Anti-PD-1 cis-delivery of low-affinity IL-12 activates intratumoral CD8+T cells for systemic antitumor responses.

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapies function by alleviating immunosuppression on tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) but are often insufficient to fully reactivate these dysfunctional TILs. Although interleukin 12 (IL-12) has been used in combination with ICB to improve efficacy, this remains limited by severe toxicity associated with systemic administration of this cytokine. Here, we engineer a fusion protein composed of an anti-PD-1 antibody and a mouse low-affinity IL-12 mutant-2 (αPD1-mIL12mut2). Systemic administration of αPD1-mIL12mut2 displays robust antitumor activities with undetectable toxicity. Mechanistically, αPD1-mIL12mut2 preferentially activates tumor-infiltrating PD-1+CD8+T cells via high-affinity αPD-1 mediated cis-binding of low-affinity IL-12. Additionally, αPD1-mIL12mut2 treatment exerts an abscopal effect to suppress distal tumors, as well as metastasis. Collectively, αPD1-mIL12mut2 treatment induces robust systemic antitumor responses with reduced side effects.

Prognostic relevance of ventricular arrhythmias in surgical patients with gastrointestinal tumors.

BACKGROUND: Individuals diagnosed with gastrointestinal tumors are at an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Among which, ventricular arrhythmia is a prevalent clinical concern. This suggests that ventricular arrhythmias may have predictive value in the prognosis of patients with gastrointestinal tumors. AIM: To explore the prognostic value of ventricular arrhythmias in patients with gastrointestinal tumors receiving surgery. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed data from 130 patients undergoing gastrointestinal tumor resection. These patients were evaluated by a 24-h ambulatory electrocardiogram (ECG) at the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from January 2018 to June 2020. Additionally, 41 general healthy age-matched and sex-matched controls were included. Patients were categorized into survival and non-survival groups. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality, and secondary endpoints included major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs). RESULTS: Colorectal tumors comprised 90% of cases. Preoperative ambulatory ECG monitoring revealed that among the 130 patients with gastrointestinal tumors, 100 (76.92%) exhibited varying degrees of premature ventricular contractions (PVCs). Ten patients (7.69%) manifested non-sustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT). The patients with gastrointestinal tumors exhibited higher PVCs compared to the healthy controls on both conventional ECG [27 (21.3) vs 1 (2.5), P = 0.012] and 24-h ambulatory ECG [14 (1.0, 405) vs 1 (0, 6.5), P < 0.001]. Non-survivors had a higher PVC count than survivors [150.50 (7.25, 1690.50) vs 9 (0, 229.25), P = 0.020]. During the follow-up period, 24 patients died and 11 patients experienced MACEs. Univariate analysis linked PVC > 35/24 h to all-cause mortality, and NSVT was associated with MACE. However, neither PVC burden nor NSVT independently predicted outcomes according to multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: Patients with gastrointestinal tumors exhibited elevated PVCs. PVCs > 35/24 h and NSVT detected by 24-h ambulatory ECG were prognostically significant but were not found to be independent predictors.

Promising Cytokine Adjuvants for Enhancing Tuberculosis Vaccine Immunity.

Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis), remains a formidable global health challenge, affecting a substantial portion of the world's population. The current tuberculosis vaccine, bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), offers limited protection against pulmonary tuberculosis in adults, underscoring the critical need for innovative vaccination strategies. Cytokines are pivotal in modulating immune responses and have been explored as potential adjuvants to enhance vaccine efficacy. The strategic inclusion of cytokines as adjuvants in tuberculosis vaccines holds significant promise for augmenting vaccine-induced immune responses and strengthening protection against M. tuberculosis. This review delves into promising cytokines, such as Type I interferons (IFNs), Type II IFN, interleukins such as IL-2, IL-7, IL-15, IL-12, and IL-21, alongside the use of a granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) as an adjuvant, which has shown effectiveness in boosting immune responses and enhancing vaccine efficacy in tuberculosis models.

[Inheritance of Yunling and rise of Anling: producing areas of Fuling in local chronicles of the Qing Dynasty].

