Tailoring Stress-Relieved Structure for SnSe Toward High Performance Potassium Ion Batteries.

Metal chalcogenides as an ideal family of anode materials demonstrate a high theoretical specific capacity for potassium ion batteries (PIBs), but the huge volume variance and poor cyclic stability hinder their practical applications. In this study, a design of a stress self-adaptive structure with ultrafine SnSe nanoparticles embedded in carbon nanofiber (SnSe@CNF) via the electrospinning technology is presented. Such an architecture delivers a record high specific capacity (272 mAh g-1 at 50 mA g-1) and high-rate performance (125 mAh g-1 at 1 A g-1) as a PIB anode. It is decoded that the fundamental understanding for this great performance is that the ultrafine SnSe particles enhance the full utilization of the active material and achieve stress relief as the stored strain energy from cycling is insufficient to drive crack propagation and thus alleviates the intrinsic chemo-mechanical degradation of metal chalcogenides.

Effects of differentially expressed microRNAs induced by rootstocks and silicon on improving chilling tolerance of cucumber seedlings (Cucumis sativus L.).

BACKGROUND: Rootstocks can improve the chilling tolerance of grafted cucumbers, but their effectiveness varies. Rootstocks with strong de-blooming capacity may result in lower chilling tolerance of grafted cucumbers compared to those with weak de-blooming capacity, while also reducing the silicon absorption. However, it remains unclear whether this reduction in chilling tolerance is due to differences in rootstock genotypes or the reduction in silicon absorption. RESULTS: The chilling tolerance of cucumber seedlings was improved by using rootstocks and silicon nutrition. Rootstocks had a more significant effect than silicon nutrition, and the weak de-blooming rootstock 'Yunnan figleaf gourd' was superior to the strong de-blooming rootstock 'Huangchenggen No. 2'. Compared to self-rooted cucumber, twelve miRNAs were regulated by two rootstocks, including seven identical miRNAs (novel-mir23, novel-mir26, novel-mir30, novel-mir37, novel-mir46, miR395a and miR398a-3p) and five different miRNAs (novel-mir32, novel-mir38, novel-mir65, novel-mir78 and miR397a). Notably, four of these miRNAs (novel-mir38, novel-mir65, novel-mir78 and miR397a) were only identified in 'Yunnan figleaf gourd'-grafted cucumbers. Furthermore, six miRNAs (miR168a-5p, miR390a-5p, novel-mir26, novel-mir55, novel-mir67 and novel-mir70) were found to be responsive to exogenous silicon. Target gene prediction for 20 miRNAs resulted in 520 genes. Functional analysis of these target genes showed that 'Yunnan figleaf gourd' improves the chilling tolerance of cucumber by regulating laccase synthesis and sulfate metabolism, while 'Huangchenggen No. 2' and exogenous silicon reduced chilling stress damage to cucumber by regulating ROS scavenging and protein protection, respectively. CONCLUSION: Among the identified miRNAs, novel-mir46 and miR398a-3p were found in cucumbers in response to chilling stress and two types of rootstocks. However, no identical miRNAs were identified in response to chilling stress and silicon. In addition, the differential expression of novel-mir38, novel-mir65, novel-mir78 and miR397a may be one of the important reasons for the differences in chilling tolerance of grafted cucumbers caused by two types of rootstocks.

Synthesis of Spirooxindole-1,2-oxazinan-5-ones through 2,2,2-Trifluoroethanol Promoted [3 + 3] Cycloaddition of N-Vinyl Oxindole Nitrones and Oxyallyl Cations.

A variety of spirooxindole-1,2-oxazinan-5-one derivatives were prepared in moderate to excellent yields through 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE)-promoted [3 + 3] cycloaddition of N-vinyl oxindole nitrones with oxyallyl cations generated from α-tosyloxy ketones under mild reaction conditions. Mechanistic studies revealed that [3 + 3] cycloaddition might involve two possible reaction pathways, including direct [3 + 3] cycloaddition of N-vinyl oxindole ntirones with oxyallyl cations, or the addition of TFE to N-vinyl oxindole nitrones, sequential addition to oxyallyl cations, elimination, and cyclization. The present method features mild reaction conditions, broad substrate scope, good functional group tolerance, easy gram scalable preparation, and new applications of TFE.

Correlation between strength/endurance of paraspinal muscles and sagittal parameters in patients with degenerative spinal deformity.

