Exploration of quality variation and stability of hybrid rice under multi-environments.

Improving quality is an essential goal of rice breeding and production. However, rice quality is not solely determined by genotype, but is also influenced by the environment. Phenotype plasticity refers to the ability of a given genotype to produce different phenotypes under different environmental conditions, which can be a representation of the stability of traits. Seven quality traits of 141 hybrid combinations, deriving from the test-crossing of 7 thermosensitive genic male sterile (TGMS) and 25 restorer lines, were evaluated at 5 trial sites with intermittent sowing of three to five in Southern China. In the Yangtze River Basin, it was observed that delaying the sowing time of hybrid rice combinations leads to an improvement in their overall quality. Twelve parents were identified to have lower plasticity general combing ability (GCA) values with increased ability to produce hybrids with a more stable quality. The parents with superior quality tend to exhibit lower GCA values for plasticity. The genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified 13 and 15 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with phenotype plasticity and BLUP measurement, respectively. Notably, seven QTLs simultaneously affected both phenotype plasticity and BLUP measurement. Two cloned rice quality genes, ALK and GL7, may be involved in controlling the plasticity of quality traits in hybrid rice. The direction of the genetic effect of the QTL6 (ALK) on alkali spreading value (ASV) plasticity varies in different cropping environments. This study provides novel insights into the dynamic genetic basis of quality traits in response to different cropping regions, cultivation practices, and changing climates. These findings establish a foundation for precise breeding and production of stable and high-quality rice. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11032-024-01442-3.

Noncovalent Interaction Guided Precise Photoluminescence Regulation of Gold Nanoclusters in Both Isolate Species and Aggregate States.

Designing luminophores bright in both isolate species and aggregate states is of great importance in many emerging cutting-edge applications. However, the conventional luminophores either emit in isolate species but quench in aggregate state or emit in aggregate state but darken in isolate species. Here we demonstrate that the precise regulation of noncovalent interactions can realize luminophores bright in both isolate species and aggregate states. It is firstly discovered that the intra-cluster interaction enhances the emission of atomically precise Au25(pMBA)18 (pMBA=4-mercaptobenzoic acid), a nanoscale luminophore, while the inter-cluster interaction quenches the emission. The emission enhancing strategies are then well-designed by both introducing exogenous substances to block inter-cluster interaction and surface manipulation of Au25(pMBA)18 at the molecular level to enhance intra-cluster interaction, opening new possibilities to controllably enhance the luminophore's photoluminescence in both isolate species and aggregate states in different phases including aqueous solution, solid state and organic solvents.

Intrarenal pH-Responsive Self-Assembly of Luminescent Gold Nanoparticles for Diagnosis of Early Kidney Injury.

Metabolic acidosis-induced kidney injury (MAKI) is asymptomatic and lack of clinical biomarkers in early stage, but rapidly progresses to severe renal fibrosis and ultimately results in end-stage kidney failure. Therefore, developing rapid and noninvasive strategies direct responsive to renal tubular acidic microenvironment rather than delayed biomarkers are essential for timely renoprotective interventions. Herein, we develop pH-responsive luminescent gold nanoparticles (p-AuNPs) in the second near-infrared emission co-coated with 2,3-dimethylaleic anhydride conjugated ß-mercaptoethylamine and cationic 2-diethylaminoethanethiol hydrochloride, which showed sensitive pH-induced charge reversal and intrarenal self-assembly for highly sensitive and long-time (~24 h) imaging of different stages of MAKI. By integrating advantages of pH-induced intrarenal self-assembly and enhanced interactions between pH-triggered positively charged p-AuNPs and renal tubular cells, the early- and late-stage MAKI could be differentiated rapidly within 10 min post-injection (p.i.) with contrast index (CI) of 3.5 and 4.3, respectively. The corresponding maximum CI could reach 5.1 and 9.2 at 12 h p.i., respectively. Furthermore, p-AuNPs were demonstrated to effectively real-time monitor progressive recovery of kidney injury in MAKI mice after therapy, and also exhibit outstanding capabilities for drug screening. This pH-responsive strategy showed great promise for feedback on kidney dysfunction progression, opening new possibilities for early-stage diagnosis of pH-related diseases.

