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Waterlogging is a serious abiotic stress that drastically decreases crop productivity by damaging the root system. Jasmonic acid (JA) inhibits waterlogging-induced adventitious root (AR) formation in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). However, we still lack a profound mechanistic understanding of how JA governs AR formation under waterlogging stress. JAZ (JASMONATE ZIM-DOMAIN) proteins are responsible for repressing JA signaling in a transcriptional manner. In this study, we showed that overexpressing CsJAZ8 inhibited the formation of ARs triggered by waterlogging. Molecular analyses revealed that CsJAZ8 inhibited the activation of the R2R3-MYB transcription factor CsMYB6 via direct interaction. Additionally, silencing of CsMYB6 negatively impacted AR formation under waterlogging stress, as CsMYB6 could directly bind to the promoters of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate oxidase2 gene CsACO2 and gibberellin 20-oxidases gene CsGA20ox2, facilitating the transcription of these genes. The overexpression of CsACO2 and CsGA20ox2 led to increased levels of ethylene and gibberellin, which facilitated AR formation under waterlogging conditions. On the contrary, silencing these genes resulted in contrasting phenotypes of AR formation. These results highlight that the transcriptional cascade of CsJAZ8 and CsMYB6 plays a critical role in regulating hormonal-mediated cucumber waterlogging-triggered AR formation by inhibiting ethylene and gibberellin accumulation. We anticipate that our findings will provide insights into the molecular mechanisms that drive the emergence of AR in cucumber plants under waterlogging stress.
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The formation of adventitious roots (ARs) derived from hypocotyl is the most important morphological adaptation to waterlogging stress in Cucumis sativus (cucumber). Our previous study showed that cucumbers with the gene CsARN6.1, encoding an AAA ATPase domain-containing protein, were more tolerant to waterlogging through increased AR formation. However, the apparent function of CsARN6.1 remained unknown. Here, we showed that the CsARN6.1 signal was predominantly observed throughout the cambium of hypocotyls, where de novo AR primordia are formed upon waterlogging treatment. The silencing of CsARN6.1 expression by virus-induced gene silencing and CRISPR/Cas9 technologies adversely affects the formation of ARs under conditions of waterlogging. Waterlogging treatment significantly induced ethylene production, thus upregulating CsEIL3 expression, which encodes a putative transcription factor involved in ethylene signaling. Furthermore, yeast one-hybrid, electrophoretic mobility assay and transient expression analyses showed that CsEIL3 binds directly to the CsARN6.1 promoter to initiate its expression. CsARN6.1 was found to interact with CsPrx5, a waterlogging-responsive class-III peroxidase that enhanced H2 O2 production and increased AR formation. These data provide insights into understanding the molecular mechanisms of AAA ATPase domain-containing protein and uncover a molecular mechanism that links ethylene signaling with the formation of ARs triggered by waterlogging.
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Cucumis sativus , Cucumis sativus/genética , Cucumis sativus/metabolismo , Etilenos/metabolismo , Hipocótilo/metabolismo , Regulação da Expressão Gênica de Plantas , ATPases Associadas a Diversas Atividades Celulares/genética , Raízes de Plantas/genética , Raízes de Plantas/metabolismoRESUMO
PURPOSE: Tractography of the facial nerve based on diffusion MRI is instrumental before surgery for the resection of vestibular schwannoma, but no excellent methods usable for the suppression of motion and image noise have been proposed. The aim of this study was to effectively suppress noise and provide accurate facial nerve reconstruction by extend a fiber trajectory distribution function based on the fourth-order streamline differential equations. METHODS: Preoperative MRI from 33 patients with vestibular schwannoma who underwent surgical resection were utilized in this study. First, T1WI and T2WI were used to obtain mask images and regions of interest. Second, probabilistic tractography was employed to obtain the fibers representing the approximate facial nerve pathway, and these fibers were subsequently translated into orientation information for each voxel. Last, the voxel orientation information and the peaks of the fiber orientation distribution were combined to generate a fiber trajectory distribution function, which was used to parameterize the anatomical information. The parameters were determined by minimizing the cost between the trajectory of fibers and the estimated directions. RESULTS: Qualitative and visual analyses were used to compare facial nerve reconstruction with intraoperative recordings. Compared with other methods (SD_Stream, iFOD1, iFOD2, unscented Kalman filter, parallel transport tractography), the fiber-trajectory-distribution-based tractography provided the most accurate facial nerve reconstructions. CONCLUSION: The fiber-trajectory-distribution-based tractography can effectively suppress the effect of noise. It is a more valuable aid for surgeons before vestibular schwannoma resection, which may ultimately improve the postsurgical patient's outcome.