BACKGROUND: Sagittal imbalance is a common cause of low back pain and dysfunction in patients with degenerative spinal deformity (DSD), which greatly affects their quality of life. Strength and endurance are important functional physical indexes for assessing muscle condition. However, the correlation between sagittal parameters and paraspinal muscle strength/endurance is not yet clear. The purpose of this study was to analyze the correlation between strength/endurance of paraspinal muscles and sagittal parameters in patients with DSD. METHODS: There were 105 patients with DSD and 52 healthy volunteers (control group) enrolled. They were divided into the balance group [sagittal vertical axis (SVA) < 5 cm, n = 68] and imbalance group (SVA ≥ 5 cm, n = 37). The maximal voluntary exertion (MVE)/Endurance time (ET) of paravertebral muscles were assessed using the prone position test stand, and the sagittal parameters of the subjects were measured, namely, SVA, thoracic kyphosis (TK), lumbar lordosis (LL), pelvic incidence (PI), pelvic tilt (PT), and sacral slope (SS). Pearson coefficients were used to assess the correlation between paraspinal muscle MVE/ET and sagittal parameters. RESULTS: MVE and ET of paravertebral muscles in the control group were significantly higher than those in the balance and imbalance groups (P < 0.05), whereas MVE in the balance group was significantly higher than that in the imbalance group (P < 0.05). SVA in the imbalance group was significantly higher than those in the control and balance groups (P < 0.05). SS and TK in the control group were significantly higher than those in the imbalance group (P < 0.05), and PT and PI in the control group were significantly lower than those in the balance and imbalance groups (P < 0.05). LL in the imbalance group was significantly lower than that in the balance and control groups (P < 0.05). MVE, MVE/BH, and MVE/BW of paraspinal muscles in the imbalance group were negatively correlated with SVA and PT. Moreover, they were positively correlated with LL. CONCLUSIONS: Deformity may cause the decrease of MVE and ET of paraspinal muscles in the prone position in patients with DSD. Furthermore, the decline in MVE of paraspinal muscles may be a predisposing factor for the imbalance observed. The decrease of MVE/BW of paraspinal muscles may be involved in spinal compensation, and it is a sensitive indicator for sagittal imbalance and lumbar lordosis.

Pan-Genome Analysis of TIFY Gene Family and Functional Analysis of CsTIFY Genes in Cucumber.

Cucumbers are frequently affected by gray mold pathogen Botrytis cinerea, a pathogen that causes inhibited growth and reduced yield. Jasmonic acid (JA) plays a primary role in plant responses to biotic stresses, and the jasmonate-ZIM-Domain (JAZ) proteins are key regulators of the JA signaling pathway. In this study, we used the pan-genome of twelve cucumber varieties to identify cucumber TIFY genes. Our findings revealed that two CsTIFY genes were present in all twelve cucumber varieties and showed no differences in protein sequence, gene structure, and motif composition. This suggests their evolutionary conservation across different cucumber varieties and implies that they may play a crucial role in cucumber growth. On the other hand, the other fourteen CsTIFY genes exhibited variations in protein sequence and gene structure or conserved motifs, which could be the result of divergent evolution, as these genes adapt to different cultivation and environmental conditions. Analysis of the expression profiles of the CsTIFY genes showed differential regulation by B. cinerea. Transient transfection plants overexpressing CsJAZ2, CsJAZ6, or CsZML2 were found to be more susceptible to B. cinerea infection compared to control plants. Furthermore, these plants infected by the pathogen showed lower levels of the enzymatic activities of POD, SOD and CAT. Importantly, after B. cinerea infection, the content of JA was upregulated in the plants, and cucumber cotyledons pretreated with exogenous MeJA displayed increased resistance to B. cinerea infection compared to those pretreated with water. Therefore, this study explored key TIFY genes in the regulation of cucumber growth and adaptability to different cultivation environments based on bioinformatics analysis and demonstrated that CsJAZs negatively regulate cucumber disease resistance to gray mold via multiple signaling pathways.

Pan-genome Analysis of WOX Gene Family and Function Exploration of CsWOX9 in Cucumber.