Transcytosis-Based Renal Tubular Reabsorption of Luminescent Gold Nanoparticles for Enhanced Tumor Imaging.

Transcytosis-based tubular reabsorption of endogenous proteins is a well-known energy-saving pathway that prevents nutrient loss. However, utilization of this well-known reabsorption pathway for the delivery of exogenous nanodrugs remains a challenge. In this study, using the surface mimic strategy of a specific PEPT1/2-targeted Gly-Sar peptide as a ligand, renal-clearable luminescent gold nanoparticles (P-AuNPs) were developed as protein mimics to investigate the transcytosis-based tubular reabsorption of exogenous substances. By regulating the influential factors (H+ content in tubular lumens and PEPT1/2 transporter counts in tubular cells) of Gly-Sar-mediated transcytosis, the specific and efficient interaction between P-AuNPs and renal tubular cells was demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo. Efficient transcellular transportation significantly guided the reabsorption of P-AuNPs back into the bloodstream, which enhanced the blood concentration and bioavailability of nanoparticles, contributing to high-contrast tumor imaging.

Pancreatic Cancer and its Attributable Risk Factors in East Asia, Now and Future.

BACKGROUND: The disease burden of pancreatic cancer in East Asia is at a high level, but the epidemiological characteristics of pancreatic cancer in the region have not been systematically studied. METHOD: Joinpoint analysis was used to identify average annual percentage change (AAPC) and annual percentage change (APC) in mortality. Age-period-cohort models were used to analyze age-period cohort effects across countries. Bayesian age-period-cohort (BAPC) analysis was used to project the burden of disease for 2020-2030. RESULTS: Pancreatic cancer mortality in males in Japan (2012-2019, APC = -0.97) and Korea (2012-2019, APC = -0.91) has shown a decreasing trend since 2012 (P < .05). However, China (2016-2019, APC = 3.21), Mongolia (2015-2.019, APC = 2.37), and North Korea (2012-2019, APC = 0.47) showed a significant increase in pancreatic cancer in both genders (P < .05). Risk factors for pancreatic cancer in East Asia remained largely stable between 2010 and 2019. Mortality of pancreatic cancer due to smoking began to decline in areas with high socio-demographic index (SDI), and mortality of pancreatic cancer due to high body mass index and high fasting plasma glucose increased with SDI. The age-standardized mortality for pancreatic cancer in Chinese males is expected to exceed that of Japan and South Korea by 2030, but the disease burden of pancreatic cancer in Japan and South Korea remains at extremely high levels. CONCLUSION: Economically developed countries are beginning to show a decreasing trend in the burden of pancreatic cancer disease, and developing countries are experiencing a rapid increase in the age-standardized death rate (ASDR) of pancreatic cancer.

Glutathione-Activated Emission of Ultrasmall Gold Nanoparticles in the Second Near-Infrared Window for Imaging of Early Kidney Injury.

Biomarker-activatable luminescent probes with high sensitivity and specificity show great promise in advanced bioimaging applications. However, the lack of stable biomarkers at an early stage is currently a major obstacle for sensitive early disease imaging. Herein, we develop a facile in vivo ligand exchange strategy to achieve renal-clearable activatable luminescent gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), which are independent of biomarkers for sensitive and long-time imaging of early kidney injury. Significantly activated emission in the second near-infrared region (∼1026 nm) is realized from the ligand exchange of triphenylphosphine-3,3',3″-trisulfonic acid (TPPTS)-coated AuNPs (∼1.4 nm, TPPTS-AuNPs) with quantitative amounts of glutathione (GSH). The abundant GSH in cells, particularly in liver sinusoids, is then demonstrated successfully to activate the emission of TPPTS-AuNPs with an extremely low background for both cell imaging and in vivo visualization of visceral organs (e.g., liver and kidneys). In addition, the in vivo GSH-exchanged TPPTS-AuNPs show enhanced interactions with acidic renal tubular epithelial cells, resulting in sensitive (contrast index, ∼3.9) and long-time (>6.5 h) noninvasive monitoring of acidosis-induced early kidney injury. This facile ligand exchange strategy opens new possibilities for designing activatable luminescent probes independent of biomarkers for earlier disease diagnosis and treatment.