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Imagem de Tensor de Difusão , Nervo Facial , Neuroma Acústico , Humanos , Neuroma Acústico/diagnóstico por imagem , Neuroma Acústico/cirurgia , Imagem de Tensor de Difusão/métodos , Nervo Facial/diagnóstico por imagem , Feminino , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Adulto , Idoso , Algoritmos , Processamento de Imagem Assistida por Computador/métodos , Cuidados Pré-Operatórios/métodos , Adulto JovemRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the value of nomogram analysis based on conventional features and radiomics features of computed tomography (CT) venous phase to differentiate metastatic ovarian tumors (MOTs) from epithelial ovarian tumors (EOTs). METHODS: A dataset involving 286 patients pathologically confirmed with EOTs (training cohort: 133 cases, validation cohort: 68 cases) and MOTs (training cohort: 54 cases, validation cohort: 31 cases) is assembled in this study. Radiomics features are extracted from the venous phase of CT images. Logistic regression is employed to build models based on conventional features (model 1), radiomics features (model 2), and the combination of model 1 and model 2 (model 3). Diagnostic performance is assessed and compared. Additionally, a nomogram is plotted for model 3, and decision curve analysis is applied for clinical use. RESULTS: Age, abdominal metastasis, para-aortic lymph node metastasis, location, and septation are chosen to build Model 1. Ten optimal radiomics features are ultimately selected and radiomics score (rad-score) is calculated to build Model 2. Nomogram score is calculated to build model 3 that shows optimal diagnostic performance in both the training (AUCâ=â0.952) and validation cohorts (AUCâ=â0.720), followed by model 1 (AUCâ=â0.872 for training cohort and AUCâ=â0.709 for validation cohort) and model 2 (AUCâ=â0.833 for training cohort and AUCâ=â0.620 for validation cohort). Additionally, Model 3 achieves accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of 0.893, 0.880, and 0.926 in the training cohort and 0.737, 0.853, and 0.613 in the validation cohort. CONCLUSION: Model 3 demonstrates the best diagnostic performance for preoperative differentiation of MOTs from EOTs. Thus, nomogram analysis based on Model 3 may be used as a biomarker to differentiate MOTs from EOTs.
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Nomogramas , Neoplasias Ovarianas , Feminino , Humanos , Estudos Retrospectivos , Tomografia Computadorizada por Raios X/métodos , Metástase Linfática , Neoplasias Ovarianas/diagnóstico por imagemRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility of T2WI-based radiomics nomogram analysis to non-invasively predict normal-sized pelvic lymph node (LN) metastasis (LNM) in cervical cancer patients. METHODS: Preoperative images of 219 normal-sized pathologically confirmed LNs from 132 cervical cancer patients admitted to our hospital between January 2013 and March 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. Regions of interests (ROIs) were separately delineated on whole LNs and tumors. The maximum-relevance and minimum-redundancy (mRMR) and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) methods were used for the construction of radiomics signature. Logistic regression modeling was employed to build models based on clinical features on LN T2WI (model 1), model 1 combined with LN radiomics features (model 2), and model 2 combined with tumor score (model 3). Diagnostic performance was assessed and compared. RESULTS: Both model 2 and model 3 showed higher diagnostic accuracy (training: model 2 0.75, model 3 0.78, model 1 0.72; validation: model 2 0.77, model 3 0.69, model 1 0.66) and AUC (training: model 2 0.77, model 3 0.82, model 1 0.74; validation: model 2 0.75, model 3 0.74, model 1 0.70) than clinical model 1. Diagnostic performance of model 3 was improved compared with model 2 in primary cohort, but reduced in validation cohort. However, the differences did not show obvious statistical difference (p = 0.05 and p = 0.15). CONCLUSIONS: T2WI-based radiomics nomogram incorporating the LN radiomics signature with the clinical morphological LN features is promising for predicting the normal-sized pelvic LNM in cervical cancer patients. The original tumor radiomics analysis did not significantly improve the differential diagnosis of LNM. KEY POINTS: ⢠The combination of LN radiomics signature with LN clinical morphological features on T2WI could discriminate LNM relatively well. ⢠The tumor radiomics analysis did not significantly improve the differential diagnosis of LNM.
