Sunlight irradiation promotes both the chemodiversity of terrestrial DOM and the biodiversity of bacterial community in a subalpine lake.

Alpine lake habitats are evolving into subalpine lakes under the scenario of climate change, where the vegetation are promoted due to increasing temperature and precipitation. The abundant terrestrial dissolved organic matter (TDOM) leached from watershed soil into subalpine lakes would undergo strong photochemical reaction due to the high altitude, with the potential to alter DOM composition and affect the bacterial communities. To reveal the transformation of TDOM by both photochemical and microbial processes in a typical subalpine lake, Lake Tiancai (located 200 m below the tree line) was chosen. TDOM was extracted from the surrounding soil of Lake Tiancai and then subjected to the photo/micro-processing for 107 days. The transformation of TDOM was analyzed by Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) and fluorescence spectroscopy, and the shift of bacterial communities was analyzed using 16s rRNA gene sequencing technology. Dissolved organic carbon and light-absorbing components (a350) decay accounted for approximately 40% and 80% of the original, respectively, in the sunlight process, but both less than 20% in the microbial process for 107 days. The photochemical process promoted the chemodiversity as there were ∼7000 molecules after sunlight irradiation, compared to ∼3000 molecules in the original TDOM. Light promoted the production of highly unsaturated molecules and aliphatics, which were significantly associated with Bacteroidota, suggesting that light may influence bacterial communities by regulating the DOM molecules. Carboxylic-rich alicyclic molecules were generated in both photochemical and biological processes, suggesting TDOM was converted to a stable pool over time. Our finding on the transformation of terrestrial DOM and the alternation of bacterial community under the simultaneously photochemical and microbial processes will help to reveal the response of the carbon cycle and lake system structure to climate change for high-altitude lakes.

HAG Effector Evolution in Pyricularia Species and Plant Cell Death Suppression by HAG4.

Seventy host-adapted gene (HAG) effector family members from Pyricularia species are found in P. oryzae and three closely related species (isolates LS and 18-2 from an unknown Pyricularia sp., P. grisea, and P. pennisetigena) that share at least eight orthologous HAG family members with P. oryzae. The genome sequence of a more distantly related species, P. penniseti, lacks HAG genes, suggesting a time frame for the origin of the gene family in the genus. In P. oryzae, HAG4 is uniquely found in the genetic lineage that contains populations adapted to Setaria and Oryza hosts. We find a nearly identical HAG4 allele in a P. grisea isolate, suggesting transfer of HAG4 from P. grisea to P. oryzae. HAG4 encodes a suppressor of plant cell death. Yeast two-hybrid screens with several HAG genes independently identify common interacting clones from a rice complementary DNA library, suggesting conservation of protein surface motifs between HAG homologs with as little as 40% protein sequence identity. HAG family orthologs have diverged rapidly and HAG15 orthologs display unusually high rates of sequence divergence compared with adjacent genes suggesting gene-specific accelerated divergence. The sequence diversity of the HAG homologs in Pyricularia species provides a resource for examining mechanisms of gene family evolution and the relationship to structural and functional evolution of HAG effector family activity. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY 4.0 International license.

Prognostic nomograms to predict overall survival and cause specific death in vulvar squamous cell carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: The incidence of vulvar squamous cell carcinoma has been rising in recent decades. The prognosis of patients with vulvar squamous cell carcinoma was explored, and nomograms were constructed to predict survival rates. METHODS: Vulvar squamous cell carcinoma patient data were downloaded from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database and randomly divided into a training dataset and testing dataset. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression were used to identify risk factors affecting vulvar squamous cell carcinoma overall survival in the training dataset. Cumulative incidence function and Fine-Gray regression were used to analyze cancer specific death in the training dataset. Overall survival and cancer specific death nomograms were constructed and validated in the testing and whole datasets. Receiver operating characteristic and calibration were used to verify the predictive value and clinical applicability of the models. RESULTS: Age ≥60 years, grade 3, American Joint Committee on Cancer stages III and IV, TNM (tumor, nodes, metastasis) stages T2, T3, N1, and M1 had a negative effect on overall survival in vulvar cancer patients. Surgery (hazard ratio (HR)=0.416, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.349 to 0.496, p<0.001) and chemotherapy (HR=0.637, 95% CI 0.544 to 0.746, p<0.001) may improve overall survival. Age, tumor grade, American Joint Committee on Cancer stage, T stage, N stage, M stage, surgery, and chemotherapy significantly affected vulvar cancer specific death. For area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, the predictive ability of the nomograms for overall survival and cancer specific death for 1 year (area under the curve (AUC)=0.862), 3 years (AUC=0.832), and 5 years (AUC=0.808) were all >0.800. CONCLUSION: The nomograms established in our study had an excellent predictive ability for overall survival and cancer specific death in vulvar cancer patients.

