Glufosinate-ammonium causes liver injury in zebrafish by blocking the Nrf2 pathway.

Glufosinate-ammonium (GLA) is a widely used herbicide, but less research has been done on its harmful effects on non-target organisms, especially aquatic organisms. In this study, 600 adult zebrafish were exposed to different concentration of GLA (0, 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, and 20 mg/L) for 7 days, and the livers were dissected on the eighth day to examine the changes in liver structure, function, oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, and Nrf2 pathway, and finally to clarify the mechanism of GLA induced liver injury in zebrafish. The levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, reactive oxygen species, malondialdehyde, inflammatory factors (IL-6 and TNF-α), and caspase-3 gradually increased, while the levels of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione, and glutathione peroxidase gradually decreased with the increase of GLA concentration. The Nrf2 pathway was activated at low concentrations (1.25-5 mg/L) and significantly inhibited at high concentrations (10 and 20 mg/L). These results suggested that GLA could cause oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis in zebrafish liver. Therefore, GLA can cause liver injury in zebrafish, and at high concentrations, the inhibition of Nrf2 pathway is one of the important causes of liver injury.

Impact mechanism of social-related social media use on the job performance of caregivers of older adults.

This study investigated the impact mechanism of social-related social media use on the job performance of caregivers of older adults through mental health and analyzed gender differences. A total of 358 valid questionnaires were collected and analyzed using SPSS and Smart PLS. The results showed that mental health plays an important role in the relationship between social-related social media use and job performance. Such social media use can improve psychological well-being and reduce psychological distress by promoting relaxation experience. Psychological well-being has a significant positive impact on job performance. In addition, significant differences exist in the impact path of social-related social media use on psychological distress among different gender groups. The findings of this study can assist nursing homes in assessing the use of social media within their organizations and provide methodological references for enhancing the job performance of caregivers of older adults.

The adaptive evolution of Euryale ferox to the aquatic environment through paleo-hexaploidization.

Occupation of living space is one of the main driving forces of adaptive evolution, especially for aquatic plants whose leaves float on the water surface and thus have limited living space. Euryale ferox, from the angiosperm basal family Nymphaeaceae, develops large, rapidly expanding leaves to compete for space on the water surface. Microscopic observation found that the cell proliferation of leaves is almost completed underwater, while the cell expansion occurs rapidly after they grow above water. To explore the mechanism underlying the specific development of leaves, we performed sequences assembly and analyzed the genome and transcriptome dynamics of E. ferox. Through reconstruction of the three sub-genomes generated from the paleo-hexaploidization event in E. ferox, we revealed that one sub-genome was phylogenetically closer to Victoria cruziana, which also exhibits gigantic floating leaves. Further analysis revealed that while all three sub-genomes promoted the evolution of the specific leaf development in E. ferox, the genes from the sub-genome closer to V. cruziana contributed more to this adaptive evolution. Moreover, we found that genes involved in cell proliferation and expansion, photosynthesis, and energy transportation were over-retained and showed strong expression association with the leaf development stages, such as the expression divergence of SWEET orthologs as energy uploaders and unloaders in the sink and source leaf organs of E. ferox. These findings provide novel insights into the genome evolution through polyploidization, as well as the adaptive evolution regarding the leaf development accomplished through biased gene retention and expression sub-functionalization of multi-copy genes in E. ferox.

Efficacy and Safety of Ferric Citrate on Hyperphosphatemia among Chinese Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease Undergoing Hemodialysis: A Phase III Multicenter Randomized Open-Label Active-Drug-Controlled Study.