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Nomogramas , Neoplasias do Colo do Útero , Estudos de Viabilidade , Feminino , Humanos , Linfonodos/diagnóstico por imagem , Metástase Linfática/diagnóstico por imagem , Imageamento por Ressonância Magnética , Estudos Retrospectivos , Neoplasias do Colo do Útero/diagnóstico por imagemRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Detecting normal-sized metastatic pelvic lymph nodes (LNs) in cervical cancers, although difficult, is of vital importance. PURPOSE: To investigate the value of diffusion-weighted-imaging (DWI), tumor size, and LN shape in predicting metastases in normal-sized pelvic LNs in cervical cancers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Pathology confirmed cervical cancer patients with complete magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were documented from 2011 to 2016. A total of 121 cervical cancer patients showed small pelvic LNs (<5 mm) and 92 showed normal-sized (5-10 mm) pelvic LNs (39 patients with 55 nodes that were histologically metastatic, 53 patients with 71 nodes that were histologically benign). Preoperative clinical and MRI variables were analyzed and compared between the metastatic and benign groups. RESULTS: LN apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values and short-to-long axis ratios were not significantly different between metastatic and benign normal-sized LNs (0.98 ± 0.15 × 10-3 vs. 1.00 ± 0.18 × 10-3 mm2/s, P = 0.45; 0.65 ± 0.16 vs. 0.64 ± 0.16, P = 0.60, respectively). Tumor ADC value of the metastatic LNs was significantly lower than the benign LNs (0.98 ± 0.12 × 10-3 vs. 1.07 ± 0.21 × 10-3 mm2/s, P = 0.01). Tumor size (height) was significantly higher in the metastatic LN group (27.59 ± 9.18 mm vs. 21.36 ± 10.40 mm, P < 0.00). Spiculated border rate was higher in the metastatic LN group (9 [16.4%] vs. 3 [4.2%], P = 0.03). Tumor (height) combined with tumor ADC value showed the highest area under the curve of 0.702 ( P < 0.00) in detecting metastatic pelvic nodes, with a sensitivity of 59.1% and specificity of 78.8%. CONCLUSIONS: Tumor DWI combined with tumor height were superior to LN DWI and shape in predicting the metastatic state of normal-sized pelvic LNs in cervical cancer patients.
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Imagem de Difusão por Ressonância Magnética/métodos , Metástase Linfática/diagnóstico por imagem , Metástase Linfática/patologia , Neoplasias do Colo do Útero/diagnóstico por imagem , Neoplasias do Colo do Útero/patologia , Adulto , Feminino , Humanos , Interpretação de Imagem Assistida por Computador , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Invasividade Neoplásica/diagnóstico por imagem , Invasividade Neoplásica/patologiaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Multicystic mucinous adenocarcinoma is rarely recognized and has a high misdiagnosis rate. PURPOSE: To distinguish malignant multicystic mucinous adenocarcinomas from benign multicystic lesions in the uterine cervix using multiparametric MR. STUDY TYPE: Retrospective. POPULATION: Forty patients with seven cystic mucinous adenocarcinomas and 33 benign multicystic lesions. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 3.0T. Diffusion-weighted images (DWI) and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) images. ASSESSMENT: Lesion size, intracystic hemorrhage, solid component, and heterogeneous enhancement were subjectively assessed, and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values, Ktrans , Kep , and Ve parameters were compared. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Student's t-test was used to compare age, tumor size, ADC values, and DCE parameters. Pearson's chi-square test was used to compare intracystic hemorrhage, solid component, and heterogeneous enhancement. Receiver-operating-characteristic (ROC) analysis of ADC values, tumor size, and Ktrans were performed. RESULTS: The size of mucinous adenocarcinomas was larger than benign multicystic lesions (4.09 ± 2.09 vs. 2.23 ± 0.58 cm, P < 0.001); the area under the curve (AUC) for tumor size was 0.859 with a sensitivity of 71.4% and specificity of 90.9%. Stromal ADC value was lower for mucinous adenocarcinomas (1.19 ± 0.22 vs. 1.68 ± 0.22 × 10-3 mm2 /s, P < 0.001); AUC for stromal ADC value was 0.970, with a sensitivity of 86.4% and specificity of 100.0%. Among quantitative DCE parameters, only ktrans offered a discriminative value (1.72 ± 1.42 vs. 0.69 ± 0.30 min-1 , P = 0.031); the AUC for ktrans was 0.831 with a sensitivity of 71.4% and specificity of 97.0%. Intracystic hemorrhage (3/7), solid component (5/7), and heterogeneous enhancement (4/7) were only found in mucinous adenocarcinomas. Five patients (71.4%) had lymphovascular space invasion and three (42.9%) had lymph node metastasis. The 1-year tumor recurrence or metastasis rate was 28.5% (2/7). DATA CONCLUSION: Awareness of multiparametric MR features can assist in the differentiation of mucinous adenocarcinomas from benign multicystic lesions. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4 Technical Efficacy: Stage 2 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2018;47:1336-1343.
