in mice. Compared to the HFD group, the body weight, visceral fat-to-body weight ratio, serum total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), and oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) of the HFD+ORL group significantly decreased, whereas fecal butyric acid levels significantly increased. Ezetimibe intervention significantly reduced the OGTT, serum TC, and HDL-C levels only. The α-diversity of the gut microbiota significantly decreased after intervention with orlistat and ezetimibe. Orlistat altered the relative abundance of some bacteria in the fecal microbiota. The populations of Firmicutes, Alistipes, and Desulfovibrio decreased, whereas those of Verrucomicrobia and Akkermansia significantly increased. Ezetimibe caused changes only in some low-abundance bacteria, as manifested by a decrease in Proteobacteria and Desulfovibrio, and an increase in Bacteroides. The administration of orlistat and ezetimibe can characteristically influence the body weight and serum lipid metabolism, and glucolipid levels in diet-induced obese mice and is accompanied by significant changes in the gut microbiota and SCFAs. These results suggest that the two drugs might exert their own specific anti-obesity effects by modulating the gut microbiota in a different manner. The enhanced health-promoting effect of orlistat might result from its stronger ability to alter the gut microbiota and SCFAs, at least partly.

ObjectiveTo determine the prevalence of thyroid nodules in Chinese adult women. To analyze the relationships between lifestyle, metabolic syndrome and thyroid nodules.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study in the tertiary hospital from 2017 to 2019. Included participants underwent thyroid color Doppler ultrasonography, lipids examination, and dietary evaluation.ResultsTotally 2,784 participants were included, and 933 participants were found to have thyroid nodule(s) by B-ultrasound. The prevalence of thyroid nodules was 33.3%. Women in 50-59 years (OR: 1.746, 95% CI [1.356-2.249]), older than 60 (2.147 [1.540-2.993]) and occupations with mainly manual work (1.780 [1.367-2.317]) were risk factors for thyroid nodules, while moderate dietary diversity (0.624 [0.476-0.817]) and normal triglycerides level (0.739 [0.604-0.905]) were protective factors.ConclusionWomen over 50 and those whose jobs are mainly manual should enhance screening, follow-up and health management of thyroid nodules. Higher dietary diversity is protective measures against thyroid nodules for adult women and should consider dietary balance and the food varieties, not just increased quantities.

ObjectivesGiven the significance of dietary factors in the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate the association of NAFLD with salt intake and dietary diversity in a medical examination population aged 18–59 years.MethodsData from two Chinese health management centers were utilized between January 2017 and December 2019. The general information, laboratory tests, lifestyle habits, and diet of the participants were all evaluated. Based on alcohol consumption and abdominal ultrasound results, a total of 23,867 participants were divided into the NAFLD (n = 7,753) and control (n = 16,114) groups. Salt intake and dietary diversity were calculated separately for study participants using the spot urine method and dietary diversity scores (DDS). The multilevel logistic model and subgroup analysis were used to analyze the relationship between salt intake, dietary diversity, and NAFLD.ResultsWe found that the prevalence of NAFLD was 32.48%. Salt intake was associated with increased NAFLD (Q2 vs. Q1: OR = 1.201, 95% CI 1.094-1.317, P < 0.001; Q3 vs. Q1: OR = 1.442, 95% CI 1.316-1.580, P < 0.001; Q4 vs. Q1: OR = 1.604, 95% CI 1.465-1.757, P < 0.001), whereas sufficient dietary diversity was a protective factor for NAFLD (Sufficient DDS vs. Insufficient DDS: OR: 0.706, 95% CI 0.517-0.965, P < 0.05). The effects of salt intake and dietary diversity on NAFLD were equally stable in the subgroup analysis.ConclusionsWe can conclude that NAFLD is highly prevalent in medical examination adults aged 18-59 years in China. Furthermore, the risk of salt intake for NAFLD and the protective effect of dietary diversity on NAFLD should be taken into account in the management of NAFLD.

Human dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) is a viable target for the development of therapeutics to treat cancer and immunological diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriasis and multiple sclerosis (MS). Herein, a series of acrylamide-based novel DHODH inhibitors as potential RA treatment agents were designed and synthesized. 2-Acrylamidobenzoic acid analog 11 was identified as the lead compound for structure–activity relationship (SAR) studies. The replacement of the phenyl group with naphthyl moieties improved inhibitory activity significantly to double-digit nanomolar range. Further structure optimization revealed that an acrylamide with small hydrophobic groups (Me, Cl or Br) at the 2-position was preferred. Moreover, adding a fluoro atom at the 5-position of the benzoic acid enhanced the potency. The optimization efforts led to potent compounds 42 and 53‒55 with IC50 values of 41, 44, 32, and 42 nmol/L, respectively. The most potent compound 54 also displayed favorable pharmacokinetic (PK) profiles and encouraging in vivo anti-arthritic effects in a dose-dependent manner.

