Chemical Auxiliary for Photocatalytic Active Colloids.

Active colloids with the ability to self-propel and collectively organize are emerging as indispensable elements in microrobotics and soft matter physics. For chemically powered colloids, their activity is often induced by gradients of chemical species in the particle's vicinity. The direct manipulation of these gradients, however, presents a considerable challenge, thereby limiting the extent to which active colloids can be controlled. Here, we introduce a series of rationally designed molecules, denoted as chemical auxiliary (CA), that intervene with specific chemical gradients and thus unveil new capabilities for regulating the behaviors of photocatalytic active colloids. We show that CA can alter the diffusiophoretic and osmotic interactions between active colloids and their subsequent self-organization. Also, CA can tune the self-propulsion of active particles, enabling a record high propulsion speed of over 100 µm/s and endowing high salt tolerance. Furthermore, CA is instrumental in establishing dynamic, competing gradients around active particles, which signifies an in situ, noninvasive, and reversible strategy for reconfiguring between modes of colloidal activity.

Halogen-bonding boosting the high performance X-ray imaging of organic scintillators.

Organic scintillators with efficient X-ray excited luminescence are essential for medical diagnostics and security screening. However, achieving excellent organic scintillation materials is challenging due to low X-ray absorption coefficients and inferior radioluminescence (RL) intensity. Herein, supramolecular interactions are incorporated, particularly halogen bonding, into organic scintillators to enhance their radioluminescence properties. By introducing heavy atoms (X = Cl, Br, I) into 9,10-bis(4-pyridyl)anthracene (BPA), the formation of halogen bonding (BPA-X) enhances their X-ray absorption coefficient and restricts the molecular vibration and rotation, which boosts their RL intensity. The RL intensity of BPA-Cl and BPA-Br fluorochromes increased by over 2 and 6.3 times compared to BPA, respectively. Especially, BPA-Br exhibits an ultrafast decay time of 8.25 ns and low detection limits of 25.95 ± 2.49 nGy s-1. The flexible film constructed with BPA-Br exhibited excellent X-ray imaging capabilities. Furthermore, this approach is also applicable to organic phosphors. The formation of halogen bonding in bromophenyl-methylpyridinium iodide (PYI) led to a fourfold increase in RL intensity compared to bromophenyl-methyl-pyridinium (PY). It suggests that halogen bonding serves as a promising and effective molecular design strategy for the development of high-performance organic scintillator materials, presenting new opportunities for their applications in radiology and security screening.

Clinicopathologic and Molecular Characterization of Inflammatory Bowel Disease-Associated Neuroendocrine Carcinomas and Mixed Neuroendocrine-Non-Neuroendocrine Neoplasms.

The pathogenesis of neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs) and mixed neuroendocrine-non-neuroendocrine neoplasms (MiNENs) in the gastrointestinal tract remains poorly understood. This study aims to characterize the clinicopathologic and molecular features of NEC/MiNEN in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Eighteen surgically resected IBD-associated intestinal carcinomas with a minimum of 30% neuroendocrine component were collected from 6 academic centers and compared with a control group of 12 IBD-associated carcinomas lacking neuroendocrine differentiation. Both groups exhibited a male predominance and similar age distribution. The NEC/MiNEN group was more likely to have a higher percentage of Crohn disease (9/18 vs 1/12; P = .024), occur in the rectum (9/18 vs 3/12) and small intestine (4/18 vs 0/12) (P < .01), be diagnosed on resection without a preceding biopsy (6/18 vs 0/12; P = .057), and have unidentifiable precursor lesions (10/18 vs 1/12; P = .018) than the control group. Synchronous carcinoma, advanced tumor stage (pT3 and pT4), and lymph node metastasis occurred at similar rates; however, the NEC/MiNEN group had a higher incidence of angiovascular invasion (14/18 vs 4/12; P = .024), distant metastasis (8/18 vs 1/12; P = .049), mortality (8/18 vs 2/12; P = .058), and worse survival (Kaplan-Meier; P = .023) than the control group. All tested cases were mismatch repair proficient. A Ki-67 proliferation index ranged from 25% to 100%. Next-generation sequencing in 11 NEC/MiNEN cases revealed low tumor mutational burdens but complex genetic abnormalities commonly involving TP53 (9/11; 82%), FBXW7 (4/11; 36%), and APC (3/11; 27%) genes, with the other genetic alterations randomly occurring in 1 or 2 cases. The neuroendocrine component, which shared similar molecular alterations as the nonneuroendocrine component, was subcategorized into intermediate (G3a) and high grade (G3b); the higher grade correlated with more genetic alterations. In conclusion, IBD-associated NEC/MiNEN shows diverse histologic features, variable precursor lesions, intricate genetic abnormalities, and aggressive biologic behavior. The classification and grading of gastrointestinal NEC/MiNEN may be refined for better clinical management.