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Adenocarcinoma Mucinoso/diagnóstico por imagem , Colo do Útero/diagnóstico por imagem , Meios de Contraste/química , Imagem de Difusão por Ressonância Magnética , Neoplasias do Colo do Útero/diagnóstico por imagem , Adulto , Feminino , Humanos , Processamento de Imagem Assistida por Computador/métodos , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Recidiva Local de Neoplasia/diagnóstico , Prognóstico , Estudos RetrospectivosRESUMO
Ethyl rosmarinate (RAE) is one of the active constituents from Clinopodium chinense (Benth.) O. Kuntze, which is used for diabetic treatment in Chinese folk medicine. In this study, we investigated the protective effect of RAE on high glucose-induced injury in endothelial cells and explored its underlying mechanisms. Our results showed that both RAE and rosmarinic acid (RA) increased cell viability, decreased the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and attenuated high glucose-induced endothelial cells apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner, as evidenced by Hochest staining, Annexin Vâ»FITC/PI double staining, and caspase-3 activity. RAE and RA both elevated Bcl-2 expression and reduced Bax expression, according to Western blot. We also found that LY294002 (phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, or PI3K inhibitor) weakened the protective effect of RAE. In addition, PDTC (nuclear factor-κB, or NF-κB inhibitor) and SP600125 (c-Jun N-terminal kinase, or JNK inhibitor) could inhibit the apoptosis in endothelial cells caused by high glucose. Further, we demonstrated that RAE activated Akt, and the molecular docking analysis predicted that RAE showed more affinity with Akt than RA. Moreover, we found that RAE inhibited the activation of NF-κB and JNK. These results suggested that RAE protected endothelial cells from high glucose-induced apoptosis by alleviating reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and regulating the PI3K/Akt/Bcl-2 pathway, the NF-κB pathway, and the JNK pathway. In general, RAE showed greater potency than RA equivalent.
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Cinamatos/farmacologia , Depsídeos/farmacologia , Células Endoteliais/citologia , Glucose/efeitos adversos , Antracenos/farmacologia , Apoptose/efeitos dos fármacos , Sobrevivência Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Células Cultivadas , Cromonas/farmacologia , Humanos , Simulação de Acoplamento Molecular , Morfolinas/farmacologia , NF-kappa B/metabolismo , Estresse Oxidativo/efeitos dos fármacos , Fosfatidilinositol 3-Quinase/metabolismo , Fosfatidilinositol 3-Quinases/metabolismo , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-akt/metabolismo , Espécies Reativas de Oxigênio/metabolismo , Transdução de Sinais/efeitos dos fármacos , Ácido RosmarínicoRESUMO
Visual training has emerged as a useful framework for investigating training-related brain plasticity, a highly complex task involving the interaction of visual orientation, attention, reasoning, and cognitive functions. However, the effects of long-term visual training on microstructural changes within white matter (WM) is poorly understood. Therefore, a set of visual training programs was designed, and automated fiber tract subclassification segmentation quantification based on diffusion magnetic resonance imaging was performed to obtain the anatomical changes in the brains of visual trainees. First, 40 healthy matched participants were randomly assigned to the training group or the control group. The training group underwent 10 consecutive weeks of visual training. Then, the fiber tracts of the subjects were automatically identified and further classified into fiber clusters to determine the differences between the two groups on a detailed scale. Next, each fiber cluster was divided into segments that can analyze specific areas of a fiber cluster. Lastly, the diffusion metrics of the two groups were comparatively analyzed to delineate the effects of visual training on WM microstructure. Our results showed that there were significant differences in the fiber clusters of the cingulate bundle, thalamus frontal, uncinate fasciculus, and corpus callosum between the training group compared and the control group. In addition, the training group exhibited lower mean fractional anisotropy, higher mean diffusivity and radial diffusivity than the control group. Therefore, the long-term cognitive activities, such as visual training, may systematically influence the WM properties of cognition, attention, memory, and processing speed.