The aggregation of nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) particles and their limited transport ability in environmental media hinder their application in environmental remediation. In this study, the Cr(VI) removal efficiency, transport performance, and toxicity of nZVI and bentonite-modified nZVI (B-nZVI) were investigated. Compared with nZVI, B-nZVI improved the removal efficiency of Cr(VI) by 10%, and also significantly increased the transport in quartz sand and soil. Increasing the flow rate can enhance the transport of nZVI and B-nZVI in the quartz sand columns. The transport of the two materials in different soils was negatively correlated with the clay composition. Besides, modification of nZVI by bentonite could reduce toxicity to luminous bacteria (Photobacterium phosphereum T3) and ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). Compared with Fe-EDTA, the transfer factors of nZVI and B-nZVI were 65.0% and 66.4% lower, respectively. This indicated that although iron nanoparticles accumulated in the roots of ryegrass, they were difficult to be transported to the shoots. The results of this study indicate that B-nZVI has a strong application potential in in situ environmental remediation.

Catalpa ovata is an ornamental tree species belonging to the Bignoniaceae family and also a valuable wood production plant. In this study, we sequenced the complete chloroplast genome of C. ovata and discussed its phylogenetic relationship. The complete chloroplast genome of C. ovata is 158,279 bp in size, comprising of a large single-copy (LSC, 85,004 bp) and a small single-copy (SSC, 12,675 bp) regions, separated by two inverted repeat regions (IRs, 30,300 bp each). The total GC content was 38.1%. The chloroplast genome contains 131 genes, including 86 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the complete chloroplast genome sequence of C. ovata can be used as a super DNA barcoding to distinguish it from other plants. This study will provide genetic resources for species identification of C. ovata.

The Qiangtang basin is located in the central Tibetan Plateau. This basin has an important structural position, and further study of its tectonic and thermal histories has great significance for understanding the evolution of the Tibetan Plateau and the hydrocarbon potential of marine carbonates in the basin. This study focuses on low temperature thermochronology and in particular conducted apatite fission track analysis. Under constraints provided by the geological background, the thermal history in different tectonic units is characterized by the degree of annealing of samples, and the timing of major (uplift-erosion related) cooling episodes is inferred. The cooling history in the Qiangtang basin can be divided into two distinct episodes. The first stage is mainly from the late Early Cretaceous to the Late Cretaceous (69.8 Ma to 108.7 Ma), while the second is mainly from the Middle-Late Eocene to the late Miocene (10.3 Ma to 44.4 Ma). The first cooling episode records the uplift of strata in the central Qiangtang basin caused by continued convergent extrusion after the Bangong-Nujiang ocean closed. The second episode can be further divided into three periods, which are respectively 10.3 Ma, 22.6-26.1 Ma and 30.8-44.4 Ma. The late Oligocene-early Miocene (22.6-26.1 Ma) is the main cooling period. The distribution and times of the earlier uplift-related cooling show that the effect of extrusion after the collision between Eurasian plate and India plate obviously influenced the Qiangtang basin at 44.4 Ma. The Qiangtang basin underwent compression and started to be uplifted from the middle-late Eocene to the early Oligocene (45.0-30.8 Ma). Subsequently, a large-scale and intensive uplift process occurred during the late Oligocene to early Miocene (26.1-22.6 Ma) and the basin continued to undergo compression and uplift up to the late Miocene (10.3 Ma). Thus, uplift-erosion in the Qiangtang basin was intensive from 44.5 Ma to about 10 Ma. The timing of cooling in the second episode shows that the uplift of the Qiangtang basin was caused by the strong compression after the collision of the Indian plate and Eurasian plate. On the whole, the new apatite fission-track data from the Qiangtang basin show that the Tibetan Plateau started to extrude and uplift during 45-30.8 Ma. The main period of uplift and formation of the Tibetan Plateau took place about 22.6-26.1 Ma, and uplift and extrusion continued until the late Miocene (10.3 Ma). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caenorhabditis elegans striated muscle cells attach to basement membrane and transmit the force of muscle contraction through integrin adhesion complexes. The cytoplasmic tail of #946;-integrin (PAT-3) is associated with a conserved four-protein complex that includes UNC-112 (kindlin), PAT-4 (integrin-linked kinase), PAT-6 (α-parvin/actopaxin), and UNC-97 (PINCH). The proper localization of UNC-112 to muscle integrin adhesion sites requires PAT-4. A recent report (Qadota, H., Moerman, D. G., and Benian, G. M. (2012) A molecular mechanism for the requirement of PAT-4 (integrin-linked kinase (ILK)) for the localization of UNC-112 (kindlin) to integrin adhesion sites.J. Biol. Chem. 287, 28537-28551) suggests a possible molecular mechanism for this requirement: that UNC-112 exists in closed inactive and open active conformations, and conversion to the open active form is promoted by binding to PAT-4 (ILK). Previously, we also reported identification of a single missense mutation in UNC-112, D382V, which abolishes both binding to PAT-4 and normal localization to integrin adhesion sites in vivo. In this report, we describe isolation and characterization of PAT-4 missense mutations that permit binding with UNC-112 D382V and place nine affected residues on a homology model of PAT-4. These nine residues cluster in two regions on the surface of PAT-4, do not overlap the likely binding surface for PAT-6 (α-parvin), and therefore may reside along the interaction surface of PAT-4 for UNC-112 (kindlin). We also show that one of these PAT-4 mutations restores the ability of UNC-112 D382V to localize to integrin adhesions and participate in complex formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]