SlPP2C2 interacts with FZY/SAUR and regulates tomato development via signaling crosstalk of ABA and auxin.

Abscisic acid (ABA) signaling interacts frequently with auxin signaling when it regulates plant development, affecting multiple physiological processes; however, to the best of our knowledge, their interaction during tomato development has not yet been reported. Here, we found that type 2C protein phosphatase (SlPP2C2) interacts with both flavin monooxygenase FZY, an indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) biosynthetic enzyme, and small auxin upregulated RNA (SAUR) of an IAA signaling protein and regulates their activity, thereby affecting the expression of IAA-responsive genes. The expression level of SlPP2C2 was increased by exogenous ABA, IAA, NaCl, or dehydration treatment of fruits, leaves, and seeds, and it decreased in imbibed seeds. Manipulating SlPP2C2 with overexpression, RNA interference, and CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing resulted in pleiotropic changes, such as morphological changes in leaves, stem trichomes, floral organs and fruits, accompanied by alterations in IAA and ABA levels. Furthermore, the RNA-seq analysis indicated that SlPP2C2 regulates the expression of auxin-/IAA-responsive genes in different tissues of tomato. The results demonstrate that SlPP2C2-mediated ABA signaling regulates the development of both vegetative and reproductive organs via interaction with FZY/SAUR, which integrates the cross-talk of ABA and auxin signals during development and affects the expressions of development-related genes in tomato.

Primer extension refractory PCR: an efficient and reliable genome walking method.

Genome walking, a molecular technique for obtaining unknown flanking genomic sequences from a known genomic sequence, has been broadly applied to determine transgenic sites, mine new genetic resources, and fill in chromosomal gaps. This technique has advanced genomics, genetics, and related disciplines. Here, an efficient and reliable genome walking technique, called primer extension refractory PCR (PER-PCR), is presented. PER-PCR uses a set of primary, secondary, and tertiary walking primers. The middle 15 nt of the primary walking primer overlaps with the 3' parts of the secondary and tertiary primers. The 5' parts of the three primers are heterologous to each other. The short overlap allows the walking primer to anneal to its predecessor only in a relaxed-stringency PCR cycle, resulting in a series of single-stranded DNAs; however, the heterologous 5' part prevents the creation of a perfect binding site for the walking primer. In the next stringent cycle, the target single strand can be extended into a double-stranded DNA molecule by the sequence-specific primer and thus can be exponentially amplified by the remaining stringent cycles. The nontarget single strand fails to be enriched due to the lack of a perfect binding site for any primer. PER-PCR was validated by extension into unknown flanking regions of the hyg gene in rice and the gadR gene in Levilactobacillus brevis CD0817. In summary, in this study, a new practical PER-PCR method was constructed as a potential alternative to existing genome walking methods.

All-in-One Zinc-Doped Prussian Blue Nanozyme for Efficient Capture, Separation, and Detection of Copper Ion (Cu2+ ) in Complicated Matrixes.

Copper is a vital micronutrient for lives and an important ingredient for bactericides and fungicides. Given its indispensable biological and agricultural roles, there is an urgent need to develop simple, affordable, and reliable methods for detecting copper in complicated matrixes, particularly in underdeveloped regions where costly standardized instruments and sample dilution procedures hinder progress. The findings that zinc-doped Prussian blue nanoparticle (ZnPB NP) exhibits exceptional efficiency in capturing and isolating copper ions, and accelerates the generation of dissolved oxygen in a solution of H2 O2 with remarkable sensitivity and selectivity, the signal of which displays a positive correlation with the copper level due to the copper-enhanced catalase-like activity of ZnPB NP, are presented. Consequently, the ZnPB NP serves as an all-in-one sensor for copper ion. The credibility of the method for copper assays in human urine and farmland soil is shown by comparing it to the standard instrumentation, yielding a coefficient of correlation (R2 = 0.9890), but the cost is dramatically reduced. This ZnPB nanozyme represents a first-generation probe for copper ion in complicated matrixes, laying the groundwork for the future development of a practical copper sensor that can be applied in resource-constrained environments.