Skeletal Transformation of Oxindoles into Quinolinones Enabled by Synergistic Copper/Iminium Catalysis.

We describe a synergistic Cu/secondary amine catalysis for skeletal transformation of an oxindole core into a quinolinone skeleton, which generates several structurally new pyridine-fused quinolinones. The synergistic reactions allow expansion of a five-membered lactam ring by radical cation-triggered C-C bond cleavage and enable a further intramolecular cyclization with the aim to construct totally distinct core skeletons.

Manganese(II)-Guided Separation in the Sub-Nanometer Regime for Precise Identification of In Vivo Size Dependence.

A precise understanding of nano-bio interactions in the sub-nanometer regime is necessary for advancements in nanomedicine. However, this is currently hindered by the control of the nanoparticle size in the sub-nanometer regime. Herein, we report a facile in situ Mn2+ -guided centrifugation strategy for the synthesis of large-scale ultrasmall gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with a precisely controlled size gradient at the sub-nanometer regime. With the discovery that [Mn(OH)]+ , especially metallic manganese (Mn0 @[Mn(OH)]+ ) nanoparticles, could selectively interact with larger AuNPs through synergistic coordination and hydrogen bonding to form aggregates, we also realized the fast (<1 h) synthesis of water-soluble atomically precise Au25 with high yields (>56 %). We further demonstrated that sub-nanometer size differences (approximately 0.5 nm) significantly alter non-specific phagocytosis of AuNPs in the reticuloendothelial system macrophages, elimination rate, and nanotoxicology.

Luminescent Gold Nanoparticles with Discrete DNA Valences for Precisely Controlled Transport at the Subcellular Level.

Ultrasmall luminescent gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with excellent capabilities to cross biological barriers offer great promise in designing intelligent model nanomedicines for investigating structure-property relationships at the subcellular level. However, the strict surface controllability of ultrasmall AuNPs is challenging because of their small size. Herein, we report a facile in situ method for precisely controlling DNA aptamer valences on the surface of luminescent AuNPs with emission in the second near-infrared window using a phosphorothioate-modified DNA aptamer, AS1411, as a template. The discrete DNA aptamer number of AS1411-functionalized AuNPs (AS1411-AuNPs, ≈1.8 nm) with emission at 1030 nm was controlled in one aptamer (V1), two aptamers (V2), and four aptamers (V4). It was then discovered that not only the tumor-targeting efficiencies but also the subcellular transport of AS1411-AuNPs were precisely dependent on valences. A slight increase in valence from V1 to V2 increased tumor-targeting efficiencies and resulted in higher nucleus accumulation, whereas a further increase in valence (e.g., V4) significantly increased tumor-targeting efficiencies and led to higher cytomembrane accumulation. These results provide a basis for the strict surface control of nanomedicines in the precise regulation of in vivo transport at the subcellular level and their translation into clinical practice in the future.

Interfacial engineering of 1D/2D heterostructured photoanode for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting.

