Protocol for the FACE study: frailty and comorbidity in elderly patients-a multicenter, Chinese observational cohort study.

The present protocol describes an observational cohort study that was designed to propose a therapeutic scheme and formulate an individualized treatment strategy for frail elderly patients diagnosed with multiple diseases in a Chinese, multicenter setting. Over a 3-year period, we will recruit 30,000 patients from 10 hospitals and collect baseline data including patient demographic information, comorbidity characteristic, FRAIL scale, age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index (aCCI), relevant blood tests, the results of imaging examination, prescription of drugs, length of hospital stay, number of overall re-hospitalizations and death. Elderly patients (≥ 65 years old) with multimorbidity and receiving hospital care are eligible for this study. Data collection is being performed at baseline and 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after discharge. Our primary analysis was all-cause death, readmission rate and clinical events (including emergency visits, stroke, heart failure, myocardial infarction, tumor, acute chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, etc). The study is approved by the National Key R & D Program of China (2020YFC2004800). Data will be disseminated in manuscripts submitted to medical journals and in abstracts submitted to international geriatric conferences. Clinical Trial Registration: [www.ClinicalTrials.gov], identifier [ChiCTR2200056070].

SAUR15 interaction with BRI1 activates plasma membrane H+-ATPase to promote organ development of Arabidopsis.

Brassinosteroids (BRs) are an important group of plant steroid hormones that regulate growth and development. Several members of the SMALL AUXIN UP RNA (SAUR) family have roles in BR-regulated hypocotyl elongation and root growth. However, the mechanisms are unclear. Here, we show in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) that SAUR15 interacts with cell surface receptor-like kinase BRASSINOSTEROID-INSENSITIVE 1 (BRI1) in BR-treated plants, resulting in enhanced BRI1 phosphorylation status and recruitment of the co-receptor BRI1-ASSOCIATED RECEPTOR KINASE 1. Genetic and phenotypic assays indicated that the SAUR15 effect on BRI1 can be uncoupled from BRASSINOSTEROID INSENSITIVE 2 activity. Instead, we show that SAUR15 promotes BRI1 direct activation of plasma membrane H+-ATPase (PM H+-ATPase) via phosphorylation. Consequently, SAUR15-BRI1-PM H+-ATPase acts as a direct, PM-based mode of BR signaling that drives cell expansion to promote the growth and development of various organs. These data define an alternate mode of BR signaling in plants.

Development and Characterization of A New Dimethicone Nanoemulsion and its Application for Electronic Gastroscopy Examination.

PURPOSE: Although the effective and safe medical defoamers, dimethicone (DM) and simethicone (SM) are widely used in electronic gastroscope examination (EGE), their preparations are presented in the form of suspensions or emulsions, these are untransparent or milk-like in appearance and can easily cause misdiagnosis as a result of an unclear field of vision if the doctor does not master the amount of defoamer or operates incorrectly. At the same time, it is also difficult to wash out the camera and pipeline, due to the large oil droplets of preparations. The purpose of this study was to develop a new clear and transparent oil in water (O/W) DM nanoemulsions (DMNs) and observe the effect of application in EGE. METHODS: The oil phase was chosen for its antifoaming activity and viscosity. The emulsifier and co-emulsifier were selected according to the solubility of the oil phase in them. The water titration method was used to make the pseudoternary phase diagrams of nanoemulsions and optimize the prescription composition. DM-in-water nanoemulsion was prepared by the low energy method and evaluated for appearance, antifoaming ability, droplet size, and stability. The effect of DMNs utilized in EGEs was also observed. RESULTS: The optimal formulation of DMNs contained CRH-40 as an emulsifier, PEG-400 as a co-emulsifier, DM as oil phase with the viscosity of 10 mPa.s, and their proportion was 4.5:4.5:1, respectively. DMNs obtained the average particle size of 67.98 nm with the polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.332, and 57.14% defoaming rate. The result of using an EGE showed that DMNs were superior in comparison to the emulsions with regard to the defoaming effect, visual clarity, and easy cleanup. CONCLUSION: DMNs were found to provide excellent visual clarity to its other preparations. The novel DMNs is a promising substitute for DM emulsions or suspensions in EGEs.

SAUR15 Promotes Lateral and Adventitious Root Development via Activating H+-ATPases and Auxin Biosynthesis.