Cucumber is an economically important vegetable crop, and the warts (composed of spines and Tubercules) of cucumber fruit are an important quality trait that influences its commercial value. WOX transcription factors are known to have pivotal roles in regulating various aspects of plant growth and development, but their studies in cucumber are limited. Here, genome-wide identification of cucumber WOX genes was performed using the pan-genome analysis of 12 cucumber varieties. Our findings revealed diverse CsWOX genes in different cucumber varieties, with variations observed in protein sequences and lengths, gene structure, and conserved protein domains, possibly resulting from the divergent evolution of CsWOX genes as they adapt to diverse cultivation and environmental conditions. Expression profiles of the CsWOX genes demonstrated that CsWOX9 was significantly expressed in unexpanded ovaries, especially in the epidermis. Additionally, analysis of the CsWOX9 promoter revealed two binding sites for the C2H2 zinc finger protein. We successfully executed a yeast one-hybrid assay (Y1H) and a dual-luciferase (LUC) transaction assay to demonstrate that CsWOX9 can be transcriptionally activated by the C2H2 zinc finger protein Tu, which is crucial for fruit Tubercule formation in cucumber. Overall, our results indicated that CsWOX9 is a key component of the molecular network that regulates wart formation in cucumber fruits, and provide further insight into the function of CsWOX genes in cucumber.

Effects of different water conditions on the biomass, root morphology and aerenchyma formation in bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers).

BACKGROUND: The bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers) roots responded differently in terms of morphological and anatomical characteristics under diverse submergence conditions, and they developed aerenchyma under non-flooding condition. In order to understand these mechanisms, bermudagrass cuttings were used as experimental material to examine their biomass, root morphology, and aerenchyma formation under three different water treatments, including control (CK), shallow submergence (SS), and deep submergence (DS). RESULTS: The total root length, root volume, root surface area, and biomass of bermudagrass were largest in CK, followed by SS and DS. However, the average root diameter was greater in each of DS and SS than that in CK. Root aerenchyma formation was observed in CK, and submergence boosted the aerenchyma formation and the root cavity rate. Furthermore, our study found that the process of aerenchyma formation began with the increase of cell volume and cell separation to form a narrow space, and these cells gradually died to form matured aerenchyma cavity, which belongs to schizo-lysigenous aerenchyma. Meanwhile, typical biomarkers of programmed cell death were also observed. CONCLUSION: Overall, these results suggested that submergence inhibited the accumulation of biomass and root growth, but facilitated aerenchyma formation by increasing root diameter.

A novel HD-Zip I/C2H2-ZFP/WD-repeat complex regulates the size of spine base in cucumber.

Fruit spine is an important trait in cucumber, affecting not only commercial quality, but also fruit smoothness, transportation and storage. Spine size is determined by a multi-cellular base. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the regulation of cucumber spine base remains largely unknown. Here, we report map-based cloning and characterization of a spine base size 1 (SBS1) gene, encoding a C2H2 zinc-finger transcription factor. Near-isogenic lines of cucumber were used to map, identify and quantify cucumber spine base size 1 (CsSBS1). Yeast-hybrid, bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC), co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) and RNA-sequencing assays were used to explore the molecular mechanism of CsSBS1 in regulating spine base size development. CsSBS1 was specifically expressed in cucumber ovaries with particularly high expression in fruit spines. Overexpression of CsSBS1 resulted in large fruit spine base, while RNA-interference silencing of CsSBS1 inhibited the expansion of fruit spine base. Sequence analysis of natural cucumber accessions revealed that CsSBS1 was lost in small spine base accessions, resulting from a 4895 bp fragment deletion in CsSBS1 locus. CsSBS1 can form a trimeric complex with two positive regulators CsTTG1 and CsGL1 to regulate spine base development through ethylene signaling. A novel regulator network is proposed that the CsGL1/CsSBS1/CsTTG1 complex plays a significant role in regulating spine base formation and size, which offers a strategy for cucumber breeders to develop smooth fruit.

CsMYB60 Confers Enhanced Resistance to Fusarium solani by Increasing Proanthocyanidin Biosynthesis in Cucumber.