B cells in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: current opinion and novel therapy.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a common malignant tumour. Despite advancements in surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which have improved the prognosis of most patients, a subset of patients with poor prognoses still exist due to loss of surgical opportunities, postoperative recurrence, and metastasis, among other reasons. The tumour microenvironment (TME) is a complex organization composed of tumour, stromal, and endothelial cells. Communication and interaction between tumours and immune cells within the TME are increasingly being recognized as pivotal in inhibiting or promoting tumour development. Previous studies on T cells in the TME of HNSCC have yielded novel therapeutic possibilities. However, the function of B cells, another adaptive immune cell type, in the TME of HNSCC patients has yet to be determined. Recent studies have revealed various distinct subtypes of B cells and tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) in the TME of HNSCC patients, which are believed to impact the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Therefore, this paper focuses on B cells in the TME to explore potential directions for future immunotherapy for HNSCC.

Prospective, multicenter, self-controlled clinical trial on the effectiveness and safety of cable-transmission magnetically controlled capsule endoscope system for the examination of upper gastrointestinal diseases.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Many gastrointestinal (GI) disorders and precancerous conditions often present asymptomatically, leading to delayed patient diagnoses and treatment interventions. This study aimed to develop a novel cable-transmission magnetically controlled capsule endoscopy (CT-MCCE) system for detecting GI diseases and assess its safety and feasibility through clinical trials. METHODS: This prospective, multicenter, trial compared CT-MCCE with conventional gastroscopy in patients aged 18-75 years with upper GI diseases between October 2022 and May 2023. The primary endpoints included the evaluation of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) in the detection of focal lesions within the esophagus, stomach, and duodenal bulb using CT-MCCE. RESULTS: A total of 180 individuals (mean age: 43.1 years, 52.22% female) were recruited from three hospitals in China. CT-MCCE detected lesions in esophagus with 97.22% sensitivity, 100% specificity, a PPV of 100%, a NPV of 98.18%, and 98.89% accuracy. CT-MCCE detected gastric focal lesions in the whole stomach with 96.81% sensitivity, 98.84% specificity, a PPV of 98.91%, a NPV of 96.59%, and 97.78% accuracy. CT-MCCE detected lesions in the duodenal bulb with 100% sensitivity, 100% specificity, a PPV of 100%, a NPV of 100%, and 100% accuracy. There were no significant differences between CT-MCCE and EGD regarding the cleanliness of the upper GI tract and visibility of the upper GI mucosa. However, CT-MCCE was associated with a lower incidence of discomfort than EGD (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The diagnostic performance of CT-MCCE is comparable to that of EGD in the completion of upper GI tract examinations and lesion detection. Furthermore, the improved tolerance of CT-MCCE in detecting upper GI diseases was noted without any observed adverse events.

Recognition Imaging of Trace E-cadherins on the Bladder Cancer Cells Surface during Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition by Force-Distance Curve-Based AFM.

Tumor-associated epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) contains a set of transitional cellular states usually judged by the EMT marker expression. E-cadherin is a down-regulated EMT epithelial marker, and the detection of E-cadherin is challenging on cancer cell surfaces in the middle and late stages of EMT. Here, the trace E-cadherins on the living bladder cancer T24 cell surface during EMT were investigated with force-distance curve-based atomic force microscopy. The results confirmed that T24 cells are still in an intermediate state and can be transferred into the mesenchymal phenotype by long-term TGF-ß1 induction. During EMT, E-cadherins on the T24 cell surface gradually decreased and rarely clustered. E-cadherin is not completely missing, even at the end of EMT, but is too sparse to cluster. This work provides us with a visual understanding of the expression and distribution of trace markers during EMT and a deep comprehension of the indispensable significance of E-cadherin in cancer cells.

Genotype-phenotype analysis of selective failure of tooth eruption-A systematic review.