Evolution and Regulation of a Large Effector Family of Pyricularia oryzae.

Plant pathogen effectors play important roles in parasitism, including countering plant immunity. However, investigations of the emergence and diversification of fungal effectors across host-adapted populations has been limited. We previously identified a gene encoding a suppressor of plant cell death in Pyricularia oryzae (syn. Magnaporthe oryzae). Here, we report the gene is one of a 21-member gene family and we characterize sequence diversity in different populations. Within the rice pathogen population, nucleotide diversity is low, however; the majority of gene family members display presence-absence polymorphism or other null alleles. Gene family allelic diversity is greater between host-adapted populations and, thus, we named them host-adapted genes (HAGs). Multiple copies of HAGs were found in some genome assemblies and sequence divergence between the alleles in two cases suggested they were the result of repeat-induced point mutagenesis. Transfer of family members between populations and novel HAG haplotypes resulting from apparent recombination were observed. HAG family transcripts were induced in planta and a subset of HAGs are dependent on a key regulator of pathogenesis, PMK1. We also found differential intron splicing for some HAGs that would prevent ex planta protein expression. For some genes, spliced transcript was expressed in antiphase with an overlapping antisense transcript. Characterization of HAG expression patterns and allelic diversity reveal novel mechanisms for HAG regulation and mechanisms generating sequence diversity and novel allele combinations. This evidence of strong in planta-specific expression and selection operating on the HAG family is suggestive of a role in parasitism.[Formula: see text] Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.

Genome Sequence Resource of Magnaporthe oryzae Laboratory Strain 2539.

Magnaporthe oryzae causes blast disease on more than 50 species of monocot plants, including important crops such as rice, millet, and most recently wheat. Additionally, it is an important model system for studying host-pathogen interaction. Here, we report a high-quality genome assembly and annotation of a laboratory strain 2539 of M. oryzae, which is a widely used progeny of a rice-infecting isolate and a grass-infecting isolate. The genome sequence of strain 2539 will be useful for studying the evolution, host adaption, and pathogenicity of M. oryzae, which will be beneficial for a better understanding of the mechanisms of host-pathogen interaction.

Emergence of a hybrid PKS-NRPS secondary metabolite cluster in a clonal population of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae.

Secondary metabolites (SMs) are crucial for fungi and vary in function from beneficial antibiotics to pathogenicity factors. To generate diversified SMs that enable different functions, SM-coding regions rapidly evolve in fungal genomes. However, the driving force and genetic mechanism of fungal SM diversification in the context of host-pathogen interactions remain largely unknown. Previously, we grouped field populations of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae (syn: Pyricularia oryzae) into three major globally distributed clades based on population genomic analyses. Here, we characterize a recent duplication of an avirulent gene-containing SM cluster, ACE1, in a clonal M. oryzae population (Clade 2). We demonstrate that the ACE1 cluster is specifically duplicated in Clade 2, a dominant clade in indica rice-growing areas. With long-read sequencing, we obtained chromosome-level genome sequences of four Clade 2 isolates, which displayed differences in genomic organization of the ACE1 duplication process. Comparative genomic analyses suggested that the original ACE1 cluster experienced frequent rearrangement in Clade 2 isolates and revealed that the new ACE1 cluster is located in a newly formed and transposable element-rich region. Taken together, these results highlight the frequent mutation and expansion of an avirulent gene-containing SM cluster through transposable element-mediated whole-cluster duplication in the context of host-pathogen interactions.