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Substância Branca , Humanos , Substância Branca/diagnóstico por imagem , Substância Branca/patologia , Encéfalo/diagnóstico por imagem , Encéfalo/patologia , Imagem de Difusão por Ressonância Magnética , Cognição , Corpo Caloso/patologia , AnisotropiaRESUMO
Abiotic stressors like waterlogging are detrimental to cucumber development and growth. However, comprehension of the highly complex molecular mechanism underlying waterlogging can provide an opportunity to enhance cucumber tolerance under waterlogging stress. We examined the hypocotyl and stage-specific transcriptomes of the waterlogging-tolerant YZ026A and the waterlogging-sensitive YZ106A, which had different adventitious rooting ability under waterlogging. YZ026A performed better under waterlogging stress by altering its antioxidative machinery and demonstrated a greater superoxide ion (O 2-) scavenging ability. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that a high number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were enriched in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis. By pairwise comparison and weighted gene co-expression network analysis analysis, 2616 DEGs were obtained which were categorized into 11 gene co-expression modules. Amongst the 11 modules, black was identified as the common module and yielded a novel key regulatory gene, CsPrx73. Transgenic cucumber plants overexpressing CsPrx73 enhance adventitious root (AR) formation under waterlogging conditions and increase reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging. Silencing of CsPrx73 expression by virus-induced gene silencing adversely affects AR formation under the waterlogging condition. Our results also indicated that CsERF7-3, a waterlogging-responsive ERF transcription factor, can directly bind to the ATCTA-box motif in the CsPrx73 promoter to initiate its expression. Overexpression of CsERF7-3 enhanced CsPrx73 expression and AR formation. On the contrary, CsERF7-3-silenced plants decreased CsPrx73 expression and rooting ability. In conclusion , our study demonstrates a novel CsERF7-3-CsPrx73 module that allows cucumbers to adapt more efficiently to waterlogging stress by promoting AR production and ROS scavenging.
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A tokamak relies on the axisymmetric magnetic fields to confine fusion plasmas and aims to deliver sustainable and clean energy. However, misalignments arise inevitably in the tokamak construction, leading to small asymmetries in the magnetic field known as error fields (EFs). The EFs have been a major concern in the tokamak approaches because small EFs, even less than 0.1%, can drive a plasma disruption. Meanwhile, the EFs in the tokamak can be favorably used for controlling plasma instabilities, such as edge-localized modes (ELMs). Here we show an optimization that tailors the EFs to maintain an edge 3D response for ELM control with a minimized core 3D response to avoid plasma disruption and unnecessary confinement degradation. We design and demonstrate such an edge-localized 3D response in the KSTAR facility, benefiting from its unique flexibility to change many degrees of freedom in the 3D coil space for the various fusion plasma regimes. This favorable control of the tokamak EF represents a notable advance for designing intrinsically 3D tokamaks to optimize stability and confinement for next-step fusion reactors.
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The segmentation of cranial nerves (CNs) tracts based on diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) provides a valuable quantitative tool for the analysis of the morphology and course of individual CNs. Tractography-based approaches can describe and analyze the anatomical area of CNs by selecting the reference streamlines in combination with ROIs-based (regions-of-interests) or clustering-based. However, due to the slender structure of CNs and the complex anatomical environment, single-modality data based on dMRI cannot provide a complete and accurate description, resulting in low accuracy or even failure of current algorithms in performing individualized CNs segmentation. In this work, we propose a novel multimodal deep-learning-based multi-class network for automated cranial nerves tract segmentation without using tractography, ROI placement or clustering, called CNTSeg. Specifically, we introduced T1w images, fractional anisotropy (FA) images, and fiber orientation distribution function (fODF) peaks into the training data set, and design the back-end fusion module which uses the complementary information of the interphase feature fusion to improve the segmentation performance. CNTSeg has achieved the segmentation of 5 pairs of CNs (i.e. optic nerve CN II, oculomotor nerve CN III, trigeminal nerve CN V, and facial-vestibulocochlear nerve CN VII/VIII). Extensive comparisons and ablation experiments show promising results and are anatomically convincing even for difficult tracts. The code will be openly available at https://github.com/IPIS-XieLei/CNTSeg.
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Aprendizado Profundo , Imagem de Tensor de Difusão , Humanos , Imagem de Tensor de Difusão/métodos , Nervos Cranianos/diagnóstico por imagem , Imagem de Difusão por Ressonância Magnética/métodos , Nervo Óptico , Processamento de Imagem Assistida por Computador/métodosRESUMO
Cucumber varieties with shortend internodes require less space than regular vining varieties, thus have great significance for germplasm improvement. Here, we found a novel spontaneous cucumber mutant si107 that exhibited short intenodes (si), smaller leaves, fruits, and seeds. The decrease in longitudinal cell length led to the shortened internodes of si107. The genetic analysis revealed a single recessive gene si-2 that was responsible for the mutation. Through multiple lines of evidence, we demonstrated that CsSI is the possible candidate gene for si-2, which encodes an ERECTA leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase. The shortened internode in si107 is attributed to a 2-bp deletion in the protein kinase domain region of this gene. The expression of CsSI was higher in the internodes, petioles, and fruit peels of si107 than in the wild type (WT). The transcriptome analysis between the si107 mutant and WT indicated that differentially expressed genes were significantly enriched in the plant hormone signal transduction pathway, in which auxin signal genes comprised the largest group, and all were downregulated in si107. Phytohormone quantitation confirmed that endogenous auxin levels in the stems of si107 were decreased. Our results provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the internode length control in cucumber.