Root rot caused by Fusarium solani is one of the most common fungal diseases in cucumber (Cucumis sativus). Proanthocyanidins (PAs) are known to play important roles in inhibiting the growth of phytopathogens. In addition, CsMYB60 is a known positive regulator of flavonol and PA biosynthesis in cucumber. However, it remains unclear that whether PAs can inhibit the growth of F. solani and whether CsMYB60 serves as a target gene for increasing resistance to phytopathogens in cucumber. In this study, we demonstrated that PAs (or their building block, catechin) could increase the resistance of cucumber seedlings to F. solani both in vitro and in vivo. The addition of catechins, or crude leaf extracts treated with different concentrations of catechins in culture medium, could significantly inhibit the hyphal growth of F. solani. On the other hand, cucumber seedlings treated with catechins showed higher resistance to F. solani than the seedlings of control group. Moreover, transgenic cucumber seedlings overexpressing CsMYB60, with the observed accumulation of PAs, were more resistant to F. solani than the nontransgenic siblings. Therefore, our results suggest that PAs (or catechin) can serve as a biological control agent to protect cucumber plants from the infection of F. solani. More importantly, CsMYB60 holds great promise as a target gene to confer disease resistance during the molecular breeding in cucumber.

Comparing the outcomes and effectiveness of robotic-assisted sacrocolpopexy and laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy in the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Abdominal sacrocolpopexy is regarded as the gold standard for management of pelvic organ prolapse (POP). Nowadays, minimally invasive surgeries are preferred, and sacrocolpopexy can be performed using either a laparoscopic or robotic-assisted approach. The aim of the current study was to compare the efficacy and safety of robotic-assisted sacrocolpopexy (RASC) and laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy (LSC) through an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS: We performed a systematic literature review of different databases and related references from their inception until July 2020 without language restrictions. All randomized control trials and comparative studies that compared RASC and LSC for the management of POP were included. RESULTS: A total of 13 studies including 2115 participants were included for the pooled analysis. The pooled results revealed that RASC was associated with a significantly longer operative time (weighted mean difference, 29.53 min; 95% confidence interval [CI], 12.88 to 46.18 min, P = 0.0005), significantly less estimated blood loss (weighted mean difference, -86.52 ml; 95% CI -130.26 to -42.79 ml, P = 0.0001), significantly fewer overall intraoperative complications (odds ratio [OR] 0.6; 95% CI 0.40 to 0.91; P = 0.01) and significantly lower conversion rate (OR 0.39; 95% CI 0.19 to 0.82; P = 0.01) compared with LSC. There were no significant differences between the length of hospital stays, overall postoperative complications, postoperative stress incontinence, mesh erosion and effectiveness between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The current study showed comparable efficacy between RASC and LSC. Though RASC was associated with less blood loss and a lower conversion rate, the differences were not clinically significant. The choice of surgical procedure with either RASC or LSC is according to surgeon discretion and patient preferences.

A sheep model of chronic cervical compressive myelopathy via an implantable wireless compression device.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to establish an animal model in which we can precisely displace the spinal cord and therefore mimic the chronic spinal compression of cervical spondylotic myelopathy. METHODS: In vivo intervertebral compression devices (IVCDs) connected with subcutaneous control modules (SCCMs) were implanted into the C2-3 intervertebral disk spaces of sheep and connected by Bluetooth to an in vitro control system. Sixteen sheep were divided into four groups: (Group A) control; (Group B) 10-week progressive compression, then held; (Group C) 20-week progressive compression, then held; and (Group D) 20-week progressive compression, then decompression. Electrophysiological analysis (latency and amplitude of the N1-P1-N2 wave in somatosensory evoked potentials, SEP), behavioral changes (Tarlov score), imaging test (encroachment ratio (ER) of intraspinal invasion determined by X-ray and CT scan), and histological examinations (hematoxylin and eosin, Nissl, and TUNEL staining) were performed to assess the efficacy of our model. RESULTS: Tarlov scores gradually decreased as compression increased with time and partially recovered after decompression. The Pearson correlation coefficient between ER and time was r = 0.993 (p < 0.001) in Group B at 10 weeks and Groups C and D at 20 weeks. And ER was negatively correlated with the Tarlov score (r = -0.878, p < 0.001). As compression progressed, the SEP latency was significantly extended (p < 0.001), and the amplitude significantly decreased (p < 0.001), while they were both partially restored after decompression. The number of abnormal motor neurons and TUNEL-positive cells increased significantly (p < 0.001) with compression. CONCLUSION: Our implantable and wireless intervertebral compression model demonstrated outstanding controllability and reproducibility in simulating chronic cervical spinal cord compression in animals.

Multi-Object Detection Method in Construction Machinery Swarm Operations Based on the Improved YOLOv4 Model.