INTRODUCTION: Hyperphosphatemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients is positively associated with mortality. Ferric citrate is a potent phosphorus binder that lowers serum phosphorus level and improves iron metabolism. We compared its efficacy and safety with active drugs in Chinese CKD patients with hemodialysis. METHODS: Chinese patients undergoing hemodialysis were randomized into two treatment groups in a 1:1 ratio, receiving either ferric citrate or sevelamer carbonate, respectively, for 12 weeks. Serum phosphorus levels, calcium concentration, and iron metabolism parameters were evaluated every 2 weeks. Frequency and severity of adverse events were recorded. RESULTS: 217 (90.4%) patients completed the study with balanced demographic and baseline characteristics between two groups. Ferric citrate decreased the serum phosphorus level to 0.59 ± 0.54 mmol/L, comparable to 0.56 ± 0.62 mmol/L by sevelamer carbonate. There was no significant difference between two groups (p > 0.05) in the proportion of patients with serum phosphorus levels reaching the target range, the response rate to the study drug, and the changes of corrected serum calcium concentrations, and intact-PTH levels at the end of treatment. The change of iron metabolism indicators in the ferric citrate group was significantly higher than those in the sevelamer carbonate group. There are 47 (40.5%) patients in the ferric citrate group, and 26 (21.3%) patients in the sevelamer carbonate group experienced drug-related treatment emergent adverse events (TEAEs); most were mild and tolerable. Common drug-related TEAEs were gastrointestinal disorders, including diarrhea (12.9 vs. 2.5%), fecal discoloration (14.7 vs. 0%), and constipation (1.7 vs. 7.4%) in ferric citrate and sevelamer carbonate group. CONCLUSION: Ferric citrate capsules have good efficacy and safety in the control of hyperphosphatemia in adult patients with CKD undergoing hemodialysis. Efficacy is not inferior to sevelamer carbonate. The TEAEs were mostly mild and tolerated by the patients.

Combined analysis of microRNA and mRNA profiles provides insights into the pathogenic resistant mechanisms of the lotus rhizome rot.

Lotus rhizome rot caused by Fusarium oxysporum is a common vascular fungal disease in plants that significantly impacts the yield. However, only a few studies have studied the mechanism of Nelumbo nucifera responding to lotus rhizome rot. Here, we investigated the pathogenic genes and miRNAs in lotus rhizome rot to uncover the pathogenic resistant mechanisms by transcriptome and small RNA sequencing of lotus roots after inoculation with Fusarium oxysporum. GO and KEGG functional enrichment analysis showed that differential miRNAs were mostly enriched in starch and sucrose metabolism, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, glutathione metabolism, brassinosteroid biosynthesis and flavonoid biosynthesis pathways. Twenty-seven upregulated miRNAs, 19 downregulated miRNAs and their target genes were identified. Correlation analysis found that miRNAs negatively regulate target genes, which were also enriched in starch and sucrose metabolism and glutathione metabolism pathways. Their expression was measured by reverse transcription quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR), and the results were consistent with the transcriptome analysis, thus verifying the reliability of transcriptome data. We selected three miRNAs (miRNA858-y, miRNA171-z and a novel miRNA novel-m0005-5p) to test the relationship between miRNAs and their target genes. The activity of the GUS testing assay indicated that miRNA could decrease the GUS activity by inhibiting the expression of their target genes. Collectively, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of transcriptome and small RNA sequencing of lotus root after inoculation with Fusarium oxysporum, and we identified candidate miRNAs and their target genes for breeding strategies of Nelumbo nucifera.

The willingness to continue using wearable devices among the elderly: SEM and FsQCA analysis.

BACKGROUND: With population aging and the scarcity of resources for elderly individuals, wearable devices pose opportunities and challenges for elderly care institutions. However, few studies have examined the effects of technical characteristics, personal characteristics, and health promotion on the willingness of elderly individuals to continue using wearable devices. OBJECTIVE: This study explored the effects of technical characteristics and personal characteristics on the willingness of elderly individuals to continue using wearable devices through health promotion, drawing on the technology acceptance model and the value attitude behaviour model. METHODS: We obtained 265 valid samples through questionnaire surveys and used structural equation modelling (SEM) and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (FsQCA) to clarify the complex causal patterns of elderly people's willingness to continue using wearable devices. RESULTS: The SEM results showed that perceived usefulness, perceived reliability, self-perceived ageing, and health promotion affected willingness to continue using wearable devices. However, perceived ease of use had no effect. FsQCA showed that elderly individuals are highly willing to continue using wearable devices, yielding five solutions. Perceived ageing was essential in four of these solutions. The impact of perceived ease of use on continued use intention was dynamic and complex. CONCLUSIONS: This study used two methods to provide insight into the willingness of elderly individuals to continue using wearable devices. In addition, this study discussed associated implications, limitations, and future research directions.

High prevalence of blaTEM-135 and genetic epidemiology of blaTEM-135-carrying Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates in Shandong, China, 2017-19.