Tooth eruption is an important and unique biological process during craniofacial development. Both the genetic and environmental factors can interfere with this process. Here we aimed to find the failure pattern of tooth eruption among five genetic diseases. Both systematic review and meta-analysis were used to identify the genotype-phenotype associations of unerupted teeth. The meta-analysis was based on the characteristics of abnormal tooth eruption in 223 patients with the mutations in PTH1R, RUNX2, COL1A1/2, CLCN7, and FAM20A respectively. We found all the patients presented selective failure of tooth eruption (SFTE). Primary failure of eruption patients with PTH1R mutations showed primary or isolated SFTE1 in the first and second molars (59.3% and 52% respectively). RUNX2 related cleidocranial dysplasia usually had SFTE2 in canines and premolars, while COL1A1/2 related osteogenesis imperfecta mostly caused SFTE3 in the maxillary second molars (22.9%). In CLCN7 related osteopetrosis, the second molars and mandibular first molars were the most affected. While FAM20A related enamel renal syndrome most caused SFTE5 in the second molars (86.2%) and maxillary canines. In conclusion, the SFTE was the common characteristics of most genetic diseases with abnormal isolated or syndromic tooth eruption. The selective pattern of unerupted teeth was gene-dependent. Here we recommend SFTE to classify those genetic unerupted teeth and guide for precise molecular diagnosis and treatment.

Superposed three-dimensional 64QAM constellation design for MIMO-OFDM visible light communication systems.

Multiple-input multiple-output orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) has been widely used to improve data rate in visible-light communication (VLC) systems. However, the high correlation of channels restricts the application of MIMO. A superposed constellation, combined with MIMO, can achieve considerable diversity gain even in highly correlated MIMO channels. In this study, what we believe to be novel superposed three-dimensional 64-quadrature amplitude modulation (3D-64QAM) constellation schemes are proposed for MIMO-OFDM VLC systems. First, a superposed 3D-64QAM constellation scheme using two transmitted light emitting diodes (LEDs) is proposed, where two independent signals with 3D-4QAM and 3D-16QAM modulation formats are superposed to form a 3D-64QAM signal at the receiver. Then, for what we believe is the first time, we expand the superposed constellation solution to three-LED application scenarios, wherein the 3D-64QAM constellation is superposed by three different 3D-4QAM constellations. Both schemes benefit from a higher minimum Euclidean distance of 3D-64QAM constellation, 1.67 times that of traditional two-dimensional (2D) 64QAM constellation. Meanwhile, the equal-power superposition design of transmitted signals reduces the nonlinearity of LEDs and power competition of photodiodes. Moreover, the three-LED scheme further improves the transmitted power without increasing the risk of nonlinear distortion. To improve spectral efficiency and reduce complexity, we also propose a 3D OFDM modulation scheme. The superposed 3D-64QAM schemes are first studied through theoretical analysis and computer simulation. Then, an experimental demonstration is established to investigate the system performance comprehensively. Experimental results prove that the superposed 3D-64QAM constellation schemes achieve a superior bit error rate (BER) performance than the traditional superposed 2D-64QAM constellation scheme. Compared with two-LED scheme, the three-LED scheme not only obtains a lower BER, but also improves the dynamic range of driving peak-to-peak voltage significantly.