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Cucumis sativus , Cucumis sativus/genética , Cucumis sativus/metabolismo , Proteínas Quinases/genética , Fenótipo , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica , Reguladores de Crescimento de Plantas/metabolismo , Ácidos Indolacéticos/metabolismo , Regulação da Expressão Gênica de PlantasRESUMO
Excavation waste from the construction of subways and other underground infrastructures is mainly composed of gravel, sand and clay of minimal economic value, which commonly ends up in landfills. Although the coarse sand and gravel of the excavation waste are typically recycled on site, a large amount of the fine-grained residue must be disposed of due to the prohibition of marine land reclamation in Xiamen, China, leading to an increasingly severe shortage of landfills. In this contribution, a new strategy was successfully developed for industrial-scale extraction of high value-added kaolin from the excavation waste of Xiamen. This strategy can overcome the challenges of complex and variable chemical compositions, high iron contents, low industrial grade, and organic contaminants in the raw materials. Characterization using chemical analysis, powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and infrared spectroscopy showed that the Xiamen excavation waste originated from granite weathering is mainly composed of kaolinite and quartz, along with high Fe contents and other impurities. The excavation waste was subjected to an intensive process of blunging, grinding, sieving, and classifying, as well as successive iron removal by magnetic separation. Subsequently, the extracted products meet commercial requirements, including those for high-quality kaolin with whiteness and plasticity larger than 90° and 17%, respectively. Moreover, an industrial-scale green production line with an annual treatment capacity of one million tonnes of excavation waste at the utilization rate of 100% was implemented. Hence, this work presents an effective approach for exploiting similar excavation waste around the world to promote sustainable development.
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Caulim , Areia , Caulim/química , Argila , Instalações de Eliminação de Resíduos , Ferro , Resíduos IndustriaisRESUMO
Flat stem and witches' broom phytoplasma-like symptoms in the cucumber inbred line C17 were observed in a greenhouse at Yangzhou University, China for three consecutive planting seasons; these symptoms resulted in a decreased yield. To better understand the cause of these symptoms, 16S rRNA PCR, plant hormones, mineral elements, and RNA-seq profiling were performed using symptomatic and normal stem samples. The results showed that the causal agent was classified as the Candidatus phytoplasma asteris strain, a plant pathogenic prokaryote that could not be cultured in vitro. Measurement of plant hormones showed that auxin, salicylic acid, and jasmonic acid contents were significantly increased, whereas that of ethylene's immediate biosynthetic precursor, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid, was decreased in the phytoplasma-infected stems compared with the healthy stems. Furthermore, measurement of mineral element composition showed that magnesium, calcium, sodium, iron, and zinc concentrations significantly changed in the phytoplasma-infected cucumber stems compared with the uninfected stems. Comparative RNA-seq identified 253 differentially expressed genes, including 179 upregulated and 74 downregulated genes. Further analyses suggested that genes related to phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, phenylalanine metabolism, and plant hormone signal transduction contributed to phytoplasma infection. Taken together, this study presents the first in-depth assessment of disease symptoms and biochemical content of cucumber stems known to be infected with phytoplasma.
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Cucumis sativus , Phytoplasma , Humanos , RNA Ribossômico 16S/genética , Cucumis sativus/genética , Reguladores de Crescimento de Plantas/genética , Doenças por Fitoplasmas , Cálcio , Magnésio , Transcriptoma/genética , Doenças das Plantas/genética , Filogenia , Phytoplasma/genética , Plantas/genética , Ácido Salicílico , Ácidos Indolacéticos , Sódio , Zinco , Ferro , Fenilalanina/genética , EtilenosRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the value of a fractional order calculus (FROC) model combined with conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for differentiating cervical adenocarcinoma (CAC) from squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). METHODS: Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) with 9 b values (0-2000s/mm2) was carried out in 57 cervical cancer patients. Diffusion coefficient (D), fractional order parameter (ß), and microstructural quantity (µ) together with apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were calculated and compared between the CAC and SCC groups. Conventional MRI features included T2WI signal intensity (SI), unenhanced-T1WI SI, enhanced-T1WI SI, and ∆T1WI SI, which were also compared between the two groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was employed to assess the performance of FROC parameters, ADC, and conventional MRI features in differentiating CAC from SCC. RESULTS: ß was significantly lower in the CAC group than in the SCC group (0.682 ± 0.054 vs. 0.723 ± 0.084, P = 0.035), while D and µ were not significantly different between the two groups (D, P = 0.171; µ, P = 0.127). There was no significant difference in the ADC value between the two groups (P = 0.053). In conventional MRI features, enhanced-T1WI SI was significantly higher in the SCC group than in the CAC group (985.78 ± 130.83 vs. 853.92 ± 149.65, P = 0.002). The area under the curve (AUC) of ß, ADC, and enhanced-T1WI SI was 0.700, 0.683, and 0.799, respectively. The combination of ß, ADC, and enhanced-T1WI SI revealed optimal diagnostic performance in differentiating CAC from SCC (AUC = 0.930), followed by ß + enhanced-T1WI SI (AUC = 0.869), ADC+ enhanced-T1WI SI (AUC = 0.817), and ß + ADC (AUC = 0.761). CONCLUSION: The FROC model can serve as a noninvasive and quantitative imaging technique for differentiating CAC from SCC. ß combined with ADC and enhanced-T1WI SI had the highest diagnostic efficiency.