SMALL AUXIN-UP RNAs (SAURs) comprise the largest family of early auxin response genes. Some SAURs have been reported to play important roles in plant growth and development, but their functional relationships with auxin signaling remain unestablished. Here, we report Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) SAUR15 acts downstream of the auxin response factors ARF6,8 and ARF7,19 to regulate auxin signaling-mediated lateral root (LR) and adventitious root (AR) formation. The loss-of-function mutant saur15-1 exhibits fewer LRs and ARs. By contrast, plants overexpressing SAUR15 exhibit more LRs and ARs. We find that the SAUR15 promoter contains four tandem auxin-responsive elements, which are directly bound by ARF6 and ARF7 and are essential for SAUR15 expression. LR and AR impairment in arf6 and arf7 mutants is partially reduced by ectopic expression of SAUR15 Additionally, we demonstrate that the ARF6,7-upregulated SAUR15 promotes LR and AR development using two mechanisms. On the one hand, SAUR15 interacts with PP2C-D subfamily type 2C protein phosphatases to inhibit their activities, thereby stimulating plasma membrane H+-ATPases, which drives cell expansion and facilitates LR and AR formation. On the other hand, SAUR15 promotes auxin accumulation, potentially by inducing the expression of auxin biosynthesis genes. A resulting increase in free auxin concentration likely triggers LR and AR formation, forming a feedback loop. Our study provides insights and a better understanding of how SAURs function at the molecular level in regulating auxin-mediated LR and AR development.

Cloning and functional characterization of epidermis-specific promoter MtML1 from Medicago truncatula.

Epidermis-specific promoters are necessary for ectopic expression of specific functional genes such as the cuticle-related genes. Previous studies indicated that both ECERIFERUM 6 (AtCER6) and MERISTEM L1 LAYER (ATML1) promoters from Arabidopsis thaliana can drive gene expression specifically in the epidermis of shoot apical meristems (SAMs) and leaves. However, the epidermis-specific promoters from legume plants have not been reported. Here, we cloned a 5' flanking sequence from the upstream -2150 bp to the translational start ATG codon of MtML1 gene of legume model plant Medicago truncatula. PlantCARE analysis indicated that this sequence matches the characteristics of a promoter, having TATA box and CAAT box, as well as contains some conserved elements of epidermis-specific promoters like AtCER6 and ATML1 promoters. The ß-glucuronidase (GUS) histochemical analysis showed that MtML1 promoter can drive GUS gene expression in transiently transformed Nicotiana tabacum leaves under non-inducing condition. Furthermore, it can also control GUS expression in leaves and siliques rather than roots of the stably transformed Arabidopsis. More importantly, the leaf cross-section observations indicated that MtML1 exclusively expressed in the epidermis of leaves. These results suggested that MtML1 promoter performed the epidermis-specific in plant shoot. Our study establishes the foundation for driving the cuticle-related gene to express in epidermis, which may be very useful in genetic engineering of legume plants.

Altererythrobacter soli sp. nov., isolated from desert sand.

An alkaliphilic strain designed MN-1T was isolated from a desert sand sample collected from Tengger desert, north-western China. To delineate its taxonomic position, this Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, strictly aerobic bacterium was subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study. Growth was observed at temperatures from 4 to 37 °C (optimum 30-32 °C), at salinities from 0 to 2 % (optimum 1 %) and at pH from 6.5 to 12.0 (optimum 7.0-9.0). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that strain MN-1T was a member of the genus Altererythrobacterbut could be distinguished from recognized species of this genus. Compared to the reference strains, the novel strain was flagellated and motile by means of polar flagella. The predominant respiratory quinone was ubiquinone-10 and the major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, sphingoglycolipid, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, one unidentified glycolipid, one unidentified phospholipid and four unidentified lipids. The predominant fatty acids were C18 : 1ω7c, summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c and/or C16 : 1ω6c) and C16 : 0. These chemotaxonomic traits were in agreement with the characteristics of the genus Altererythrobacter. Strain MN-1T was most closely related to Altererythrobacter xinjiangensis S3-63T (96.9 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity), followed by Altererythrobacter dongtanensis JM27T (96.4 %) and Altererythrobacter marinus H32T (96.1 %). The G+C content of the genomic DNA of strain MN-1T was 67.0 mol%. On the basis of data from this polyphasic taxonomic study, strain MN-1T is proposed as the type strain of a novel species of the genus Altererythrobacter, named as Altererythrobacter soli sp. nov. (=KCTC 52135T=MCCC 1K02066T).