BACKGROUND: Only one additional specific SNP in blaTEM-135 in penicillinase-producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae (PPNG) isolates is required for TEM-135 to evolve into an ESBL that is capable of degrading all extended-spectrum cephalosporins (ESCs). METHODS: Identification of the blaTEM-135 gene was achieved by performing a mismatch amplification mutation assay PCR. PPNG isolates were then genotyped using MLST and N. gonorrhoeae multiantigen sequence typing (NG-MAST) techniques. Finally, phylogenetic analyses based on MLST and NG-MAST were performed on all of the PPNG isolates, and genogroups were classified according to the phylogenetic relatedness on the basis of each MLST and NG-MAST gene typing and the blaTEM allele varieties. RESULTS: Among the 197 PPNG isolates, one (0.5%) isolate possessed the blaTEM-220 allele, 90 (45.7%) possessed the blaTEM-135 allele, and 106 (53.8%) possessed the blaTEM-1 allele. Among the blaTEM-135-carrying PPNG isolates, MLST ST8109 (n = 30) and NG-MAST ST12199 (n = 5), ST12754 (n = 5) and ST15073 (n = 5) were the most prevalent in the Shandong province of China. The phylogenetic analyses revealed that MLST ST8109, ST8140 and ST14417, mainly carrying the blaTEM-135 allele, belonged to the same genogroup, G1, while NG-MAST ST12199 and ST15073, mainly carrying the blaTEM-135 allele, belonged to the same genogroup, Ga. CONCLUSIONS: This study has shown that the molecular epidemiology of PPNG isolates carrying the blaTEM-135 allele in Shandong has a dynamically changing status. Therefore, it is very pressing to continuously monitor the prevalence and mutation of the blaTEM-135 allele and the genetic epidemiology of PPNG isolates carrying the blaTEM-135 allele in this district.

Span 85-Based Macromolecular Stabilizer for the Preparation of PMMA Colloidal Particles in a Nonpolar Media.

Colloidal particles in a nonpolar media are closely correlated to industrial applications in particular particle-based electrophoretic display techniques. However, the synthesis of the commonly used poly(12-hydroxystearic acid)(PHSA)-based stabilizers for the dispersion polymerization of polymer particles in nonpolar solvent are troublesome. We report a sorbitan trioleate (Span 85)-based macromolecular copolymer stabilizer that can be easily synthesized and used for the preparation of PMMA particles in a nonpolar solvent. This is realized by synthesizing random copolymers of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and polymerizable sorbitan trioleate (M-Span 85), and the latter can be synthesized from the commercial product Span 85. Using this stabilizer, the resulting PMMA particles have narrow size distribution and tunable diameters. With the stabilizers, transferring water-dispersible particles to a nonpolar solvent and further preparing core/shell particles was verified to be a useful route. This provides an effective approach for using water-dispersible functional nanoparticles in nonpolar environments. In addition, the prepared PMMA particles are demonstrated to be a useful model system to study crystallization or glass transitions by quantitative confocal microscopy.

Novel method for effectively amplifying human peripheral blood T cells in vitro.

The use of chimeric antigen receptor-modified T cells (CAR T cells) is an effective therapy for advanced cancer, especially hematological malignancies, and this method has attracted widespread attention in the last several years. The type, number and vitality of the effector cells clearly play important roles in this approach. In this study, to expand the possibility of curing cancer through adoptive cell therapy (ACT), we developed a novel method for effectively obtaining abundant T cells in vitro. The fusion proteins of three cytokines, SA-hIL-2, SA-hIL-7 and SA-hIL-21, were anchored onto biotin magnetic beads to increase the number of cytokines on the surface of the magnetic beads, which increased the local concentration of cytokines and thus promoted the binding of cytokines to T cells. Next, we examined the effects of these modified magnetic beads on the proliferation rate of T cells and CD19 CAR T cells. In this study, we report the expression and purification of the active bifunctional fusion proteins SA-hIL-2, SA-hIL-7 and SA-hIL-21, which were bound to biotin magnetic beads to develop a platform that was employed to increase the local concentration of cytokines. When the cells had been cultured for 14 days, the proliferation rate of the CD3+ T cells in the group that received cytokine-coupled biotin magnetic beads (Beads-SA-CK) was higher than that of the cells in the groups that received soluble cytokines (Soluble-SA-CK) and that of the cells in the standard group (Standard-CK). We speculate that this difference may be the result of the increased expression of Bcl-2 and the increased phosphorylation of Stat5. Moreover, our results preliminarily indicate that compared with the other two treatments, Soluble-SA-CK and Standard-CK, adding cytokine-coupled biotin magnetic beads more effectively increases the proliferation rate of CD19 CAR-T cells. As expected, the CD19 CAR-T cells stimulated by Beads-SA-CK had a stronger anticancer effect than the cells stimulated by the other two treatments. An effective method of preparing abundant T cells in vitro was developed, and it may provide a novel strategy for ACT.