To handle the problem of low detection accuracy and missed detection caused by dense detection objects, overlapping, and occlusions in the scenario of complex construction machinery swarm operations, this paper proposes a multi-object detection method based on the improved YOLOv4 model. Firstly, the K-means algorithm is used to initialize the anchor boxes to improve the learning efficiency of the depth features of construction machinery objects. Then, the pooling operation is replaced with dilated convolution to solve the problem that the pooling layer reduces the resolution of feature maps and causes a high missed detection rate. Finally, focus loss is introduced to optimize the loss function of YOLOv4 to improve the imbalance of positive and negative samples during the model training process. To verify the effectiveness of the above optimizations, the proposed method is verified on the Pytorch platform with a self-build dataset. The experimental results show that the mean average precision(mAP) of the improved YOLOv4 model for multi-object detection of construction machinery can reach 97.03%, which is 2.16% higher than that of the original YOLOv4 detection network. Meanwhile, the detection speed is 31.11 fps, and it is reduced by only 0.59 fps, still meeting the real-time requirements. The research lays a foundation for environment perception of construction machinery swarm operations and promotes the unmanned and intelligent development of construction machinery swarm operations.

Crack Unet: Crack Recognition Algorithm Based on Three-Dimensional Ground Penetrating Radar Images.

Three-dimensional (3D) ground-penetrating radar is an effective method for detecting internal crack damage in pavement structures. Inefficient manual interpretation of radar images and high personnel requirements have substantially restrained the generalization of 3D ground-penetrating radar. An improved Crack Unet model based on the Unet semantic segmentation model is proposed herein for 3D ground-penetrating radar crack image processing. The experiment showed that the MPA, MioU, and accuracy of the model were improved, and it displayed better capacity in the radar image crack segmentation task than current mainstream algorithms do, such as deepLabv3, PSPNet, and Unet. In the test dataset without cracks, Crack Unet is on the same level as deepLabv3 and PSPNet, which can meet engineering requirements and display a significant improvement compared with Unet. According to the ablation experiment, the MPA and MioU of Unet configured with PMDA, MC-FS, and RS modules were larger than those of Unet configured with one or two modules. The PMDA module adopted by the Crack Unet model showed a higher MPA and MioU than the SE module and the CBAM module did, respectively. The results show that the Crack Unet model has a better segmentation ability than the current mainstream algorithms do in the task of the crack segmentation of radar images, and the performance of crack segmentation is significantly improved compared with the Unet model. The Crack Unet model has excellent engineering application value in the task of the crack segmentation of radar images.

Morphological Characterization and Integrated Transcriptome and Proteome Analysis of Organ Development Defective 1 (odd1) Mutant in Cucumis sativus L.

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is an economically important vegetable crop with the unique growth habit and typical trailing shoot architecture of Cucurbitaceae. Elucidating the regulatory mechanisms of growth and development is significant for improving quality and productivity in cucumber. Here we isolated a spontaneous cucumber mutant organ development defective 1 (odd1) with multiple morphological changes including root, plant stature, stem, leaf, male and female flowers, as well as fruit. Anatomical and cytological analyses demonstrated that both cell size and number decreased, and the shoot apical meristem (SAM) was smaller in odd1 compared with WT. Pollen vigor and germination assays and cross tests revealed that odd1 is female sterile, which may be caused by the absence of ovules. Genetic analysis showed that odd1 is a recessive single gene mutant. Using the MutMap strategy, the odd1 gene was found to be located on chromosome 5. Integrated profiling of transcriptome and proteome indicated that the different expression genes related to hormones and SAM maintenance might be the reason for the phenotypic changes of odd1. These results expanded the insight into the molecular regulation of organ growth and development and provided a comprehensive reference map for further studies in cucumber.

Factors influencing the hospitalization cost for stroke patients in J district, Shanghai. / 上海市JåŒºè„‘å’ä¸­æ‚£è€ ä½é™¢è´¹ç”¨çš„å½±å“å› ç´ .