Solar-driven photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting for hydrogen generation is regarded as a sustainable strategy to relieve fossil resource issue. However, its PEC conversion efficiency still suffers from the low light absorption and high electron-hole recombination. Herein, we report 1D/2D hierarchical heterostructured photoelectrode constructed by ordered ZnO nanorod array and intimately attached ultra-thin Hematene (thickness of monolayer: 1-2 nm) for effective PEC water oxidation with visible light irradiation. The onset potential of Hematene/ZnO NRs photoanode (0.28 V versus RHE) for PEC water oxidation has an obvious negative shift compared with that of ZnO NRs (0.32 V versus RHE) indicating the enhanced PEC kinetics. Furthermore, reduced charge transport resistance (18.82 KΩ cm-2), a high carrier density of 9.03 × 1018cm-3and the resulting significantly enhanced incident photon-to-current efficiency enhancement compared with ZnO NRs photoanode were obtained for Hematene/ZnO NRs photoanode. All these were ascribed to the formation of large built-in electric field which was arising from the charge redistribution at the ZnO and Hematene interface, and the band alignment engineering between the components. In summary, such interfacial engineering may inspire the future development of 1D/2D hierarchical heterostructured photoanodes in the field of PEC water splitting.

Weak Anchoring Sites of Thiolate-Protected Luminescent Gold Nanoparticles.

Surface functionalization of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with thiolate ligands is a successful strategy for controlling their stability, nanotoxicity, circulation, and interaction with biological environments as leading nanomedicines. However, the effects of the weak anchoring groups of NH2 and COOH have been long-term ignored because of the well-recognized strong anchoring site of S-Au. Herein, the authors achieve controllable weak anchoring sites of the luminescent AuNPs using a typical thiolate peptide such as glutathione with anchoring groups of SH, COOH, and NH2 . Additionally, they establish that not only the strong anchoring site of S-Au, but also the weak anchoring sites from N-Au and COO-Au are critical to the behavior of AuNPs at both in vitro and in vivo levels. These results open up new possibilities for the fundamental understanding of the significance of the weak anchoring sites in the future surface functionalization of nanomedicines toward advanced theranostics.

Facile fabrication of binder-free photoelectrode for sensitive glucose sensing.

A novel carbon nitride particle-decorated three-dimensional porous nickel foam (CN/NF) was fabricated by a simple thermal polymerization deposition method for photoelectrochemical glucose detection. In this PEC sensing system, the synergetic effect of the photoactive CN and conductive current collector NF with multi-charge transfer channels contributed to the efficient separation of photoexcited charge carriers. The CN/NF electrode showed an excellent response for glucose detection and good anti-interference properties. A wide linear detection up to 1000µM and sensitivity of 460.2µA cm-2mM-1were obtained. This work provides a new strategy for designing binder-free electrodes for PEC sensing.

MicroRNA-520d-3p alleviates hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced damage in human cardiomyocytes by targeting ATG-12.

Hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) induced injury results in extensive damages to myocardial tissue in patients with coronary heart disease, which leads to heart failure. MicroRNA (miRNA) is thought to be associated with myocardial H/R injury. The purpose of this study was to investigate the in vitro role of microRNA-520d-3p in human myocardial cell (HCM) myocardial H/R injury. MTT method and Annexin V-FITC flow cytometry were employed to measure the viability and apoptosis of H/R treated HCM. RT-qPCR was employed to determine miRNA and mRNA expression. MicroRNA-520d-3p mimic and microRNA-520d-3p inhibitor were used to overexpression and inhibit the expression of microRNA-520d-3p. In addition, pcDNA3.1-ATG12 was used to upregulate ATG12 expression. The protein levels of ATG12, Bcl-2 and autophagy related-genes were determined by western blotting. Hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) injury could inhibit cell viability, apoptosis and inhibited microRNA-520d-3p expression in HCM. The down-regulation of microRNA-520d-3p inhibited cell viability and induced apoptosis in HCM. The overexpression of microRNA-520d-3p attenuated the effects of H/R treatment on the viability and apoptosis of HCM cells. In addition, microRNA-520d-3p inhibited the expression of autophagy-associated 12 (ATG12). More importantly, H/R treatment could promote autophagy in HCM, and microRNA-520d-3p mimic transfection could significantly reverse this effect. Our result indicated that overexpression of microRNA-520d-3p attenuated the effect of H/R treatments on cell viability, apoptosis and autophagy, through partly regulating ATG12 expression in HCM.