There are abundant local chronicles in the Qing Dynasty, which provide rich literature for the research on the production of medicinal materials. This paper collates the contents of Fuling in the local chronicles of the Qing Dynasty to reveal the distribution of Fuling in China at that time. The distribution of Fuling in the local chronicles of the Qing Dynasty involved 318 county-level regions in 23 provinces. The distribution records were mainly found in Yunnan, Anhui, Hunan, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, and Hubei. The local chronicles of the Qing Dynasty showed that Yunnan was the Dao-di producing area of Fuling, which was consistent with the materia medica of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In the Qing Dynasty, the quality of Fuling in Dabie Mountains of Anhui was excellent, and it was called "Anling". The development of Anling benefited from the introduction of planting technology from Yunnan and the development of characteristic cultivation technology, with the formation of a complete industrial chain covering planting, processing, and sales. The abundant historical materials of Fuling in the local chronicles of the Qing Dynasty provide not only a documentary basis for revealing the changes of the Dao-di producing areas but also a historical context for the development of modern Fuling-producing areas such as Fujian, Jiangxi, and Hunan. In addition to the information of producing areas, the local records recorded the quality, commodity evaluation, and cultivation techniques of Fuling, filling the gaps in ancient materia medica books and providing detailed historical materials for understanding the producing areas and application of Fuling in the Qing Dynasty.

Interface-induced dual-pinning mechanism enhances low-frequency electromagnetic wave loss.

Improving the absorption of electromagnetic waves at low-frequency bands (2-8 GHz) is crucial for the increasing electromagnetic (EM) pollution brought about by the innovation of the fifth generation (5G) communication technology. However, the poor impedance matching and intrinsic attenuation of material in low-frequency bands hinders the development of low-frequency electromagnetic wave absorbing (EMWA) materials. Here we propose an interface-induced dual-pinning mechanism and establish a magnetoelectric bias interface by constructing bilayer core-shell structures of NiFe2O4 (NFO)@BiFeO3 (BFO)@polypyrrole (PPy). Such heterogeneous interface could induce distinct magnetic pinning of the magnetic moment in the ferromagnetic NFO and dielectric pinning of the dipole rotation in PPy. The establishment of the dual-pinning effect resulted in optimized impedance and enhanced attenuation at low-frequency bands, leading to better EMWA performance. The minimum reflection loss (RLmin) at thickness of 4.43 mm reaches -65.30 dB (the optimal absorption efficiency of 99.99997%), and the effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) can almost cover C-band (4.72 ~ 7.04 GHz) with low filling of 15.0 wt.%. This work proposes a mechanism to optimize low-frequency impedance matching with electromagnetic wave (EMW) loss and pave an avenue for the research of high-performance low-frequency absorbers.

Cardiovascular MRI Reference Ranges for Heart, Aorta, and Pulmonary Artery in Healthy Chinese Children.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (cardiac MR) reference ranges in Chinese children are lacking. PURPOSE: To establish age- and sex-specific reference ranges for cardiac MR parameters in a cohort of healthy Chinese children. STUDY TYPE: Retrospective. SUBJECTS: One hundred ninety-six healthy children (mean age 9.5 ± 3.6 years, 111 boys). FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 1.5 T; balanced steady-state free precession. ASSESSMENT: Biventricular volume and ejection fractions (EF), left atrial (LA) volume, right atrial (RA) area, left ventricular (LV) mass and thickness, aortic root (AR), and main pulmonary artery (MPA) dimensions were measured. Parameters were compared between age groups and sex. The relationships between parameters and age, body mass index (BMI) and body surface area (BSA) were investigated. STATISTICAL TESTS: Independent-samples t tests; Pearson's correlation. A P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Generally, boys exhibited greater absolute measurements of LV volume (end-diastolic: 94.4 ± 29.5 vs. 81.3 ± 31.0 mL), LA volume (end-diastolic: 42.6 ± 13.4 vs. 38.0 ± 13.3 mL), RA area (end-diastolic: 11.6 ± 2.5 vs. 10.8 ± 2.6 cm2), LV thickness (base: 4.4 ± 1.1 vs. 3.8 ± 0.9 mm), AR dimensions (annuls: 16.3 ± 2.7 vs. 15.0 ± 2.8 mm), and MPA dimensions (14.3 ± 2.3 vs. 13.1 ± 2.4 mm) than girls did. However, these differences were not observed when the measurements were normalized to BSA (LV volume: 75.3 ± 11.7 vs. 71.9 ± 12.3 mL/m2, P = 0.052; LA volume: 34.8 ± 8.9 vs. 34.5 ± 7.6 mL/m2, P = 0.783; RA area: 9.7 ± 2.3 vs. 10.2 ± 2.3 cm2/m2, P = 0.107; LV thickness: 3.6 ± 0.7 vs. 3.6 ± 0.9 mm/m2, P = 0.990; AR: 13.6 ± 2.7 vs. 14.3 ± 3.4 mm/m2, P = 0.108; MPA: 11.9 ± 2.3 vs. 12.4 ± 2.4 mm/m2, P = 0.118). Boys had greater RV volume (end-diastolic: 98.7 ± 33.5 vs. 82.7 ± 33.1 mL) and LV mass (52.6 ± 20.2 vs. 41.4 ± 16.0 g) compared to girls, irrespective of whether the values were indexed or not for BSA. Additionally, there were significant associations between age, BMI, and BSA with biventricular volume, LA volume, RA area, LV mass and thickness, AR and MPA dimensions in both boys and girls. DATA CONCLUSION: This study suggests reference ranges at 1.5 T for Chinese children. EVIDENCE LEVEL: 3 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 2.