Lifestyle behaviors and stress are risk factors for overweight and obesity in healthcare workers: a cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Overweight and obesity have become major public health concerns worldwide. Persistent stress can activate the human hypothalamic‒pituitary‒adrenal axis (HPA) and increase the intake of "self-rewarding food", thereby raising the incidence of obesity. Health care workers (HCWs) experience higher workloads and mental stress than workers in many other industries, which may put them at increased risk for overweight/obesity. However, few studies have been carried out on overweight and obesity among HCWs in China, and the overall scenario and behind-the-scenes factors of their overweight and obesity are unknown. The aim of this study is to understand the epidemic of overweight and obesity and risk factors among Chinese HCWs. METHODS: Based on a cross-sectional web survey design, 23,234 HCWs from 100 health institutions in 5 provinces/autonomous regions/municipalities across China were sampled to answer a self-administered questionnaire that was purposely developed using a multi-staged clustered random-sampling method. Chi-square test and ANOVA were performed to compare variables between two or more groups. Univariate analyses were conducted to identify the influence of self-reported persistent stress and/or recurrent anxiety/depressed mood on lifestyle behaviors. A multivariate binary logistic regression model was used to analyse the risk factors of overweight/obesity. RESULTS: Among the respondents, 34.26% were overweight, and 11.22% were obese. Most of the respondents had regular exercise habits (68.17%), had habitually stayed-up late (65.06%) and had been affected by persistent stress and/or recurrent anxiety/depressed mood (62.04%). A higher proportion of those with persistent stress and/or recurrent anxiety/depressed mood than those without habitually staying-up late (76.18%); consumed take-out food (54.92%), fried food (49.93%), snacks or desserts (50.51%); drank sugary drinks (46.57%); smoked (14.27%); and drank alcohol (23.34%). Gender (Female) (OR: 0.314, 95%CI: 0.292-0.336), age (OR: 1.742-2.334, 95%CI: 1.544-2.858), education (OR: 0.620-0.728, 95%CI: 0.445-0.973), living and working area (OR: 1.271, 95%CI: 1.192-1.355), breakfast (OR: 0.898, 95%CI: 0.839-0.960), fried food (OR: 1.133, 95%CI: 1.048-1.224), and alcohol consumption (OR: 1.111, 95%CI: 1.017-1.214) were factors for overweight/obesity. All of the aforementioned results were significant (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The overweight/obesity rate of Chinese HCWs is rather high, which might be directly associated with lifestyle behaviors. However, these behaviors fundamentally originated from persistent stress and/or recurrent anxiety/depression, mediated by lifestyle behaviors. Substantial measures should be taken for stress reduction and mental health promotion for overweight/obesity prevention and control among HCWs.

Evolutionary analysis and functional characterization of BZR1 gene family in celery revealed their conserved roles in brassinosteroid signaling.

BACKGROUND: Brassinosteroids (BRs) are a group of essential steroid hormones involved in diverse developmental and physiological processes in plants. The Brassinazole-resistant 1 (BZR1) transcription factors are key components of BR signaling and integrate a wide range of internal and environmental signals to coordinate plant development, growth, and resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses. Although the BZR1 family has been fully studied in Arabidopsis, celery BZR1 family genes remain largely unknown. RESULTS: Nine BZR1 genes were identified in the celery genome, and categorized into four classes based on phylogenetic and gene structure analyses. All the BZR1 proteins shared a typical bHLH (basic helix-loop-helix) domain that is highly conserved across the whole family in Arabidopsis, grape, lettuce, ginseng, and three Apiaceae species. Both duplications and losses of the BZR1 gene family were detected during the shaping of the celery genome. Whole-genome duplication (WGD) or segmental duplication contributed 55.56% of the BZR1 genes expansion, and the γ as well as celery-ω polyploidization events made a considerable contribution to the production of the BZR1 paralogs in celery. Four AgBZR1 members (AgBZR1.1, AgBZR1.3, AgBZR1.5, and AgBZR1.9), which were localized both in the nucleus and cytoplasm, exhibit transcription activation activity in yeast. AgBZR1.5 overexpression transgenic plants in Arabidopsis showed curled leaves with bent, long petioles and constitutive BR-responsive phenotypes. Furthermore, the AgBZR1 genes possessed divergent expression patterns with some overlaps in roots, petioles, and leaves, suggesting an extensive involvement of AgBZR1s in the developmental processes in celery with both functional redundancy and divergence. CONCLUSIONS: Our results not only demonstrated that AgBZR1 played a conserved role in BR signaling but also suggested that AgBZR1 might be extensively involved in plant developmental processes in celery. The findings lay the foundation for further study on the molecular mechanism of the AgBZR1s in regulating the agronomic traits and environmental adaptation of celery, and provide insights for future BR-related genetic breeding of celery and other Apiaceae crops.

Mice lacking 1,4,5-triphosphate inositol type III receptor demonstrate inhibition of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension.

Hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (HPH) is a respiratory disease characterized by increased pulmonary vascular resistance and pulmonary arterial pressure. Persistent hypoxia alters the metabolic and transport functions of endothelial cells and promotes thrombosis and inflammation. Type 3 inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R3) controls the release of calcium ions from the endoplasmic reticulum to the cytoplasm and mitochondria and is involved in cell proliferation, migration, and protein synthesis. In this study, we investigated the role and function of IP3R3 in HPH. The results showed that the expression level of IP3R3 was increased in pulmonary artery endothelial cells (PAECs) in a rat HPH model. The pulmonary artery pressure indices of IP3R3(-/-) mice with persistent hypoxia were significantly lower than those of HPH mice. The expression level of IP3R3 was significantly increased in hypoxia-treated PAECs. Knockdown of IP3R3 significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration and mesenchymal transition of PAECs induced by hypoxia. In conclusion, knockdown of IP3R3 can inhibit hypoxia-induced dysfunctions in PAECs, thus enabling IP3R3(-/-) mice to avoid HPH development. IP3R3 plays a key role in HPH and can be used as a potential target for the prevention and treatment of HPH.

Inhibition of IP3R3 attenuates endothelial to mesenchymal transition induced by TGF-ß1 through restoring mitochondrial function.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive disease characterized by elevated pulmonary artery pressure and right ventricular hypertrophy. Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (IP3Rs) release calcium ions from the endoplasmic reticulum to regulate permeability and migration of endothelial, thereby affecting PAH. In this study, We determined the expression level of IP3R3 and its position in lung tissue from PAH rat models, and stud the effect of IP3R3 on endothelial to mesenchymal transition (EndMT) and mitochondrial function of endothelial cells treated with TGF-ß1. We observed that IP3R3 was significantly overexpressed in the lung tissues from PAH rat models. Inhibition of IP3R3 reduced EndMT markers, cell migration, ROS production, Ca2+ levels, increased mitochondrial membrane potential and mitochondrial respiratory chain complex I, III, and V activities. These results suggest that the inhibition of IP3R3 attenuated EndMT and migration induced by TGF-ß1 via restoring of mitochondrial functions, thereby suggesting a novel therapeutic opportunity for PAH.

Hybrid NOMA/OFDMA visible light communication system with coordinated multiple point transmission.

In this study, a hybrid non-orthogonal multiple access / orthogonal frequency division multiple access (NOMA/OFDMA) scheme is proposed for multi-cell multi-user visible light communication (VLC) systems. Each cell is divided into several sub-cells that are multiplexed using OFDMA. Users within the same sub-cell are multiplexed by NOMA. Thus, the hybrid NOMA/OFDMA scheme takes advantage of both NOMA and OFDMA, which not only improves the spectral efficiency of OFDMA but also avoids the co-channel interference of NOMA. Moreover, coordinated multiple-point transmission based on repeated coding is introduced to eliminate multiuser interference, which also improves the received signal-to-noise ratio of edge users. In this manner, spectrum resources are fully utilized, where the frequency reuse factor is equal to 1. Furthermore, we propose a two-dimensional power-allocation algorithm for the proposed hybrid NOMA/OFDMA VLC system. Based on the fixed power allocation strategy, power is allocated jointly among sub-cells and users within sub-cells to minimize the average symbol error rate (SER). The performance of the proposed system was investigated in detail by simulation, where the SERs were evaluated under different power ratios. Simulation results also show that the SER performance of the proposed hybrid NOMA/OFDMA VLC system is significantly improved compared to the traditional NOMA and OFDMA VLC systems in different VLC networks. Finally, the proof-of-concept experiment was set up, clearly validating the superiority of the proposed system further.

Flipped superposed constellation design for MIMO visible-light communication systems.

Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) visible-light communication (VLC) systems based on the concept of superposed constellation have attracted increasing attention because multiplexing gains can be achieved even in a highly correlated MIMO channel. In this paper, a novel superposed constellation scheme is proposed for 2×2 MIMO VLC systems, where a 2n-order quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) signal is obtained by superposing 4QAM and processed 2n-2-order QAM signals. Based on the original 2n-2-order QAM signal, the processed signal is generated by adding an optimal offset, power normalization, and flipping according to the value of the 4QAM signal. Thus, the required power ratio between the two superposed signals is equal to 1, which not only avoids the power competition in the receiver, but also reduces the risk of the nonlinear distortion of the light-emitting diode at the transmitter. Moreover, benefitting from the flipped superposition method, two additional performance gains are provided. First, thorough Gray coding can be achieved. Second, the received power can be improved because the two transmitted signals are correlated. An algorithm for solving the optimal offset is proposed based on the target of the equal power ratio, and the expression of the received power is derived as well. Then, the performance of the proposed scheme is investigated using detailed simulations in an additive white Gaussian noise channel, where the superposed 64QAM constellation is assumed as an example. Further, we perform an experimental demonstration and examine the performance of the proposed system when a practical optical channel is considered, where nonideal impacts, such as nonlinearity and power competition, may occur. The experimental results confirm that the proposed scheme achieves a lower bit error rate (BER) and a larger dynamic range of driving peak-to-peak voltage compared with the existing superposed constellation schemes. Considering the 7% pre-forward error correction BER threshold of 3.8 × 10-3, the proposed superposed 64QAM constellation system can achieve a maximum transmission rate of 3 Gb/s.

Time-frequency joint mappings of a terahertz metasurface for multi-dimensional analysis of biological cells.

Traditional fast Fourier transform is used to extract the frequency component at the cost of losing the time domain, which is critical for metasurface biosensing. In this Letter, a more comprehensive algorithm, continuous wavelet transform (CWT), to process signals from THz time-domain spectroscopy is introduced. By comparing the metasurface-enhanced 2D time-frequency mappings (TFMs) of HaCaT and HSC3 cells, the two types of biological cells can be clearly differentiated, showing the great potential of CWT in the label-free recognition of biological cells. Also, the 2D TFMs serve as effective visualization indicators, successfully detecting the concentration of cancer cells characterized by being label free and low cost. In addition, the 2D TFMs of different metasurfaces under the same cell concentration reveal the correlation of TFMs and localized fields. Such a feature provides evidence of an interaction between biological cells and electromagnetic waves, implying the absorption of THz radiation by biological cells can be effectively controlled by properly designing split ring resonators (SRRs) of metasurfaces.

The protective effect of biomineralized BSA-Mn3O4 nanoparticles on HUVECs investigated by atomic force microscopy.

Manganese-based nanozymes have been widely used in the field of cell protection due to their various enzyme-mimicking activities, but their effect on the mechanical properties of cells is not yet known. Here, bovine serum albumin-modified Mn3O4 nanoparticles (BSA-Mn3O4 NPs) with good biocompatibility were synthesized by a one-step biomineralization method using BSA as a template. BSA-Mn3O4 NPs possess scavenging activity against superoxide free radicals (O2˙-), hydroxyl radicals (˙OH) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The excellent reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging activity of BSA-Mn3O4 NPs enables them to effectively reduce the intracellular ROS level, thus mitigating the damage of oxidative stress on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Subsequently, the intracellular antioxidant mechanism of the BSA-Mn3O4 NPs was further investigated. The results show that the BSA-Mn3O4 NPs could inhibit the depolymerization of F-actin, help cells maintain their normal morphology, and reduce the decrease in Young's modulus of cells caused by oxidative stress.

Detection of Dihydrocoumarin in Coconut Juice via Photoelectric Detection System Based on Ultraviolet Absorption Spectrometry.