Methylmalonate-semialdehyde dehydrogenase mediated metabolite homeostasis essentially regulate conidiation, polarized germination and pathogenesis in Magnaporthe oryzae.

Plants generate multitude of aldehydes under abiotic and biotic stress conditions. Ample demonstrations have shown that rice-derived aldehydes enhance the resistance of rice against the rice-blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. However, how the fungal pathogen nullifies the inhibitory effects of host aldehydes to establish compatible interaction remains unknown. Here we identified and evaluated the in vivo transcriptional activities of M. oryzae aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) genes. Transcriptional analysis of M. oryzae ALDH genes revealed that the acetylating enzyme Methylmalonate-Semialdehyde Dehydrogenase (MoMsdh/MoMmsdh) elevated activities during host invasion and colonization of the fungus. We further examined the pathophysiological importance of MoMSDH by deploying integrated functional genetics, and biochemical approaches. MoMSDH deletion mutant ΔMomsdh exhibited germination defect, hyper-branching of germ tube and failed to form appressoria on hydrophobic and hydrophilic surface. The MoMSDH disruption caused accumulation of small branch-chain amino acids, pyridoxine and AMP/cAMP in the ΔMomsdh mutant and altered Spitzenkörper organization in the conidia. We concluded that MoMSDH contribute significantly to the pathogenesis of M. oryzae by regulating the mobilization of Spitzenkörper during germ tube morphogenesis, appressoria formation by acting as metabolic switch regulating small branch-chain amino acids, inositol, pyridoxine and AMP/cAMP homeostasis.

WD40-repeat protein MoCreC is essential for carbon repression and is involved in conidiation, growth and pathogenicity of Magnaporthe oryzae.

Carbon catabolite repression (CCR) is a common regulatory mechanism used by microorganisms to prioritize use of a preferred carbon source (usually glucose). The CreC WD40-repeat protein is a major component of the CCR pathway in Aspergillus nidulans. To clarify the function of the CreC ortholog from Magnaporthe oryzae in regulating gene expression important for pathogenesis, MoCreC was identified and genetically characterized. The vegetative growth rate of the MoCreC deletion mutant on various carbon sources was reduced. The MoCreC mutant produced fewer conidia and with about 60% of conidia having septation defects. Appressorium formation was impaired in the MoCreC mutant. Although some appressoria of the mutant could penetrate the leaf surface successfully, the efficiency of penetration and invasive growth of infection hyphae was reduced, resulting in attenuated virulence toward host plants. The CCR was defective as the mutant was more sensitive to allyl alcohol in the presence of glucose, and 2-deoxyglucose was unable to fully repress utilization of secondary carbon sources. qRT-PCR results indicated that the genes encoding cell wall degradation enzymes, such as ß-glucosidase, feruloyl esterase and exoglucanase, were upregulated in MoCreC mutant. Taken together, we conclude that MoCreC is a major regulator of CCR and plays significant roles in regulating growth, conidiation, and pathogenicity of M. oryzae.

Effects of A-site non-stoichiometry in YxInO3+δ on the catalytic performance during methane combustion.

A novel non-stoichiometric YxInO3+δ (YIO-x, 0.8 ≤ x ≤ 1.04) perovskite catalyst with a large number of oxygen vacancies and high specific surface area was synthesized using glycine self-propagating gel combustion. It was found that low levels of non-stoichiometry in the A site of YxInO3+δ effectively increased the amount of oxygen desorption by 39-42% when compared to the original (YIO-1) due to Y-deficiency and oxygen vacancies. Further investigations showed that the non-stoichiometry also brings a significant change to the Lewis acid sites on the surface of the sample, which confirmed to be a great promoter for the catalytic combustion of methane. In addition, the catalytic performance increased with the increasing intensity of acid sites. After 50 h of the stability test, the catalysts maintained high activity, indicating their good catalytic stability.