Improving the Performance of Si/PEDOT:PSS Hybrid Solar Cells with More Economical and Environmentally Friendly Alcohol Ether Solvents.

The photoelectric characteristics of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) films significantly affect the power conversion efficiency and stability of Si/PEDOT:PSS hybrid solar cells. In this paper, we investigated PEDOT:PSS modification with alcohol ether solvents (dipropylene glycol methyl ether (DPM) and propylene glycol phenyl ether (PPH)). The reduction of PSS content and the transformation of the PEDOT chain from benzene to a quinone structure in PEDOT:PSS induced by doping with DPM or PPH are the reasons for the improved conductivity of PEDOT:PSS films. DPM and PPH doping improves the quality of silicon with the PEDOT:PSS heterojunction and silicon surface passivation, thereby reducing the surface recombination of charge carriers, which improves the photovoltaic performance of Si/PEDOT:PSS solar cells. Comparing the power conversion performance (PCE) and air stability of Si/PEDOT:PSS solar cells with DPM (13.24%), DPH (13.51%), ethylene glycol (EG, 13.07%), and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO, 12.62%), it is suggested that doping with DPM and DPH can replace DMSO and EG to enhance the performance of Si/PEDOT:PSS solar cells. The EG and DMSO solvents not only have a certain toxicity to the human body but also are not environmentally friendly. In comparison to DMSO and EG, DPM and DPH are more economical and environmentally friendly, helping to reduce the manufacturing cost of Si/PEDOT:PSS solar cells and making them more conducive to their commercial applications.

A visceral organ function-focused therapeutic strategy using a 6-hour time window for patients with acute type a aortic dissection complicated by mesenteric malperfusion.

BACKGROUND: Acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) complicated by mesenteric malperfusion is a critical and complicated condition. The optimal treatment strategy remains controversial, debate exists as to whether aortic dissection or mesenteric malperfusion should be addressed first, and the exact time window for mesenteric ischemia intervention is still unclear. To solve this problem, we developed a new concept based on the pathophysiological mechanism of mesenteric ischemia, using a 6-hour time window to divide newly admitted patients by the time from onset to admission, applying different treatment protocols to improve the clinical outcomes of patients with ATAAD complicated by mesenteric malperfusion. METHODS: This was a retrospective study that covered a five-year period. From July 2018 to December 2020(phase I), all patients underwent emergency open surgery. From January 2021 to June 2023(phase II), patients with an onset within 6 h all underwent open surgical repair, followed by immediately postoperative examination if the malperfusion is suspected, while the restoration of mesenteric perfusion and visceral organ function was performed first, followed by open repair, in patients with an onset beyond 6 h. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in baseline and surgical data. In phase I, eleven patients with mesenteric malperfusion underwent open surgery, while in phase II, our novel strategy was applied, with sixteen patients with an onset greater than 6 h and eleven patients with an onset less than 6 h. During the waiting period, none died of aortic rupture, but four patients died of organ failure, twelve patients had organ function improvement and underwent surgery successfully survived. The overall mortality rate decreased with the use of this novel strategy (54.55% vs. 18.52%, p = 0.047). Furthermore, the surgical mortality rate between the two periods showed even stronger statistical significance (54.55% vs. 4.35%, p = 0.022). Moreover, the proportions of patients with sepsis and multiorgan failure also showed differences. CONCLUSIONS: Our novel strategy for patients with ATAAD complicated by mesenteric malperfusion not only improves the surgical success rate but also reduces the overall mortality rate.