Pore Characteristics and Dye Adsorption Mechanism of Functionalized UiO-66s with Various Ratios of Amino Groups.

A series of UiO-66 samples with various amino functional group ratios were prepared by modulating the proportion of terephthalic acid (H2BDC) and aminoterephthalic acid (H2BDC-NH2) ligands, and the microstructure of the samples and dependence of methyl orange (MO) adsorption properties on the amino group content were investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, FTIR spectra, nitrogen adsorption, positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy, and UV-vis spectra. The results showed that as the ratio of amino groups increased, the specific surface area and total porosity of the samples decreased, primarily due to decrement in the crystallinity as well as the bulky effect of amino groups in inherent pores. Interestingly, the amino-functionalized samples possessed considerable adsorption capacity of MO even in alkaline conditions due to the hydrogen bonding between the MO and -NH2 groups. The adsorption kinetics, isotherms, and thermodynamics revealed that MOs' adsorption process in amino-functionalized UiO-66s was exothermic, obeying a Langmuir-type adsorption dominated by chemisorption. UiO-66-NH2-0.4 (H2BDC:H2BDC-NH2 = 2:3) exhibited the best adsorption performance, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 336.7 mg/g, and the adsorption capacity was slightly decreased with increasing salt concentration in solution. UiO-66-NH2-0.4 could be easily regenerated by washing with a mixed solution of ethanol and water. The results demonstrated that although amino groups led to relatively less crystallinity and lower micropore volumes, the strong electrostatic attraction and hydrogen bonding between amino groups and MOs enhanced the adsorption capacity of MOs in amino-functionalized UiO-66s, in which MOs were adsorbed in two types of inherent pores, as shown by a significant decrement in positronium annihilation in them upon MO adsorption.

Incidental findings during donor liver assessment: Single center experience.

Intraoperative consultation of donor liver is an important part of transplant evaluation and determination of liver eligibility. In this study, we describe incidental pathologic findings discovered during the pretransplant evaluation of liver donors in our Institution from 1/2010 to 12/2022. During this 13-year period 369 intraoperative consultations from 262 liver donors were performed. Of those cases, incidental findings were identified in 22 cases (5.9 %) from 19 donors (7.3 %); two donors had more than one lesion. The median age of this subset of patients was 53 years (range: 18-70) and females predominated (63 %). Sixteen of the donors had abnormal findings in the liver: 6 bile duct hamartoma (BDH), 5 hyalinized nodule with Histoplasma capsulatum, 5 focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH), 2 bile duct adenomas (BDA), 1 biliary cyst and 1 hemangioma. One donor had both FNH and a BDH. One BDH and 1 BDA case was misdiagnosed as malignancy during the frozen section evaluation. Three donors had extrahepatic pathologies: a pancreatic tail schwannoma, a low-grade appendiceal mucinous neoplasm, and a lymph node with metastatic endometrial endometrioid adenocarcinoma. Of the 19 livers, the final organ disposition was available for 9: 6 were transplanted (67 %) and 3 were discarded (33 %). Two of the 3 discarded organs were misdiagnosed BDH and BDA cases, and one was incorrectly reported as having 90 % microvesicular steatosis during the frozen assessment. We present the clinicopathologic characteristics of liver donors with incidental findings during the pre-transplant evaluation which could lead to unwarranted graft dismissal if misdiagnosed. Additionally, incidental fungal infections can have implications for immunosuppressive therapy and the decision to use or reject the graft.

Plant growth promoting endophyte modulates soil ecological characteristics during the enhancement process of cadmium phytoremediation.