Concentration-Dependent Subcellular Distribution of Ultrasmall Near-Infrared-Emitting Gold Nanoparticles.

The ability to accurately control the subcellular distribution of nanomedicines provides unique advantages on understanding of cellular biology and disease theranostics. The nanomedicine concentration is a key factor to affect the theranostic efficiency and systematic toxicity. Herein, we unravel a concentration-dependent subcellular distribution of near-infrared-emitting gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) co-coated with glutathione and a cell-penetrating peptide CR8 (CR-AuNPs), which shows a strong membrane-binding at high concentration but more endocytosis for mitochondria targeting at the low concentration region. Attributing to high content of AuI and microsecond luminescent lifetimes, these AuNPs can catalyze dissolved oxygen to generate singlet oxygen (1 O2 ) efficiently. Combining with the concentration-dependent subcellular distribution, the luminescent AuNPs show photocytotoxicity in the relative low concentration region. These findings facilitate the fundamental understanding of the biological behaviors and potential cytotoxicity of ultrasmall luminescent AuNPs toward future theranostics.

Strict DNA Valence Control in Ultrasmall Thiolate-Protected Near-Infrared-Emitting Gold Nanoparticles.

Realizing robust DNA functionalization with strict valence control in the sub-2-nm thiolate-protected luminescent gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) is highly demanded but remains unsolved due to their unique Au(0) core and Au(I)-S shell structures. Herein, we report a facile strategy using phosphorothioates (ps)-modified DNA (psDNA) as a template for in situ growth of near-infrared (NIR)-emitting AuNPs with precisely controlled DNA valence. In addition, the particle size could be finely tuned in ultrasmall ranges from 1.3 to 2.6 nm with regulation of the ps length of psDNA. The ultrasmall NIR-emitting AuNPs bearing strict DNA valence are also demonstrated to be as powerful building block for well-organized one-dimensional assembly and optical probe for targeted cellular imaging. Such a facile strategy in decoration of luminescent AuNPs with strict DNA valence provides a new pathway for development of surface-functionalizable ultrasmall metal nanoplatforms toward various downstream applications.

Self-Assembly of Luminescent Gold Nanoparticles with Sensitive pH-Stimulated Structure Transformation and Emission Response toward Lysosome Escape and Intracellular Imaging.

Ultrasmall luminescent gold nanoparticles (AuNPs, d < 3.0 nm) with distinct optical properties and good biocompatibilities hold enormous promise for advanced disease theranostics. However, ultrasmall AuNPs generally show low cellular interaction and are hardly ever transported into the specific subcellular compartments, hampering their further biomedical use in cellular delivery and intracellular tracking. Using a conventional cationic polymer chitosan (CS) with the isoelectric point of 6.5 as a template, ultrasmall luminescent AuNPs can be easily formed into self-assembled nanostructures (AuNPs@CS) with significantly enhanced cellular interaction capability and sensitive emission response toward subcellular location. The self-assembled AuNPs@CS become compacted nanostructures (∼23.5 nm) with high luminescence at low pH values (e.g., pH < 6.5) but reversibly transform to swelled structures with weak luminescence at high pH values (e.g., pH 7.4). The self-assembly of AuNPs not only improves the emission properties but also alters the surface charge and assembly size, resulting in both enhanced cellular internalization and effective endosomal escape capability. More importantly, the sensitive luminescence response of the AuNPs@CS from the acidic organelle lysosome to the neutral cytoplasm demonstrates the great potential in optical intracellular tracking.