OBJECTIVES: Stroke is the main cause of death in Chinese residents, bringing a heavy economic burden to patients. This study aims to explore the characteristics and the factors influencing the hospitalization cost for stroke, and to provide scientific evidence for reducing the economic burden on stroke patients. METHODS: The data were mainly obtained from the Shanghai Statistics Center for Health. Using the coding system of International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10, we retrospectively collected the stroke-related first hospitalization records of stroke patients in J district, Shanghai during January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2019 whose main diagnostic disease codes were I61-I63. After cleaning and arranging the data, we counted the first hospitalization cost and length of hospital stay (LOS) of the patients. Univariate analysis was performed using non-parametric tests, and the factors influencing stroke hospitalization cost were further analyzed by multiple linear regression fitting path model. RESULTS: A total of 3 901 stroke patients were included. Ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke patients accounted for 92.59% and 7.41%, respectively, of which the mean hospitalization cost per patient were 12 397.35 yuan and 28 814.72 yuan, respectively, and the mean LOS per patient were 13 days and 19 days, respectively. Hospitalization cost for ischemic stroke mainly consisted of medicine fees, diagnosis fees, and service fees, accounting for 44.70%, 29.92%, and 15.42%, respectively, and hospitalization cost for hemorrhagic stroke mainly consisted of medicine fees, diagnosis fees, consumables fees, and service fees, accounting for 38.76%, 18.33%, 17.59%, and 15.38%, respectively. From 2016 to 2019, the proportion of medicine fees for ischemic stroke was decreased by 19.38 percentage points, and the diagnosis fees and service fees were increased by 8.43 percentage points and 9.04 percentage points, respectively; the proportions of medicine fees and consumables fees for hemorrhagic stroke were decreased by 7.54 percentage points and 13.43 percentage points, respectively, and the proportions of diagnostic fees and service fees were increased by 6.87 percentage points and 10.15 percentage points, respectively. Path analysis results showed that the main direct factors influencing hospitalization cost were the LOS, hospital level, operation, and year, and the main indirect factors were age and hospital level (all P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The cost burden of stroke patients in Shanghai is relatively heavy, and we should continue to promote the medical reform policy and consolidate the achievements of medical reform. Hospitals should strengthen clinical pathway management and patient health education to improve medical efficiency and reduce invalid hospitalization days. Government departments should continue to improve the medical insurance system, enhance the supervision to medical insurance, and promote health equity.

Transcriptome profiling reveals response genes for downy mildew resistance in cucumber.

MAIN CONCLUSION: We discovered a potential defense pathway of cucumber to downy mildew. The signaling that activates the pathways of ROS and lignin accumulation may play an important role in the defense response. Many resistance genes were identified by transcriptome analysis. Downy mildew (DM), caused by Pseudoperonospora cubensis, is one of the most destructive diseases and causes severe yield losses of cucumber. However, the genes and pathways involved in regulating DM resistance were still poorly understood. In our study, we observed that the highly sensitive inbred line 53 (IL53) exhibited more severe disease symptoms than the highly resistant inbred line 51 (IL51) under P. cubensis infection. Furthermore, lignin, limiting the germination and extension of P. cubensis, and H2O2, as a signaling molecule during the resistant process, were both shown to increase, indicating that the signaling that activates these pathways might be responsible for the resistance divergence between IL51 and IL53. Transcriptome analysis, using the resistant and susceptible pools in F2 populations with IL51 and IL53 as parents, showed that a series of differentially expressed genes was involved in multiple functions of defense response: pathogen-associated molecular pattern recognition, signal transduction, reactive oxygen species and lignin accumulation, and transcription regulators. Combining physiological data with transcriptomes, we predicted a potential molecular mechanism of cucumber resistance to DM. Our research provided a foundation for further studies on the mechanism of cucumber resistance to DM.

Overexpression of SlMYB75 enhances resistance to Botrytis cinerea and prolongs fruit storage life in tomato.

KEY MESSAGE: SlMYB75 increased the accumulation of JA and improved the scavenging of excess H2O2 to resist B. cinerea. Overexpression of SlMYB75 greatly prolongs tomato fruit storage life. Botrytis cinerea (B. cinerea) is a major threat to the production and storage life of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruit around the world. SlMYB75 is an R2R3MYB transcription factor associated with the biosynthesis of anthocyanidin, but little is known about its function in the resistance of tomato to B. cinerea. In this study, we found that the overexpression of SlMYB75 regulated the accumulation of jasmonic acid (JA) and promoted the JA-mediated signaling pathway to resist B. cinerea infection. Moreover, the activities of peroxidase and superoxide dismutase, which were activated to scavenge hydrogen peroxide produced as a result of the B. cinerea infection, were enhanced in the transgenic tomato plants. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that the wax on the fruit skin surface was significantly decreased in the transgenic tomatoes compared with the wild type. However, SlMYB75 prolonged fruit storage life by both enhancing resistance to B. cinerea and directly downregulating the fruit shelf life-related gene SlFSR. Collectively, this study provides a good candidate gene for breeding high-quality tomatoes with a long storage life and high disease resistance.