Endophyte assisted phytoremediation of cadmium (Cd) contaminated soil represents a promising strategy. However, the precise soil ecological regulatory mechanisms by which endophyte enhance the Cd phytoextraction remain unclear. Here, we employed the plant growth promoting endophyte (PGPE) Pseudomonas sp. E3, which has been validated to effectively enhance Cd extraction in Solanum nigrum L., to investigate its regulatory mechanism on soil ecology. The results demonstrated that while PGPE inoculation resulted in minimal alterations to the physicochemical properties of the bulk soil, it led to a notable increase in acid phosphatase activity by 17.86% and urease activity by 24.85% in the rhizosphere soil. This, in turn, significantly raised the available nitrogen and phosphorus contents by 16.93% and 21.27%, respectively, in the rhizosphere soil. Additionally, PGPE inoculation effectively replenished the bioavailable fractions of Fe and Cd, which had been depleted due to root uptake. Importantly, the inoculation specifically augmented the abundance of biomarkers p_Patescibacteria, f_Saccharimonadales, and g_Saccharimonadales in the rhizosphere soil. These biomarkers exhibited a significant positive correlation with the available nutrient and metal element contents. Moreover, the co-occurrence network analysis demonstrated that the inoculation resulted in a simplified bacterial community network, which may have facilitated community synergism by displacing bacteria with a negative association. This regulation appears to occur independently of PGPE colonization. Overall, our findings suggested that PGPE also exerts a regulatory influence on soil ecological features, significantly aiding hyperaccumulators in nutrient acquisition and heavy metal accumulation.

Characterization of endoscopic features and histology of a distinct mucosal transition zone on the ileocecal valve (with video).

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: We have endoscopically encountered a zone of transitional mucosa between the colonic and ileal mucosa located in a 3- to 10-mm-wide ring around the ileocecal valve (ICV) orifice. We aimed to describe the features of the ICV transitional zone mucosa. METHODS: We used videos and photographs from normal ICVs and biopsy samples from normal colonic mucosa, transitional zone mucosa, and normal ileal mucosa to characterize the endoscopic and histologic features of the ICV transitional zone mucosa. RESULTS: The ICV transitional zone is identifiable on every ICV without a circumferential adenoma or inflammation that obliterates the zone. The zone is characterized endoscopically by an absence of villi, which distinguishes it from the ileal mucosa, but the pits are more tubular and with more prominent blood vessels compared with normal colonic mucosa. Histologically, the villi of the transitional zone are blunted, and the amount of lymphoid tissue is intermediate between the colonic mucosa and ileal mucosa. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first description of the normal transitional zone of mucosa on the ICV. This zone has unique endoscopic features that should be recognized by colonoscopists and that can potentially create difficulty in identifying the margins of adenomas located on the ICV.

Near-Wall Cavitation Effect: A Molecular Dynamics Study.

Cavitation has been the subject of abundant studies, but the internal mechanism of cavitation is less well known. In this article, a microlevel near-wall model was established by using LAMMPS to present the process of cavitation effect. The results of molecular dynamics simulation revealed the fluctuation process of the liquid near the wall with the change in pressure. Molecular dynamics was also used to evaluate the void volume fraction and density distribution of the system. The results exhibited that the cavitation process can be divided into two stages: the initial cavitation stage and the rapid growth stage. Based on these results, the effects of wettability and initial system temperature on the near-wall cavitation effect were demonstrated. The results indicated that the hydrophobic near-wall forms a gas layer to weaken the density fluctuation, while the hydrophilic wall is opposite. Increasing the temperature could positively affect molecular motion and cavitation. This work provides a theoretical basis for further exploration of the cavitation effect.

Role of the cAMP-PKA-NF-κB pathway in Mucin1 over-expression in A549 cells during Respiratory syncytial virus infection.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common pathogen associated with acute lower respiratory tract infections in infants and young children worldwide. RSV commonly presents as bronchiolitis in young children; however, it can sometimes progress to pneumonia, respiratory failure, apnoea and even death. Although mucin1 (MUC1), a type of transmembrane glycoprotein present on airway epithelial surfaces, plays a crucial anti-inflammatory role in airway infections; however, its roles in RSV-associated acute lower respiratory tract infections have rarely been explored. In this study, we first revealed very high MUC1 protein levels in the exacerbation phase in sputum samples from children with RSV bronchiolitis. Because MUC1 is the downstream target of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in RSV-infected A549 cells, we observed the inhibition of NF-κB activity, main downstream signalling of TNF-α and remarkably reduced levels of MUC1 in RSV-infected and TNF-α treated A549 cells. Furthermore, the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) analogue (dbcAMP) downregulated the protein levels of p-IκBα and MUC1 in TNF-α-treated A549 cells. By contrast, a protein kinase A inhibitor (KT5720) up-regulated the levels of those proteins. dbcAMP and KT5720 had the same effects on MUC1 protein levels in RSV-infected A549 cells. In conclusion, we found that the cAMP-PKA-NF-κB pathway may play a role in the regulation of MUC-1 over-expression during RSV infection.