Low-affinity Na+ uptake in the halophyte Suaeda maritima.

Na(+) uptake by plant roots has largely been explored using species that accumulate little Na(+) into their shoots. By way of contrast, the halophyte Suaeda maritima accumulates, without injury, concentrations of the order of 400 mM NaCl in its leaves. Here we report that cAMP and Ca(2+) (blockers of nonselective cation channels) and Li(+) (a competitive inhibitor of Na(+) uptake) did not have any significant effect on the uptake of Na(+) by the halophyte S. maritima when plants were in 25 or 150 mM NaCl (150 mM NaCl is near optimal for growth). However, the inhibitors of K(+) channels, TEA(+) (10 mM), Cs(+) (3 mM), and Ba(2+) (5 mM), significantly reduced the net uptake of Na(+) from 150 mM NaCl over 48 h, by 54%, 24%, and 29%, respectively. TEA(+) (10 mM), Cs(+) (3 mM), and Ba(2+) (1 mm) also significantly reduced (22)Na(+) influx (measured over 2 min in 150 mM external NaCl) by 47%, 30%, and 31%, respectively. In contrast to the situation in 150 mm NaCl, neither TEA(+) (1-10 mM) nor Cs(+) (0.5-10 mM) significantly reduced net Na(+) uptake or (22)Na(+) influx in 25 mM NaCl. Ba(2+) (at 5 mm) did significantly decrease net Na(+) uptake (by 47%) and (22)Na(+) influx (by 36% with 1 mM Ba(2+)) in 25 mM NaCl. K(+) (10 or 50 mM) had no effect on (22)Na(+) influx at concentrations below 75 mM NaCl, but the influx of (22)Na(+) was inhibited by 50 mM K(+) when the external concentration of NaCl was above 75 mM. The data suggest that neither nonselective cation channels nor a low-affinity cation transporter are major pathways for Na(+) entry into root cells. We propose that two distinct low-affinity Na(+) uptake pathways exist in S. maritima: Pathway 1 is insensitive to TEA(+) or Cs(+), but sensitive to Ba(2+) and mediates Na(+) uptake under low salinities (25 mM NaCl); pathway 2 is sensitive to TEA(+), Cs(+), and Ba(2+) and mediates Na(+) uptake under higher external salt concentrations (150 mM NaCl). Pathway 1 might be mediated by a high-affinity K transporter-type transporter and pathway 2 by an AKT1-type channel.

Up-regulation of glutathione metabolism and changes in redox status involved in adaptation of reed (Phragmites communis) ecotypes to drought-prone and saline habitats.

The glutathione (GSH) metabolic characteristics and redox balance in three ecotypes of reed (Phragmites communis), swamp reed (SR), dune reed (DR), and heavy salt meadow reed (HSMR), from different habitats in desert regions of northwest China were investigated. The DR possessed the highest rate of GSH biosynthesis and metabolism with the lowest levels of total and reduced GSH and its biosynthetic precursors, gamma-glutamylcysteine (gamma-EC) and cysteine (Cys), of the three reed ecotypes. This suggests that a higher rate of GSH biosynthesis and metabolism, but not GSH accumulation, might be involved in the adaptation of this terrestrial reed ecotype to its dry habitat. The HSMR shared this profile although it exhibited the highest reduced thiol levels of the three ecotypes. Two key enzymes in the Calvin-cycle possessing exposed sulfhydryl groups, NADP(+)-dependent glyceraldehydes-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PD) and fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase), and other two key enzymes in the pentose-phosphate pathway (PPP), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6-PGD), had very similar activities in the three reed ecotypes. Compared to the SR, the DR and HSMR had higher ratios of NADPH/NADP+ and NADH/NAD+, indicating that a more reduced redox status in the plant cells might be involved in the survival and adaptation of the two terrestrial reed ecotypes to long-term drought and salinity, respectively. These results suggest that changes of GSH metabolism and redox balance were important components of the adaptation of reed, a hydrophilic plant, to more extreme dune and saline habitats. The coordinated up-regulations of the rate of GSH biosynthesis and metabolism and reduction state of redox status of plant cells, conferred on the plant high resistance or tolerance to long-term drought and salinity.