Effect of Particle Strength on SiCp/Al Composite Properties with Network Architecture Design.

Recent works have experimentally proven that metal matrix composites (MMCs) with network architecture present improved strength-ductility match. It is envisaged that the performance of architecturally designed composites is particularly sensitive to reinforcement strength. Here, reinforcing particles with various fracture strengths were introduced in numerical models of composites with network particle distribution. The results revealed that a low particle strength (1 GPa) led to early-stage failure and brittle fracture. Nevertheless, a high particle strength (5 GPa) delayed the failure behavior and led to ductile fracture at the SiC/Al-Al macro-interface areas. Therefore, the ultimate tensile strengths (UTS) of the network SiC/Al composites increased from 290 to 385 MPa, with rising particle strength from 1 to 5 GPa. Based on the composite property, different particle fracture threshold strengths existed for homogeneous (~2.7 GPa) and network (~3.7 GPa) composites. The higher threshold strength in network composites was related to the increased stress concentration induced by network architecture. Unfortunately, the real fracture strength of the commercial SiC particle is 1-2 GPa, implying that it is possible to select a high-strength particle necessary for efficient network architecture design.

Performance Analysis of Ferronickel Slag-Ordinary Portland Cement Pervious Concrete.

It is unknown whether Ferronickel slag (FNS)-ordinary Portland cement (OPC)-based pervious concrete (FOPC) is feasible. To this end, a feasibility study was conducted on FOPC. Firstly, a detailed microscopic examination of the FNS powder was conducted, encompassing analyses of its particle size distribution, SEM, EDS, and chemical composition. These analyses aimed to establish the suitability of a composite of FNS and OPC as a composite cementitious material. Subsequent experimentation focused on evaluating the compressive strength of the composite paste material with varying mixed proportions, revealing a slight reduction in strength as the FNS substitution rate increased. Furthermore, the study designed eighteen different mix proportions of FOPC to investigate the key physical properties, including porosity, density, compressive strength, and the coefficient of permeability. Findings indicated that increases in the cementitious material proportion correlate with enhanced concrete strength, where the ratio of cementitious to aggregate increased by 6.7% and 16.5%, and the strength of FOPC increased by 10-13% and 30-50%, respectively. Conversely, a rise in the FNS substitution rate led to a reduction in compressive strength across different mix ratios. Additionally, the ratio of paste material to aggregate was found to significantly influence the permeability coefficient. These comprehensive performance evaluations suggest that incorporating FNS into OPC for pervious concrete applications is a feasible approach, offering valuable insights for the promotion of waste reuse and the advancement of energy conservation and emissions reduction efforts.

Rice rhizospheric effects and mechanism on soil cadmium bioavailability during silicon application.

Exogenous Si mitigates the mobility and bioavailability of Cd in the soil, thereby alleviating its phytotoxicity. This study focused on specific Si-induced immobilisation effects within the rhizosphere (S1), near-rhizosphere (S2), and far-rhizosphere (S3) zones. Based on the rhizobox experiment, we found that applying Si significantly elevated soil pH, and the variation amplitudes in the S3 soil exceeded those in the S1 and S2 soils. Si-induced changes in the rhizosphere also included enhanced dissolved organic carbon and diminished soil Eh, particularly in the Si400 treatment. Meanwhile, the introduction of Si greatly enhanced the Fe2+ and Mn2+ concentrations in the S1 soil, but reduced them in the S2 soil. The rhizosphere effect of Si which enriched Fe2+ and Mn2+ subsequently promoted the formation of Fe and Mn oxides/hydro-oxides near the rice roots. Consequently, the addition of Si significantly reduced the available Cd concentrations in S1, surpassing the reductions in S2 and S3. Moreover, Si-treated rice exhibited increased Fe plaque generation and fixation on soil Cd, resulting in decreased Cd concentrations in rice tissues, accompanied by reduced Cd translocation from roots to shoots and shoots to grains. Structural equation modelling further highlighted that Si is essential in Cd availability in S1 and Fe plaque development, ultimately mitigating Cd accumulation in rice. Si-treated rice also exhibited higher biomass and grain yield than those of control groups. These findings provide valuable insights into Si-based strategies for addressing the Cd contamination of agricultural soils.

Stereotactic puncture surgery combined with early hyperbaric oxygen therapy may be better for long-term functional recovery in patients with moderate amounts of thalamic-inner capsule region haemorrhage.