Sirt6 enhances macrophage lipophagy and improves lipid metabolism disorder by regulating the Wnt1/ß-catenin pathway in atherosclerosis.

Lipid metabolism disorders are considerably involved in the pathology of atherosclerosis; nevertheless, the fundamental mechanism is still largely unclear. This research sought to examine the function of lipophagy in lipid metabolism disorder-induced atherosclerosis and its fundamental mechanisms. Previously, Sirt6 has been reported to stimulate plaque stability by promoting macrophage autophagy. However, its role in macrophage lipophagy and its relationship with Wnt1 remains to be established. In this study, ApoE-/-: Sirt6-/- and ApoE-/-: Sirt6Tg mice were used and lipid droplets were analysed via transmission electron microscopy and Bodipy 493/503 staining in vitro. Atherosclerotic plaques in ApoE-/-: Sirt6-/- mice showed greater necrotic cores and lower stability score. Reconstitution of Sirt6 in atherosclerotic mice improved lipid metabolism disorder and prevented the progression of atherosclerosis. Furthermore, macrophages with Ac-LDL intervention showed more lipid droplets and increased expression of adipophilin and PLIN2. Reconstitution of Sirt6 recruited using SNF2H suppressed Wnt1 expression and improved lipid metabolism disorder by promoting lipophagy. In addition, downregulation of Sirt6 expression in Ac-LDL-treated macrophages inhibited lipid droplet degradation and stimulated foam cell formation. Innovative discoveries in the research revealed that atherosclerosis is caused by lipid metabolism disorders due to downregulated Sirt6 expression. Thus, modulating Sirt6's function in lipid metabolism might be a useful therapeutic approach for treating atherosclerosis.

Butylphthalide improves brain damage induced by renal ischemia-reperfusion injury rats through Nrf2/HO-1 and NOD2/MAPK/NF-κB pathways.

Renal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury leads to irreversible brain damage with serious consequences. Activation of oxidative stress and release of inflammatory mediators are considered potential pathological mechanisms. Butylphthalide (NBP) has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects on I/R injuries. However, it is unclear whether NBP can effectively mitigate renal I/R secondary to brain injury as well as its mechanism, which are the aims of this study. Both renal I/R injury rats and oxygen and glucose deprivation cell models were established and pre-intervened NBP. The Morris water maze assay was used to detect behavior. Hippocampal histopathology and function were examined after renal I/R. Apoptosis and tube-forming capacity of brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMVECs) were tested. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot were used to measure protein expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/Heme Oxygenase-1 (HO-1) pathway and NOD-like receptor C2 (NOD2)/Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK)/Nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) pathway. NBP treatment attenuated renal I/R-induced brain tissue damage and learning and memory dysfunction. NBP treatment inhibited apoptosis and promoted blood-brain barrier restoration and microangiogenesis. Also, it decreased oxidative stress levels and pro-inflammatory factor expression in renal I/R rats. Furthermore, NBP enhanced BMVECs' viability and tube-forming capacity while inhibiting apoptosis and oxidative stress. Notably, the alleviating effects of NBP were attributed to Nrf2/HO-1 pathway activation and NOD2/MAPK/NF-κB inhibition. This study demonstrates that NBP maintains BBB function by activating the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway and inhibiting the NOD2/MAPK/NF-κB pathway to suppress inflammation and oxidative stress, thereby alleviating renal I/R-induced brain injury.