Serum amyloid a, C-reactive protein, and procalcitonin levels in children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection.

BACKGROUND: Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) is a common pathogen of community-acquired pneumonia in children. In the present study, serum amyloid A (SAA), C-reactive protein (CRP), and procalcitonin (PCT) levels in children with MP infection were analyzed and the differential diagnoses of MP evaluated. METHODS: The study included 152 children with MP infection hospitalized in Tai'an Central Hospital in Shandong Province and 50 healthy children as controls. SAA, CRP, and PCT, as well as serum immunoglobulins and T lymphocyte subsets were analyzed during the acute and convalescent phases. Among the MP-infected children, 30 cases were selected to monitor the SAA, immunoglobulins, and T lymphocyte subset levels for a week. RESULTS: The SAA, CRP, PCT, IgA, and IgM levels were significantly higher in the MP-infected group than in the control group (F(SAA) = 83.91, p < 0.05; F(CRP) = 40.79, p < 0.05; F(PCT) = 60.58, p < 0.05; F(IgA) = 43.45, p < 0.05; F(IgM) = 233.88, p < 0.05). In addition, the levels of these factors were significantly higher in the acute phase than in the convalescent phase (p < 0.05). However, significant difference was not observed in the IgG level between these two groups (p > 0.05). The CD3+ and CD4+ levels in the MP-infected group were lower than in the control group ( F(CD3+) = 60.58, P < 0.05; F(CD4+) = 89.05, p < 0.05), and the CD8+ level was higher than in the control group ( F(CD8+) = 96.96, p < 0.05). The CD3+ , CD4+ , and CD8+ levels were significantly different between the acute phase and the convalescent phase (CD3+ : acute phase vs. convalescent phase, q = 2.79, p < 0.05; CD4+ : acute phase vs. convalescent phase, q = 2.83, p < 0.05; CD8+ : acute phase vs. convalescent phase, q = 3.15, p < 0.05). The changes in serum SAA levels in the MP-infected group positively correlated with the changes in IgA, IgM, and CD8+ levels and negatively correlated with CD3+ , CD4+ , and CD4+ /CD8+ . CONCLUSION: SAA, CRP, and PCT were specific markers for diagnosing early MP infection in children. These findings are important in the differential diagnosis of MP infection and clinical guidance for MP treatment.

Paeoniflorin ameliorates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute liver injury by inhibiting oxidative stress and inflammation via SIRT1/FOXO1a/SOD2 signaling in rats.

Acute liver injury (ALI) is a poor prognosis and high mortality complication of sepsis. Paeoniflorin (PF) has remarkable anti-inflammatory effects in different disease models. Here, we explored the protective effect and underlying molecular mechanisms of PF against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI. Sprague-Dawley rats received intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of PF for 7 days, 1 h after the last administration, and rats were injected i.p. 10 mg/kg LPS. PF improved liver structure and function, reduced hepatic reactive oxygen species (ROS) and methane dicarboxylic aldehyde (MDA) levels, and increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. Western blot analysis suggested that PF significantly inhibited expression of inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-18) and inhibited activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. PF or mitochondrial ROS scavenger (mito-TEMPO) significantly improved liver mitochondrial function by scavenging mitochondrial ROS (mROS), restoring mitochondrial membrane potential loss and increasing level of ATP and enzyme activity of complex I and III. In addition, PF increased expression of sirtuin-1 (SIRT1), forkhead box O1 (FOXO1a) and manganese superoxide dismutase (SOD2), and increased FOXO1a nuclear retention. However, the inhibitor of SIRT1 (EX527) abolished the protective effect of PF. Taken together, PF promotes mROS clearance to inhibit mitochondrial damage and activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome via SIRT1/FOXO1a/SOD2 signaling.

Integrated mRNA and Small RNA Sequencing Reveals a microRNA Regulatory Network Associated with Starch Biosynthesis in Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.) Rhizomes.