BACKGROUND: The prognosis of patients with thalamic hemorrhage is poor, and their long-term neurological impairment is heavy, which seriously affects their work and life.To comparatively analyse the efficacy and prognosis of patients with moderate hemorrhage in the thalamic region who underwent conservative treatment, stereotactic puncture surgery and neuroendoscopic surgery. METHOD: This study retrospectively analyzed hospitalization data from 139 adult patients with moderate-volume cerebral hemorrhage in the thalamo-endocapsular region. They were categorized into a stereotactic group (39cases), a neuroendoscopic group (36cases), and a conventional conservative group (64cases). Logistic regression analysis was used to assess risk factors for severe neurological deficits in patients. Multivariate regression modeling was used to compare the correlation of severe neurological deficits among the three groups of patients. RESULTS: Patients with thalamic moderate-volume cerebral hemorrhage had statistically significantly higher Assessment of Daily Living (ADL) scores in the stereotactic surgery group than in the conservative treatment group and the neuroendoscopic surgery group after 6 months of treatment (p< 0.001).The amount of residual hematoma was significantly lower in the surgery groups than in the conservative treatment group at 3 days, 7 days, and 2 weeks after the onset of the disease (P< 0.001).In multivariate logistic regression analyses, after adjusting for all covariates, the odds ratios for severe neurologic dysfunction in the stereotactic group and the neuroendoscopy group were, respectively, OR: 0.37 (0.12-0.87), P< 0.001 and 0.42 (0.23-1.13), P=0.361). CONCLUSION: In patients with moderate volume cerebral hemorrhage in the thalamus-inner capsule region cerebral hemorrhage, patients treated with stereotactic surgery combined with early hyperbaric oxygen therapy may have better long-term neurological recovery compared with conservative and neuroendoscopic surgical treatments.

Distributed finite-time bearing-based formation control for underactuated surface vessels with Levant differentiator.

In this paper, a distributed bearing-based formation control scheme with finite-time convergency is proposed for multiple underactuated surface vessels (USVs). By virtue of the guide point-based model transformation method, the dimension of underactuated tracking error dynamics can be reduced from three to two. This allows us to convert the actuator model to a fully form that matches dimension-reduced tracking error dynamics. Further, to reduce the computation complexity, a finite-time recruited filter is designed according to first-order Levant differentiator. At meanwhile, auxiliary error compensation signals are introduced to address unknowns stemming from filter process and system dynamics. Since merely relative-distances and inner bearings are utilized in the proposed bearing-based formation approaches, the proposed control scheme provides a feasible solution to achieve formation control under body-fixed frame. Finally, theoretical analysis and numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the efficacy.

Advances in MiRNAs Involved in Endometrial Carcinoma.

Endometrial carcinoma (EC) is a common malignancy worldwide. Existing evidence has revealed that EC could be associated with abnormal gene expression. Meantime, evidence supports that miRNAs act as critical regulators in gene expression through the binding to the 3'- untranslated region (3'-UTR). Accordingly, this review concludes some recent studies focusing on miRNAs that influence EC, aiming at understanding the association between miRNAs and EC more clearly and providing a reference for further studies on miRNA-related drugs treating EC.

IL-1ß induced down-regulation of miR-146a-5p promoted pyroptosis and apoptosis of corneal epithelial cell in dry eye disease through targeting STAT3.

AIM: To elaborate the underlying mechanisms by which IL-1ß promote progression of Dry eye disease(DED) through effect on pyroptosis and apoptosis of corneal epithelial cells(CECs). METHODS: 400 mOsM solutions were used to establish the DED model (hCECs- DED). RT-qPCR was performed to measure IL-1ß mRNA and miR-146a-5p in CECs. Western blotting was performed to measure STAT3, GSDMD, NLRP3, and Caspase-1 levels. Cell counting kit-8 assay was adopted to check cell viability. Apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry. ELISAs were performed to determine IL-18, IL-33 and LDH. The luciferase test detects targeting relationships. RESULTS: After treatment with 400 mOsM solution, cell viability decreased and apoptosis increased. Compared with hCECs, IL-1ß was increased and miR-146a-5p was decreased in hCECs-DED. At the same time, GSDMD, NLRP3, Caspase-1, IL-18, IL-33 and LDH were significantly higher in hCECs-DED than in hCECs, while IL-1ß silencing reversed this effect. In addition, IL-1ß negatively regulated miR-146a-5p. MiR-146a-5p mimics eliminated the inhibition of hCECs-DED pyroptosis and apoptosis caused by IL-1ß silencing. At the same time, miR-146a-5p reduced STAT3 levels in hCECs. CONCLUSION: Highly expressed IL-1ß promoted pyroptosis and apoptosis of hCECs- DED through downregulated miR-146a-5p and inhibited STAT3.