Based on ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy technology combined with stoichiometry, a portable photoelectric detection system with wireless transmission was designed with the advantages of simple operation, low cost, and quick response to realize the non-destructive detection of dihydrocoumarin content in coconut juice. Through the detection of a sample solution, the light intensity through the solution is measured and converted into absorbance. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is applied to optimize support vector regression (SVR) to establish a corresponding concentration prediction model. At the same time, in order to solve the shortcomings of the conventional portable photoelectric detection equipment in data storage, data transmission, and other aspects, based on the optimal PSO-SVR model, we used Python language to develop a friendly graphical user interface (GUI), integrating data collection, storage, analysis, and prediction modeling in one, greatly simplifying the operation process. The experimental results show that, compared with the traditional methods, the system achieves the purpose of rapid and non-destructive detection and has a small gap compared with the detection results of the ultraviolet spectrophotometer. It provides a good method for the determination of dihydrocoumarin in coconut juice.

Investigation and Analysis of the Effect of Knowledge, Attitude, and Behavior of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Nurses on Occupational Protection Against COVID-19.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of knowledge, attitude, and behavior (KAB) of gastrointestinal endoscopy nurses on occupational protection against COVID-19. We analyzed the influencing factors on KAB to provide a reference for the training of nurses on occupational protection in endoscopic centers. A convenience sample of 400 endoscopy nurses from 26 provinces and cities in China was surveyed using a questionnaire to determine their KAB about occupational protection against COVID-19. Job title was an influencing factor of endoscopy nurses' attitude toward occupational protection against COVID-19. The type of hospital, whether nurses had received training on COVID-19, number of training courses received, and nurses' satisfaction with the workload in their endoscopic center were the influencing factors for occupational protective behavior. Study participants had good knowledge of occupational protection against COVID-19. Their overall attitude was positive, but their protective behavior needs further improvement. Feasible interventions to strengthen the occupational protective behavior of endoscopy nurses during the COVID-19 epidemic are suggested to improve the overall occupational protection level of endoscopy nurses.

Recepteur d'origine nantais contributes to the development of endometriosis via promoting epithelial-mesenchymal transition of a endometrial epithelial cells.

Endometriosis is a benign, chronic inflammatory disease that commonly occurs in reproductive-aged women. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of endometrial epithelial cells plays an important role in the development of endometriosis. Recepteur d'origine nantais (RON), a receptor tyrosine kinase, has been reported to promote EMT and progression in tumours. However, whether and how RON mediates the EMT and endometriosis development is not known. Here, we found that RON activation could improve the migratory and invasive capabilities, change cellular morphologies, and decrease expression of E-cadherin and increase expression of N-cadherin in endometrial epithelial cells. Inhibition or knockdown of RON expression suppressed the migration and invasion of endometrial epithelial cells. Our studies also indicated that RON played its part in endometrial epithelial cells through protein kinase B (Akt) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. Treatment with a RON inhibitor could decrease the number of ectopic lesions in a mouse model of endometriosis and mediate expression of EMT markers in endometriotic lesions. These data suggest that RON contributed to endometriosis development by promoting EMT of endometrial epithelial cells. Therefore, RON may be a new therapeutic target for endometriosis.

Montelukast alleviates inflammation in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis by altering Th17 differentiation in a mouse model.

Montelukast is a leukotriene receptor antagonist that is known to prevent allergic rhinitis and asthma. Blocking the Cysteinyl leukotriene receptor (CysLTR1), one of the primary receptors of leukotrienes, has been demonstrated to be efficacious in ameliorating experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), through disrupting chemotaxis of infiltrating T cells. However, the role of CysLTR1 in the pathogenesis of MS is not well understood. Here, we show that MS patients had higher expression of CysLTR1 in the circulation and central nervous system (CNS). The majority of CD4+ T cells expressed CysLTR1 in MS lesions. Among T-cell subsets, Th17 cells had the highest expression of CysLTR1, and blocking CysLTR1 signalling abrogated their development in vitro. Inhibition of CysLTR1 by montelukast suppressed EAE development in both a prophylactic and therapeutic manner and inhibited myelin loss in EAE mice. Similarly, the in vivo results showed that montelukast inhibited Th17 response in EAE mice and that Th17 cells treated with montelukast had reduced encephalitogenic in adoptive EAE. Our findings strongly suggest that targeting Th17 response by inhibiting CysLTR1 signalling could be a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of MS and CNS inflammatory diseases.