Internode starch biosynthesis is one of the most important traits in lotus rhizome because of its relation to crop productivity. Understanding the microRNA (miRNA) and mRNA expression profiles related to lotus internode starch biosynthesis would help develop molecular improvement strategies, but they are not yet well-investigated. To identify genes and miRNAs involved in internode starch biosynthesis, the cDNA and small RNA libraries of Z6-1, Z6-2, and Z6-3 were sequenced, and their expression were further studied. Through combined analyses of transcriptome data and small RNA sequencing data, a complex co-expression regulatory network was constructed, in which 20 miRNAs could modulate starch biosynthesis in different internodes by tuning the expression of 10 target genes. QRT-PCR analysis, transient co-expression experiment and dual luciferase assay comprehensively confirmed that NnumiR396a down-regulated the expression of NnSS2 and ultimately prevents the synthesis of amylopectin, and NnumiR396b down-regulated the expression of NnPGM2 and ultimately prevents the synthesis of total starch. Our results suggest that miRNAs play a critical role in starch biosynthesis in lotus rhizome, and that miRNA-mediated networks could modulate starch biosynthesis in this tissue. These results have provided important insights into the molecular mechanism of starch biosynthesis in developing lotus rhizome.

EfABI4 Transcription Factor Is Involved in the Regulation of Starch Biosynthesis in Euryale ferox Salisb Seeds.

Starch is the final product of photosynthesis and the main storage form in plants. Studies have shown that there is a close synergistic regulatory relationship between ABA signal transduction and starch biosynthesis. In this study, we employed RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) to investigate transcriptomic changes of the Euryale ferox seeds treated by exogenous ABA. The differentially expressed genes engaged in the "Starch and sucrose" and "TCA cycle" pathway. Furthermore, the key transcription factor EfABI4 in ABA signaling pathway and the key genes of starch biosynthesis (EfDBE1, EfSBE2, EfSS1, EfSS2, EfSS3, EfSS4 and EfGBSS1) were significantly up-regulated. Further, the Euryale ferox plant was treated with ABA, it was found that the total starch content of Euryale ferox seeds at different development stages was significantly higher than that of the control, and the key genes of starch synthesis in Euryale ferox seeds were also significantly up-regulated. Finally, yeast one-hybrid and dual luciferase assay proved that EfABI4 can promote the expression of EfSS1 by directly binding to its promoter. Subcellular localization results showed that EfABI4 protein was located at the nucleus and EfSS1 protein was located in the cytomembrane. These findings revealed that ABA promotes starch synthesis and accumulation by mediating EfABI4 to directly promote EfSS1 gene expression, which is helpful for understanding starch synthesis in seeds.

Identification of the NAC Transcription Factors and Their Function in ABA and Salinity Response in Nelumbo nucifera.

Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. is an important perennial aquatic herb that has high ornamental, edible, medicinal, and economic value, being widely distributed and used in China. The NAC superfamily (NAM, ATAF1/2, CUC2) plays critical roles in plant growth, development, and response to abiotic and biotic stresses. Though there have been a few reports about NAC genes in lotus, systematic analysis is still relatively lacking. The present study aimed to characterize all the NAC genes in the lotus and obtain better insights on the NnNACs in response to salt stress by depending on ABA signaling. Here, 97 NAC genes were identified by searching the whole lotus genome based on the raw HMM models of the conserved NAM domain and NAC domain. They were characterized by bioinformatics analysis and divided into 18 subgroups based on the phylogenetic tree. Cis-element analysis demonstrated that NAC genes are responsive to biotic and abiotic stresses, light, low temperature, and plant hormones. Meanwhile, NAC genes had tissue expression specificity. qRT-PCR analysis indicated that NAC genes could be upregulated or downregulated by NaCl treatment, ABA, and fluoridone. In addition, NAC016, NAC025, and NAC070, whose encoding genes were significantly induced by NaCl and ABA, were located in the nucleus. Further analysis showed the three NAC proteins had transcriptional activation capabilities. The co-expression network analysis reflected that NAC proteins may form complexes with other proteins to play a role together. Our study provides a theoretical basis for further research to be conducted on the regulatory mechanisms of salinity resistance in the lotus.

Frame-Guided Synthesis of Polymeric Colloidal Discs.