Upregulation of POC1A in lung adenocarcinoma promotes tumour progression and predicts poor prognosis.

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is characterized by a high incidence rate and mortality. Recently, POC1 centriolar protein A (POC1A) has emerged as a potential biomarker for various cancers, contributing to cancer onset and development. However, the association between POC1A and LUAD remains unexplored. We extracted The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) data sets to analyse the differential expression of POC1A and its relationship with clinical stage. Additionally, we performed diagnostic receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and Kaplan-Meier (KM) survival analysis to assess the diagnostic and prognostic value of POC1A in LUAD. Furthermore, we investigated the correlation between POC1A expression and immune infiltration, tumour mutation burden (TMB), immune checkpoint expression and drug sensitivity. Finally, we verified POC1A expression using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Cell experiments were conducted to validate the effect of POC1A expression on the proliferation, migration and invasion of lung cancer cells. POC1A exhibited overexpression in most tumour tissues, and its overexpression in LUAD was significantly correlated with late-stage presentation and poor prognosis. The high POC1A expression group showed lower levels of immune infiltration but higher levels of immune checkpoint expression and TMB. Moreover, the high POC1A expression group demonstrated sensitivity to multiple drugs. In vitro experiments confirmed that POC1A knockdown led to decreased proliferation, migration, and invasion of lung cancer cells. Our findings suggest that POC1A may contribute to tumour development by modulating the cell cycle and immune cell infiltration. It also represents a potential therapeutic target and marker for the diagnosis and prognosis of LUAD.

Species delimitation of tea plants (Camellia sect. Thea) based on super-barcodes.

BACKGROUND: The era of high throughput sequencing offers new paths to identifying species boundaries that are complementary to traditional morphology-based delimitations. De novo species delimitation using traditional or DNA super-barcodes serve as efficient approaches to recognizing putative species (molecular operational taxonomic units, MOTUs). Tea plants (Camellia sect. Thea) form a group of morphologically similar species with significant economic value, providing the raw material for tea, which is the most popular nonalcoholic caffeine-containing beverage in the world. Taxonomic challenges have arisen from vague species boundaries in this group. RESULTS: Based on the most comprehensive sampling of C. sect. Thea by far (165 individuals of 39 morphospecies), we applied three de novo species delimitation methods (ASAP, PTP, and mPTP) using plastome data to provide an independent evaluation of morphology-based species boundaries in tea plants. Comparing MOTU partitions with morphospecies, we particularly tested the congruence of MOTUs resulting from different methods. We recognized 28 consensus MOTUs within C. sect. Thea, while tentatively suggesting that 11 morphospecies be discarded. Ten of the 28 consensus MOTUs were uncovered as morphospecies complexes in need of further study integrating other evidence. Our results also showed a strong imbalance among the analyzed MOTUs in terms of the number of molecular diagnostic characters. CONCLUSION: This study serves as a solid step forward for recognizing the underlying species boundaries of tea plants, providing a needed evidence-based framework for the utilization and conservation of this economically important plant group.