Small RNA Sequencing Analysis of STZ-Injured Pancreas Reveals Novel MicroRNA and Transfer RNA-Derived RNA with Biomarker Potential for Diabetes Mellitus.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and transfer RNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs) play critical roles in the regulation of different biological processes, but their underlying mechanisms in diabetes mellitus (DM) are still largely unknown. This study aimed to gain a better understanding of the functions of miRNAs and tsRNAs in the pathogenesis of DM. A high-fat diet (HFD) and streptozocin (STZ)-induced DM rat model was established. Pancreatic tissues were obtained for subsequent studies. The miRNA and tsRNA expression profiles in the DM and control groups were obtained by RNA sequencing and validated with quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR). Subsequently, bioinformatics methods were used to predict target genes and the biological functions of differentially expressed miRNAs and tsRNAs. We identified 17 miRNAs and 28 tsRNAs that were significantly differentiated between the DM and control group. Subsequently, target genes were predicted for these altered miRNAs and tsRNAs, including Nalcn, Lpin2 and E2f3. These target genes were significantly enriched in localization as well as intracellular and protein binding. In addition, the results of KEGG analysis showed that the target genes were significantly enriched in the Wnt signaling pathway, insulin pathway, MAPK signaling pathway and Hippo signaling pathway. This study revealed the expression profiles of miRNAs and tsRNAs in the pancreas of a DM rat model using small RNA-Seq and predicted the target genes and associated pathways using bioinformatics analysis. Our findings provide a novel aspect in understanding the mechanisms of DM and identify potential targets for the diagnosis and treatment of DM.

Assessment of submucosal distortion and mass effect seen at follow-up after colorectal EMR with ORISE (with video).

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: ORISE (Boston Scientific, Marlborough, Mass, USA) is a viscous gel used for submucosal injection. We noted anecdotally that ORISE is associated with submucosal distortion of EMR scars at follow-up. METHODS: We blindly reviewed photographs of 30 consecutive EMR scars at follow-up after resections using ORISE and 30 resections using other agents. Distortion was scored on a scale of 0 (no submucosal distortion) to 5 (overt submucosal distortion). RESULTS: The median submucosal distortion score at follow-up in ORISE cases was 3 (range, 0-5) versus 0 (range, 0-2) with other fluids (P < .001, Mann-Whitney U test) by 1 reviewer and 3 (range, 0-5) versus 2 (range, 0-5), respectively, by a second reviewer (P = .018). The kappa value for agreement in the submucosal distortion scores between the 2 experts was .148 for all photographs and .214 for the ORISE cases (overall minimal agreement). CONCLUSIONS: ORISE can cause submucosal distortion in the region of EMR scars when they are viewed at follow-up. Such distortions must not be mistaken for submucosal tumor growth.

Novel predictors of stent under-expansion regarding calcified coronary lesions assessed by optical coherence tomography.

A previous calcium scoring system using circumferential angle, thickness, and length of coronary calcium by OCT could assist in predicting stent under-expansion. However, this scoring system only reflects the calcification distribution within a single cross-section and fails to consider the lumen's original size. The current study aims to investigate whether novel parameters to quantify calcium lesions, including calcium burden, area, and volume assessed by optical coherence tomography (OCT), could predict stent under-expansion related to calcium lesions. Consecutive patients admitted between March 10th to October 19th 2021 with calcified coronary lesions undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with OCT guidance were screened for inclusion. The calcium burden, area, and volume of the target lesions were measured using OCT at pre-PCI. After successful stent implantation, stent expansion at the corresponding lesions was also measured by OCT. A total of 125 patients who underwent OCT-guided PCI were included in this study. While the calcium grades by angiography failed to show a significant correlation with stent expansion, maximum and average calcium burden, maximum calcium area, and calcium volume exhibited a moderate correlation with stent expansion. According to the receiver operating characteristic curves, the optimal cutoffs of calcium volume and area for predicting stent under-expansion were 4.37 mm3 and 2.48 mm2 , respectively. Calcium burden, area, and volume by OCT are more favorable predictors of stent under-expansion given its better performance than calcium grades by angiography. Using cutoffs of calcium area and volume could identify high-risk patients of under-expansion and might guide future clinical practice.