Anisotropic colloidal particles are important building blocks for the studies of self-assembly, which are visualized models for basic research and can be used to construct structured materials. Discs are one of the most typical anisotropic colloids; however, the synthesis of monodisperse colloidal discs with well-defined shape remains a challenge. Here we report a novel strategy for synthesizing polymeric discs based on frame-guided droplet shrinkage. This was realized by creating frame/liquid core/shell rings and utilizing the shrinking instability of the liquid rings. The resulting disc's shape parameters are tunable. The method is general, is not limited to specific polymers, solvents, and frames, and therefore has the potential to afford a variety of polymer discs. We also demonstrate the possibility of tuning the surface chemistry of the discs through surface-initiated polymerization. The frame-guided droplet shrinkage method opens up a new way to design and fabricate colloidal particles.

How Social Media Use at Work Affects Improvement of Older People's Willingness to Delay Retirement During Transfer From Demographic Bonus to Health Bonus: Causal Relationship Empirical Study.

BACKGROUND: With the increased older population in China and the subsequent reduced labor force, the "demographic bonus" is disappearing. The Chinese government proposed a Healthy China strategy in 2017. The transfer of the demographic bonus to a "health bonus" extended the working life of people and reduced the negative impact of the population's aging on the labor force structure. OBJECTIVE: This research focuses on the effect of older workers' social media usage at work on their work ability (related to both physical and mental health) and thus their willingness to delay retirement. METHODS: The questionnaire respondents were older than 55 years, and they obtained the questionnaire from social media, from June to July 2018. A total of 1020 valid questionnaires were collected, and SmartPLS 3.28 (SmartPLS GmbH) was used to analyze the data. Effects were analyzed using 2-tailed t tests. RESULTS: (1) Use of social media at work can improve information support (t14=13.318, P<.001), emotional support (t14=13.184, P<.001), and self-efficacy (t14=6.364, P<.001) for older people; (2) information support is the main factor affecting the self-efficacy of older workers (t14=23.304, P<.001), as compared with emotional support (t14=1.799, P=0.07); (3) the impacts of emotional support on work ability (t14=8.876, P<.001) and work stress (t14=9.545, P<.001) are generally higher than those of information support (t14=4.394, P<.001; t14=5.002, P<.001); (4) self-efficacy has an impact on work ability (t14=5.658, P<.001) and work stress (t14=4.717, P<.001); and (5) the impacts of work ability (t14=8.586, P<.001) and work stress (t14=8.579, P<.001) on retirement willingness are greater than those of emotional support (t14=2.112, P=.04) and information support (t14=4.314, P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our study confirms that the use of social media at work has a positive impact on older workers. Based on the findings, we have put forward proposals to extend people's working lives and help governments implement health bonus policies. In the future, we will compare the different values of willingness to delay retirement among older people in different occupations and different cultures.

Comparison of laparoscopic abdominal cerclage and transvaginal cerclage for the treatment of cervical insufficiency: a retrospective study.

PURPOSE: To compare the pregnancy outcome of patients with cervical insufficiency (CI) underwent prophylactic laparoscopic abdominal cervical cerclage (LAC) and transvaginal cervical cerclage (TVC). METHODS: A retrospective trial was carried out in the Department of Gynecology, Qingdao Women and Children's Hospital, Shandong Province, China. A total of 217 women with cervical insufficiency underwent the prophylactic cerclage, and the surgical approach was decided by the patients or depended on doctors' advice. The primary outcome measure was the fetal outcome. Secondary outcome measures were delivery of an infant at ≥ 34th gestational weeks, newborn birth weight, neonatal intensive care center (NICU) occupancy, and postoperative complications. Nonparametric variables were analyzed with the Mann-Whitney (U) test, and categorical type outcomes were analyzed with the Chi-square test or the Fisher's exact test. A P value < 0.05 was considered significant. Data analysis was performed using SPSS Statistics Version 19. RESULTS: As of follow-up date, 154 eligible patients were included in this study, with 74 (48.1%) women in the LAC group and 80 (51.9%) in the TVC group. The total fetal survival rate in the two groups was 90.3% (139/154), of which the rate significantly higher in the LAC group compared to the TVC group (97.3% vs. 83.8%, P < 0.01). The delivery of an infant at ≥ 34th gestational weeks was significantly higher in the LAC group compared to the TVC group (94.6% vs. 71.3%, P < 0.01). Compared to the TVC group, the mean newborn birth weight was higher, and the NICU occupancy rate was less in the LAC group (3293.4 ± 542.8 g vs. 2953.6 ± 704.4 g, P = 0.002; 2.8% vs. 17.9%, P = 0.003). COMPLICATIONS: No fatal surgical complications occurred in both groups. CONCLUSION: In patients with cervical insufficiency, the history-indicated conception of prophylactic LAC appears to have a better pregnancy outcome than TVC.