Stereotactic Puncture Surgery for the Treatment of Moderate Volume of Thalamus-Internal Capsule Area Hemorrhage: An Analysis of Real-World Data.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of surgical intervention in ameliorating long-term prognosis for moderate volume of cerebral hemorrhage in the thalamus-internal capsule region remains unsubstantiated by clinical investigations. Consequently, the acquisition of credible evidence is imperative to authenticate the effectiveness of these methodologies. METHODS: One hundred and three eligible patients with moderate-volume thalamus-internal capsule region cerebral hemorrhage. Twenty-seven pairs of successful matches after using the 1:1 propensity score matching method, totaling 54 patients, were analyzed. The short- and long-term treatment outcomes of patients in the stereotactic surgery and conservative treatment groups were compared. The prognosis of the 2 groups of patients was analyzed by logistic regression analysis and model comparison. RESULTS: The primary outcome of this study was to assess the assessment of daily living scores after 6 months of treatment. Based on the analysis of this study, the assessment of daily living of the surgical group were significantly higher than those of the conservative treatment group after 6 months of treatment (P < 0.001), and the difference was statistically significant. The amount of residual hematoma was significantly lower in the stereotactic surgery group than in the conservative treatment group at 3 days, 7 days, and 2 weeks after the onset of the disease (P < 0.001), and the complication rate was lower than the conservative treatment group (P < 0.05). Univariate logistic regression showed that the risk of severe neurological dysfunction for patients in the surgery group was (odds ratio -0.27, 95% confidence interval: 0.08-0.86, P < 0.05). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, the odds ratio was 0.29 (95% confidence interval: 0.09-0.96, P < 0.05) after adjusting for all covariates. CONCLUSIONS: For moderate-volume thalamus-internal capsule region cerebral hemorrhage, stereotactic paracentesis has the advantage of a shorter hospital stay and a lower complication rate than conservative treatment. Moreover, it yields superior outcomes in terms of daily living assessment scores after six months of treatment and enhanced neurological recovery.

[Research progress on strontium isotope-traced plant remains production areas and implications for traceability of Dao-di herbs in Forbidden City of the Qing Dynasty].

Strontium isotope(~(87)S/~(86)Sr) tracing technology has been widely used in animal remains and origin of modern food origin sources. However, due to the problems of sample contamination and cleaning, this technology has been applied less frequently in the tracing of plant remains. The Palace Museum preserves more than 1 000 relics of medicinal materials from the Forbidden City of the Qing Dynasty, which are rare precious materials for the study of Dao-di herbs. The well-preserved environment of these medicinal materials in the Forbidden City of the Qing Dynasty helps avoid external strontium contamination, making it possible to introduce strontium isotope technology in their tracing research. On this basis, this study discussed the principle of strontium isotope tracing technology and summarized the current research progress on tracing plant remains using strontium isotope. In addition, this study discussed three key problems and their respective solutions encountered when applying strontium isotope technology to the tracing research on medicinal materials from the Forbidden City of the Qing Dynasty: creating strontium isotope ratio maps, dealing with the wide range of traceable results, and addressing the sample contamination and cleaning challenges. The literature and historical materials of the Qing Dynasty are the important basis for understanding the distribution and application of Dao-di herbs in the Qing Dynasty. Based on literature research, the use of strontium isotope to trace the producing area of medicinal materials in the Forbidden City of the Qing Dynasty can provide physical evidence for relevant research. The combined evidence of historical materials and medicinal relics is expected to provide a new perspective for the study of Dao-di herbs in the Qing Dynasty and also provide a reference for the study of the revolution of Dao-di herbs producing areas.

[Cloning and functional analysis of flavanone synthase â ¡ from Dendrobium huoshanense].

Flavonoid C-glycosides are a class of natural products that are widely involved in plant defense responses and have diverse pharmacological activities. They are also important active ingredients of Dendrobium huoshanense. Flavanone synthase Ⅱ has been proven to be a key enzyme in the synthesis pathway of flavonoid C-glycosides in plants, and their catalytic product 2-hydroxyflavanone is the precursor compound for the synthesis of various reported flavonoid C-glycosides. In this study, based on the reported amino acid sequence of flavanone synthase Ⅱ, a flavanone synthase Ⅱ gene(DhuFNSⅡ) was screened and verified from the constructed D. huoshanense genome localization database. Functional validation of the enzyme showed that it could in vitro catalyze naringenin and pinocembrin to produce apigenin and chrysin, respectively. The open reading frame(ORF) of DhuFNSⅡ was 1 644 bp in length, encoding 547 amino acids. Subcellular localization showed that the protein was localized on the endoplasmic reticulum. RT-qPCR results showed that DhuFNSⅡ had the highest expression in stems, followed by leaves and roots. The expression levels of DhuFNSⅡ and other target genes in various tissues of D. huoshanense were significantly up-regulated after four kinds of abiotic stresses commonly encountered in the growth process, but the extent of up-regulation varied among treatment groups, with drought and cold stress having more significant effects on gene expression levels. Through the identification and functional analysis of DhuFNSⅡ, this study is expected to contribute to the elucidation of the molecular mechanism of the formation of quality metabolites of D. huoshanense, flavonoid C-glycosides, and provide a reference for its quality formation and scientific cultivation.