Talaromyces marneffei infection associated with bronchiolitis obliterans in an HIV-negative child: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Talaromyces marneffei is an opportunistic pathogen that infects immunodeficient and immunocompromised patients. We presented a pediatric patient with a diagnosis of T. marneffei infection who was followed up in the Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Centre. CASE PRESENTATION: The child was a 5-year-old girl with persistent cough and gasping over 2 months who was confirmed with T. marneffei infection by bronchoalveolar lavage fluid culture and high-throughput sequencing technology. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was negative according to a serum-specific antibody test. She was treated with amphotericin B and itraconazole as antifungal agents, with good clinical response. At follow-up, high-resolution computed tomography showed a mosaic sign in the whole lung field with a diagnosis of post-infectious bronchiolitis obliterans (PIBO) as the sequela. She has a mutated COPA gene with uncertain pathogenic potential on whole-exome sequencing. CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians should consider PIBO as a possible sequela in an HIV-negative paediatric patient with T. marneffei infection.

Mortality risk factors among hospitalized children with severe pertussis.

BACKGROUND: Some children hospitalized for severe pertussis need intensive care; moreover, some children die because of deterioration alone or in combination with other complications. The purpose of this study was to identify the mortality risk factors among hospitalized children with severe pertussis. METHODS: This study evaluated the medical records of 144 hospitalized children with severe pertussis at the Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Centre between January 2016 and December 2019. RESULTS: The median age of patients was 2 months (IQR 1-4 months), with 90.3% of the patients aged < 6 months and 56.9% of the patients aged < 3 months. A total of 38 patients were admitted to intensive care unit (ICU), 13 patients died, and the mortality of severe pertussis was 34.2%, with patients younger than 6 weeks accounting for 76.9% of the deaths. On the multivariate analysis, the independent risk factors for death were WBC > 70.0 × 109/L (odds ratio [OR], 230.66; 95% confidence interval [CI], 5.16-10,319.09 P = 0.005) and pulmonary hypertension (PH) (OR 323.29; 95% CI 16.01-6529.42; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Severe pertussis mainly occurred in children aged < 3 months. The mortality of severe pertussis was 34.2%, with patients younger than 6 weeks accounting for the majority of the deaths. We recommend the first dose of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) should be advanced to the age of 2 months or even 6 weeks. The presence of a WBC > 70.0 × 109/L and PH were the prognostic independent variables associated with death.

Fructus Ligustri Lucidi preserves bone quality through induction of canonical Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway in ovariectomized rats.

Fructus Ligustri Lucidi (FLL) has been preclinically and clinically used to treat musculoskeletal diseases. However, whether and how FLL affect the canonical Wnt/ß-catenin signaling in the management of osteoporosis remains largely unknown. To this end, ovariectomized (OVX) rats and primary osteoblasts were administrated with FLL aqueous extract and medicated serum, respectively. Supplement of FLL to OVX rats maintains bone quality by attenuating the reduction in bone mineral density, strength and microstructure. The maintenance may be associated with upregulating the expression of insulin-like growth factor-1, osteoprotegerin, phospho (p)-low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 6, p-glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK3ß), ß-catenin, Runx2 and c-Myc, and downregulating the expressions of sclerostin (SOST), dickkopf-related protein 1 (DKK1), GSK3ß and p-ß-catenin in rat femurs and tibias. In addition, the medicated serum promotes osteoblastic bone formation through activation of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling via inhibition of DKK1 and SOST overexpression. Salidroside may be one of the active ingredients in FLL that are beneficial for bone homeostasis. In summary, our results suggest that FLL may preserve bone quality through induction of canonical Wnt/ß-catenin signaling via inhibition of DKK1 and SOST overexpression. And FLL may offer a new source of the DKK1 or SOST inhibitors in protection against osteoporosis.

First Report of Sea buckthorn Stem Wilt Caused by Fusarium sporotrichioides in Gansu, China.

Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) is an important deciduous shrub for fruit and ecological restoration in arid and semi-arid regions of China. Twelve Chinese and Russian cultivars (cv. Shenqiuhong, eshi01, ... eshi11) were planted about 1.6 acre area in a seedling nursery, located in Qingyang City of Gansu province in northwest China, where high mortality (more than 70%) of sea buckthorn was observed in late July 2019. Symptoms consisted of massive chlorosis, drooping leaves and dried-up stems on 5-year-old trees. Pieces of tree roots and stems with irregular light-brown discoloration in the xylem vessels were selected. Small pieces of discolored tissue were surface disinfested (1 min in 1% sodium hypochlorite, followed by three rinses with sterile distilled water), air-dried, and placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium for 5 days at 25°C in the dark. A fungus was consistently isolated from both diseased roots and stems tissues. Colonies on PDA grew rapidly. Dense mycelia were pinky-white initially, and became carmine red color with age on the undersurface of the plate. Macroconidia were moderately curved, 3 to 5 marked septa, hyaline, thick walled, and measuring 27.8± 3.6 µm × 4.8 ± 0.5 µm (n = 30). Microconidia were abundant, pear-shaped, ellipsoid to fusoid, often with a papilla at the base, and 8.4 ± 2.2 µm ×3.1 ± 0.3 µm (n = 30). Genomic DNA was extracted for amplification and sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS1 and ITS4 primers) (White et al. 1990) of the ribosomal DNA (Accession Nos. MN160235 to MN160238) and translation elongation factor-1 alpha (EF1 and EF2 primers, accession Nos. MN429075 to MN429078) (O'Donnell et al. 1998). The sequences revealed 99% similarity to the sequences of the ITS (AY188917), and 100% identity with EF1-α (JF740808) regions of Fusarium sporotrichioides. Based on morphological and molecular characteristics, the fungus was identified as F. sporotrichioides (Leslie and Summerell 2006). Koch's postulates were fulfilled on healthy, potted 1-year-old sea buckthorn seedings using two isolates in a greenhouse at 25 °C, 90% relative humidity, and 12-hour light/dark photoperiod. Ten potted seedings were inoculated on the stems by placing a 5-mm-diameter mycelial plug (5-day-old PDA cultures for each isolate) into the surface of a wound created with a needle, and the inoculation sites were covered with Parafilm to maintain moisture. Ten seedings were inoculated with PDA plugs as controls. Seven to ten days after inoculation, typical symptoms of dark-brown necrotic lesions on chlorotic leaf margins were observed. About 2 weeks after inoculation, the inoculated stems were gradually dry up, accompanied by withering and fallen leaves. Control plants remained asymptomatic. Pathogens were successfully isolated from the inoculated stems again, exhibiting morphological characteristics identical to those of F. sporotrichioides. Previous papers reported F. sporotrichioides as a common pathogen caused lavender wilt (Cosic et al. 2012), foliar spots on forage corn (Moya-Elizondo et al. 2013) and maize ear rot (Wang et al. 2019). To our knowledge, this is the first report of sea buckthorn stem wilt caused by F. sporotrichioides on several Chinese and Russian cultivars in Gansu province of China. In Heilongjiang province, the same disease was reported in 2010 (Song et al. 2010), nearly 30 longitudes away from Gansu province. Therefore, this disease appears to be a serious risk for future sea buckthorn production.

Label-free colorimetric assay for arsenic(III) determination based on a truncated short ssDNA and gold nanoparticles.

A short ssDNA (Apt-21) rationally truncated from the parent 100 nt As(III) aptamer was used for colorimetric determination of As(III). Apt-21 serves dual functions, i.e., recognition of trace As(III) and regulation of AuNPs dispersion by surface attachment, while gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) functioned as colorimetric signal reporters. Under the optimal conditions, the ratio of the absorbance at 650 nm to 520 nm (A650/A520) of AuNPs changed proportionally with increasing concentration of As(III), which showed a linear relationship within the concentration ranges 1-30 ppb and 30-100 ppb with a detection limit of 0.18 ppb. The feasibility of this assay was demonstrated by determining As(III) in spiked water samples with mean recoveries ranging from 96.5-107.1%. Schematic representation of colorimetric detection of As(III) based on the short ssDNA (Apt-21) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs).

Recent advances on the roles of LncRNAs in cardiovascular disease.

Cardiovascular diseases are a main cause of mortality whose prevalence continues to increase worldwide. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) regulate a variety of biological processes by modifying and regulating transcription of coding genes, directly binding to proteins and even coding proteins themselves. LncRNAs play key roles in the occurrence and development of myocardial infarction, heart failure, myocardial hypertrophy, arrhythmias and other pathological processes that significantly affect the prognosis and survival of patients with cardiovascular diseases. We here review the latest research on lncRNAs in cardiovascular diseases as a basis to formulate future research on prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.