Triple-Type Feature Extraction for Palmprint Recognition.

Palmprint recognition has received tremendous research interests due to its outstanding user-friendliness such as non-invasive and good hygiene properties. Most recent palmprint recognition studies such as deep-learning methods usually learn discriminative features from palmprint images, which usually require a large number of labeled samples to achieve a reasonable good recognition performance. However, palmprint images are usually limited because it is relative difficult to collect enough palmprint samples, making most existing deep-learning-based methods ineffective. In this paper, we propose a heuristic palmprint recognition method by extracting triple types of palmprint features without requiring any training samples. We first extract the most important inherent features of a palmprint, including the texture, gradient and direction features, and encode them into triple-type feature codes. Then, we use the block-wise histograms of the triple-type feature codes to form the triple feature descriptors for palmprint representation. Finally, we employ a weighted matching-score level fusion to calculate the similarity between two compared palmprint images of triple-type feature descriptors for palmprint recognition. Extensive experimental results on the three widely used palmprint databases clearly show the promising effectiveness of the proposed method.

NnABI4-Mediated ABA Regulation of Starch Biosynthesis in Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn).

Starch is an important component in lotus. ABA is an important plant hormone, which plays a very crucial role in regulating plant starch synthesis. Using 'MRH' as experimental materials, the leaves were sprayed with exogenous ABA before the rhizome expansion. The results showed that stomatal conductance and transpiration rate decreased while net photosynthetic rate increased. The total starch content of the underground rhizome of lotus increased significantly. Meanwhile, qPCR results showed that the relative expression levels of NnSS1, NnSBE1 and NnABI4 were all upregulated after ABA treatment. Then, yeast one-hybrid and dual luciferase assay suggested that NnABI4 protein can promote the expression of NnSS1 by directly binding to its promoter. In addition, subcellular localization results showed that NnABI4 encodes a nuclear protein, and NnSS1 protein was located in the chloroplast. Finally, these results indicate that ABA induced the upregulated expression of NnABI4, and NnABI4 promoted the expression of NnSS1 and thus enhanced starch accumulation in lotus rhizomes. This will provide a theoretical basis for studying the molecular mechanism of ABA regulating starch synthesis in plant.

Antimicrobial resistance, genetic characterization, and molecular epidemiology of Ureaplasma species in males with infertility.

This study aimed to study the antimicrobial resistance, genetic characterization, and molecular epidemiology of Ureaplasma species in order to provide clinicians sufficient data to select optimal strategies of treatment for genitourinary tract infections of infertile male patients. Firstly, a total of 817 clinical semen specimens were detected for Ureaplasma species by molecular detection. Secondly, culture and identification of Ureaplasma species were achieved by using Mycoplasma ICS Test, and the antimicrobial susceptibility tests were determined by using broth microdilution assay. Then, the tetracycline resistance genetic determinants in Ureaplasma species were identified by PCR, and the fluoroquinolone and macrolide resistance genetic determinants were identified by DNA sequencing. Finally, the molecular epidemiology of Ureaplasma species was studied by both multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and expanded MLST (eMLST) schemes. Among the 817 semen specimens, 320 (39.17%) specimens were positive for Ureaplasma species. The percentages of resistance in 320 isolates against LEV, MXF, TET, and ERY were 47.5%, 39.38%, 19.69%, and 3.75%, respectively. The tet(M) and int-Tn genes were detected positive in all the tetracycline-resistant isolates. One macrolide-resistant UU isolate had a novel amino acid alteration (R66T) in L4 ribosomal protein and another UU isolate harbored a novel alteration (S109T) in L22. In fluoroquinolone-resistant isolates, S83L substitution in the ParC was predominant. In this area, ST22 and eST16 were the most prevalent ST and eST, respectively. One ST and 3 eSTs were newly identified in this study. This study has demonstrated that ERY can be first-line therapy for Ureaplasma species infections.