Genome-wide analysis of the WRKY gene family in the cucumber genome and transcriptome-wide identification of WRKY transcription factors that respond to biotic and abiotic stresses.

BACKGROUND: Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is an economically important vegetable crop species. However, it is susceptible to various abiotic and biotic stresses. WRKY transcription factors play important roles in plant growth and development, particularly in the plant response to biotic and abiotic stresses. However, little is known about the expression pattern of WRKY genes under different stresses in cucumber. RESULTS: In the present study, an analysis of the new assembly of the cucumber genome (v3.0) allowed the identification of 61 cucumber WRKY genes. Phylogenetic and synteny analyses were performed using related species to investigate the evolution of the cucumber WRKY genes. The 61 CsWRKYs were classified into three main groups, within which the gene structure and motif compositions were conserved. Tissue expression profiles of the WRKY genes demonstrated that 24 CsWRKY genes showed constitutive expression (FPKM > 1 in all samples), and some WRKY genes showed organ-specific expression, suggesting that these WRKYs might be important for plant growth and organ development in cucumber. Importantly, analysis of the CsWRKY gene expression patterns revealed that five CsWRKY genes strongly responded to both salt and heat stresses, 12 genes were observed to be expressed in response to infection from downy mildew and powdery mildew, and three CsWRKY genes simultaneously responded to all treatments analysed. Some CsWRKY genes were observed to be induced/repressed at different times after abiotic or biotic stress treatment, demonstrating that cucumber WRKY genes might play different roles during different stress responses and that their expression patterns vary in response to stresses. CONCLUSIONS: Sixty-one WRKY genes were identified in cucumber, and insight into their classification, evolution, and expression patterns was gained in this study. Responses to different abiotic and biotic stresses in cucumber were also investigated. Our results provide a better understanding of the function of CsWRKY genes in improving abiotic and biotic stress resistance in cucumber.

A ten-gene signature-based risk assessment model predicts the prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is a major cause of cancer death. Therefore, identifying potential prognostic risk factors is critical to improve the survival of patients with LUAD. METHODS: Here, relevant datasets were downloaded from TCGA and GEO databases to screen the differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Univariate Cox analysis, LASSO regression analysis and multivariate Cox analysis were conducted on the DEGs combined with TCGA clinical data, and finally a risk assessment model based on 10 feature genes was constructed. RESULTS: The prognosis of patients was evaluated after the patients were grouped based on the median risk score and the results showed that the survival time of patients in the high-risk group was significantly shorter than that in the low-risk group. ROC analysis showed that the AUC values of the 1, 3, 5-year survival were 0.753, 0.724, and 0.73, respectively, indicating that the model was precise in predicting the prognosis, which was also verified in the external dataset GSE72094. In addition, a significant correlation was found between the risk score and the clinical stages of LUAD, that is, a later stage always corresponded to a higher risk score. Then, we performed survival analysis on the 10 feature genes independently in the TCGA-LUAD dataset through the GEPIA database, finding that the high expression of 6 genes (COL5A2, PLEK2, BAIAP2L2, S100P, ZIC2, SFXN1) was associated with the poor prognosis of LUAD patients. CONCLUSION: To sum, this study established a 10-gene risk assessment model and further evaluated its value in predicting LUAD prognosis, which provided a new method for the prognosis prediction of LUAD.

Synthesis of α-aminooxy amides through [3 + 3] cycloaddition and Sc(OTf)3-catalyzed double C-N bond cleavage in a one-pot reaction.

Various α-aminooxy amides bearing a quaternary carbon at the α-position were prepared in good to excellent yields under mild reaction conditions from N-vinyl nitrones and α-bromohydroxamates. The N-vinyl nitrones tolerate a wide range of N-vinyl fluorenone nitrones and N-vinyl isatin nitrones. Mechanistic studies show that the reaction initially proceeds through [3 + 3] cycloaddition between N-vinyl nitrones and aza-oxyallyl cations generated from α-bromohydroxamates to afford six-membered N,O-heterocycles, followed by double C-N bond cleavage in the presence of the Sc(OTf)3 catalyst. A selective N-O bond cleavage of the obtained α-aminooxy amides is also realized under Fe/NH4Cl conditions. Furthermore, gram-scalable preparations of α-aminooxy amides are easily achieved.