[Reasons for anastomotic leakage following the learning curve by laparoscopic anterior resection of rectal cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the reasons of anastomotic leakage following learning curve by laparoscopic anterior resection of rectal cancer.
 Methods: From December, 2011 to March, 2015, the clinical information of 179 patients in our hospital who underwent dixon of rectal cancer were collected. The patients were divided into a laparoscopic learning group, a laparotomy group and a laparoscopic group. The reasons of anastomotic leakage for each group were comparatively analyzed. Repeated cutting of anastomotic stoma was compared between the laparoscopic learning group and the laparoscopic group. The male, age, obesity, nutrition complications and the position of anastomotic stoma were compared among the 3 groups.
 Results: The rate of anastomotic leakage in the laparoscopic learning group was significantly higher than that in the laparotomy group and the laparoscopic group (P<0.05). Repeated cutting was a significant risk factor in the laparoscopic learning group (P<0.05), but not in the laparoscopic group. Except obesity, the four factors were significant risk factors in the laparoscopic learning group (P<0.05). All of the five factors were not the significant risk factors in the laparotomy group and the laparoscopic group (P>0.05).
 Conclusion: The operation technical shortcoming is the major factor in the learning of the laparoscopic anterior resection of rectal cancer. In order to reduce the rate of anastomotic leakage in the learning curve period, the selection of patients following the laparoscopic anterior resection of rectal cancer should avoid the following factors: male, older age, the low position of the tumor and the nutrition complications.

Double-Strand Displacement Biosensor and Quencher-Free Fluorescence Strategy for Rapid Detection of MicroRNA.

We describe a facile quencher-free fluorescence strategy for rapid detection of microRNAs (miRNAs) by using a novel double-strand displacement sensor. The sensor is designed with an outstanding 2-aminopurine (2-AP) fluorophore as a probe and a predesigned cDNA, which can completely complement the target miRNA and partly complement the 2-AP probe. When the target miRNA is added, the cDNA can be competed off from the cDNA\2-AP probe duplex, thereby forming a cDNA\RNA heteroduplex. The free 2-AP probe induces an increase in the fluorescent signal. A limit of detection of 5 nM and a wide linear range from 5 to 1000 nM (R(2) = 0.9971) are achieved by this assay. The rapid detection strategy can be accomplished within 2 h without expensive nanoparticles and complicated instruments for the whole procedure, thus, offering a significant potential for clinical application.

Y-shaped probe for convenient and label-free detection of microRNA-21 in vitro.

A simple, highly selective, and label-free microRNA (miRNA) detection method based on l-alanine-reduced graphene oxide fluorescence quenching with a Y-shaped probe is proposed. The Y-shaped probe was synthesized by silver nitrate and a cytosine-rich molecular beacon (MB) in two terminals through sodium borohydride reduction, which generated a stronger fluorescent signal than ordinary DNA-templated silver nanoclusters (AgNCs). Meanwhile, the Y-shaped probe contained a single-stranded loop structure, which could be superbly adsorbed onto the surface of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) via π-π stacking interaction, and this special structure of the probe was designed to improve its sensitivity and selectivity. In addition, the quenching capacities of graphene oxide (GO) and RGO were compared in this research. The strong interaction between nucleobases of the loop structure and RGO nanosheet made the MB-AgNCs-RGO system exhibit minimal background fluorescence. In the presence of miRNA-21, the loop structure of the Y-shaped probe can hybridize with target miRNA-21; the molecular beacon encapsulated probe is far away from RGO surface and produces a detectable signal. The MB-AgNCs based approach provides a label-free avenue to detect miRNA with high selectivity and good reproducibility, which has a promising application in early clinical diagnosis and biomedical research.

Modular Assembly of 2-Aminoaniline Derivatives by Merging Hydroxylamine-Passerini and Hetero-Cope Rearrangement.

A metal-free three-component protocol that combines a hydroxylamine-Passerini reaction and hetero-Cope rearrangement was realized, which enables the modular assembly of a wide range of structurally new and interesting 2-aminoanilines bearing an α-hydroxyamide substructure.