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Cálculos , Neuroblastoma , Neoplasias do Colo do Útero , Imagem de Difusão por Ressonância Magnética/métodos , Feminino , Humanos , Imageamento por Ressonância Magnética , Curva ROC , Neoplasias do Colo do Útero/diagnóstico por imagemRESUMO
OBJECTIVES: To determine the diagnostic ability of cervical mucosa radiomics signature of sagittal T2WI and T1 contrast-enhanced (CE) imaging in detecting early-stage cervical cancers with negative MRI. METHODS: Preoperative images of postoperative pathology confirmed early-stage cervical cancer patients and normal cervix patients admitted to our hospital between January 2013 and December 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients with cancer signals on T2WI, T1CE and DWI were deleted. Regions of interests (ROIs) were delineated on cervical mucosa (from cervical canal to cervical dome) with 5 mm width on sagittal T2WI and T1CE. The maximum-relevance and minimumredundancy (mRMR) and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) methods were used for the calculation of radiomics signature scores. Diagnostic performance was assessed and compared between radiomics prediction models (model 1: T1CE; model 2: T2WI; model 3: model one combined with model 2). Differential diagnostic ability of radiomics signature in detecting lymphatic vascular space invasion (LVSI) was further explored. RESULTS: Diagnostic performance of model three was higher than model 1 and model 2 both in primary (model 3 0.874, model 1 0.857, model 2 0.816) and validation (model 3 0.853, model 1 0.847, model 2 0.634) cohorts. Model 3 showed statistical diagnostic difference compared with model 2 (primary p = 0.008, validation p = 0.000). However, the diagnostic improvement ability of model 3 showed no statistical difference compared with model 1 (primary p = 0.351, validation p = 0.739). Diagnostic efficiency of model 3 in detecting LVSI was not apparent (AUC 0.64). CONCLUSIONS: Radiomics analysis of cervical mucosa combining T1CE and T2WI is promising for predicting MRI invisible early-stage cervical cancers, however further ability in detecting LVSI was not apparent. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: Conventional MRI was originally defined as meaningless in very early-stage cervical cancers. However, whether MRI radiomics analysis of cervical mucosa can detecting tiny changes of invisible early stage cervical cancers has not been researched yet.
Assuntos
Colo do Útero , Neoplasias do Colo do Útero , Colo do Útero/diagnóstico por imagem , Colo do Útero/patologia , Feminino , Humanos , Imageamento por Ressonância Magnética/métodos , Nomogramas , Estudos Retrospectivos , Neoplasias do Colo do Útero/diagnóstico por imagem , Neoplasias do Colo do Útero/patologiaRESUMO
Chronic diarrhea is associated with enteric dysbiosis and provokes the overuse of antibiotics. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is a promising therapy, but it shows discrepant clinical efficacy. Bacterial colonization in recipients has been studied, although little is known about the role of gut fungi and Archaea after FMT. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of human-derived FMT on spontaneous chronic diarrhea cynomolgus monkeys and revealed the effector mechanisms. We demonstrated that FMT can mitigate the appearance of diarrheal symptoms and inhibit the increase in interleukin-6, interleukin-8, interleukin-1ß, and interferon-γ and the decrease in interleukin-10 in serum. We confirmed that FMT restored the disturbance of gut bacteria by reducing the relative abundances of potential pathogens, including Cloacibacillus porcorum, Desulfovibrio desulfuricans, Erysipelotrichaceae bacterium 5_2_54FAA, and Erysipelotrichaceae bacterium 21_3, and increasing the levels of Lactobacillus fermentum and Lactobacillus ruminis CAG_367 in diarrheal monkeys. The metabolic pathways of healthy and FMT monkeys' gut bacteria were enriched in amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, and lipid metabolism, while the metabolic pathways of pre-FMT monkeys' gut bacteria were enriched in antibiotic production. Moreover, a higher Ascomycota/Basidiomycota ratio, higher Aspergillus levels, and lower Trichosporon asahii abundance were present in intestinal fungi after FMT. Although the abundance of the Archaea Methanosphaera stastmanae did not change significantly, it was inversely correlated with the anti-inflammatory factor IL-4 after FMT. These results support the further development and application of FMT for chronic diarrhea.
RESUMO
Resolving trajectories of axonal pathways in the primate prefrontal cortex remains crucial to gain insights into higher-order processes of cognition and emotion, which requires a comprehensive map of axonal projections linking demarcated subdivisions of prefrontal cortex and the rest of brain. Here, we report a mesoscale excitatory projectome issued from the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) to the entire macaque brain by using viral-based genetic axonal tracing in tandem with high-throughput serial two-photon tomography, which demonstrated prominent monosynaptic projections to other prefrontal areas, temporal, limbic, and subcortical areas, relatively weak projections to parietal and insular regions but no projections directly to the occipital lobe. In a common 3D space, we quantitatively validated an atlas of diffusion tractography-derived vlPFC connections with correlative green fluorescent protein-labeled axonal tracing, and observed generally good agreement except a major difference in the posterior projections of inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus. These findings raise an intriguing question as to how neural information passes along long-range association fiber bundles in macaque brains, and call for the caution of using diffusion tractography to map the wiring diagram of brain circuits.
In the brain is a web of interconnected nerve cells that send messages to one another via spindly projections called axons. These axons join together at junctions called synapses to create circuits of nerve cells which connect neighboring or distant brain regions. Notably, long-range neural connections underpin higher-order cognitive skills (such as planning and emotion regulation) which make humans distinct from our primate relatives. Only by untangling these far-reaching networks can researchers begin to delineate what sets the human brain apart from other species. Researchers deploy a range of imaging techniques to map neural networks: scanning entire brains using MRI machines, or imaging thin slices of fluorescently labelled brain tissue using powerful microscopes. However, tracing long-range axons at a high resolution is challenging, and has stirred up debate about whether some neural tracts, such as the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, are present in all primates or only humans. To address these discrepancies, Yan, Yu et al. employed a two-pronged approach to map neural circuits in the brains of macaques. First, two techniques called viral tracing and two-photon microscopy were used to create a three-dimensional, fine-grain map showing how the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC), which regulates complex behaviors, connects to the rest of the brain. This revealed prominent axons from the vlPFC projecting via a single synapse to distant brain regions involved in higher-order functions, such as encoding memories and processing emotion. However, there were no direct, monosynaptic connections between the vlPFC and the occipital lobe, the brain's visual processing center at the back of the head. Next, Yan, Yu et al. used a specialized MRI scanner to create an atlas of neural circuits connected to the vlPFC, and compared these results to a technique tracing axons stained with a fluorescent dye. In general, there was good agreement between the two methods, except for major differences in the rear-end projections that typically form the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus. This suggests that this long-range neural pathway exists in monkeys, but it connects via multiple synapses instead of a single junction as was previously thought. The findings of Yan, Yu et al. provide new insights on the far-reaching neural pathways connecting distant parts of the macaque brain. It also suggests that atlases of neural circuits from whole brain scans should be taken with caution and validated using neural tracing experiments.
Assuntos
Mapeamento Encefálico , Imagem de Tensor de Difusão , Animais , Encéfalo , Mapeamento Encefálico/métodos , Imagem de Tensor de Difusão/métodos , Macaca , Vias Neurais , Córtex Pré-Frontal/diagnóstico por imagemRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to summarize the distribution pattern of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndromes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). METHODS: The frequency, characteristics and distribution of all TCM syndromes of 549 patients with T2DM were analyzed. RESULTS: The average age of T2DM onset was higher in women than in men (ie, men experienced earlier onset). The distribution of TCM syndromes, in order of frequency, was as follows: damp-heat trapping spleen (including spleen deficiency and dampness, damp heat due to spleen deficiency, and qi weakness due to spleen deficiency) (58.29%), qi-yin deficiency (16.03%), deficiency of yin and excessive heat (12.93%), blood stasis in collaterals (9.41%), and yin-yang deficiency (3.21%). The physical intensity of patients' occupational activity was mainly light (49.6%), followed by heavy (31.4%) and moderate (19.0%). CONCLUSION: Damp-heat trapping spleen is the most common TCM syndrome in patients with T2DM, with damp heat due to spleen deficiency the most significant subtype. This syndrome tends to occur in people over the age of 60 and those undertaking too much or too little physical activity in their occupational activities. The traditional "three more and one less" symptoms do not adequately describe the clinical symptoms of T2DM.