Structural and compositional changes of dissolved organic matter upon solid-phase extraction tracked by multiple analytical tools.

Although PPL-based solid-phase extraction (SPE) has been widely used before dissolved organic matter (DOM) analyses via advanced measurements such as ultrahigh resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS), much is still unknown about the structural and compositional changes in DOM pool through SPE. In this study, selected DOM from various sources were tested to elucidate the differences between before and after the SPE utilizing multiple analytical tools including fluorescence spectroscopy, FT-ICR-MS, and size exclusion chromatography with organic carbon detector (SEC-OCD). The changes of specific UV absorbance indicated the decrease of aromaticity after the SPE, suggesting a preferential exclusion of aromatic DOM structures, which was also confirmed by the substantial reduction of fluorescent DOM (FDOM). Furthermore, SEC-OCD results exhibited very low recoveries (1-9 %) for the biopolymer fraction, implying that PPL needs to be used cautiously in SPE sorbent materials for treating high molecular weight compounds (i.e., polysaccharides, proteins, and amino sugars). A careful examination via FT-ICR-MS revealed that the formulas lost by the SPE might be all DOM source-dependent. Nevertheless, the dominant missing compound groups were identified to be the tannins group with high O/C ratios (>0.7), lignins/carboxyl-rich alicyclic molecules (CRAM), aliphatics with high H/C >1.5, and heteroatomic formulas, all of which were prevailed by pseudo-analogous molecular formula families with different methylene (-CH2) units. Our findings shed new light on potential changes in the compound composition and the molecular weight of DOM upon the SPE, implying precautions needed for data interpretation. Graphical Abstract Tracking the characteristics of DOM from various origins upon PPL-based SPE utilizing EEMPARAFAC, SEC-OCD, and FT-ICR-MS.

Effects of dissolved organic matter (DOM) sources and nature of solid extraction sorbent on recoverable DOM composition: Implication into potential lability of different compound groups.

Noting the source-dependent properties of dissolved organic matter (DOM), this study explored the recoverable compounds by solid phase extraction (SPE) of two common sorbents (C18 and PPL) eluted with methanol solvent for contrasting DOM sources via fluorescence excitation-emission matrix coupled with parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC) and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS). Fresh algae and leaf litter extracts DOM, one riverine DOM, and one upstream lacustrine DOM were selected for the comparison. C18 sorbent was generally found to extract more diverse molecular formula, relatively higher molecular weight, and more heteroatomic DOM compounds within the studied mass range than PPL sorbent except for the leaf litter extract. Even with the same sorbent, the main molecular features of the two end member DOM were distributed on different sides of the axes of a multivariate ordination, indicating the source-dependent characteristics of the recoverable compounds by the sorbents. In addition, further examination of the molecular formula uniquely present in the two end members and the upstream lake DOM suggested that proteinaceous, tannin-like, and heteroatomic DOM constituents might be potential compound groups which are labile and easily degraded during their mobilization into downstream watershed. This study provides new insights into the sorbent selectivity of DOM from diverse sources and potential lability of various compound groups.

Two different subcellular-localized Acetoacetyl-CoA acetyltransferases differentiate diverse functions in Magnaporthe oryzae.

The mevalonate pathway is an efficient biosynthesis pathway that yields isoprenoids for promoting different crucial cellular functions, including ergosterol synthesis and growth regulation. Acetoacetyl-CoA acetyltransferase (EC2.3.1.9) is the first major catalytic enzyme constituting the mevalonate pathway and catalyzes the transformation of Acetoacetyl-CoA from two molecules of acetyl-CoA enroute ergosterol production in fungi. We identified two homologous genes encoding Acetoacetyl-CoA acetyltransferase (MoAcat1 and MoAcat2) in Magnaporthe oryzae, the rice blast fungus. Phylogenetic analysis indicates these two genes have different evolutionary history. We subsequently, conducted targeted gene deletion using homologous recombination technology to ascertain the unique roles of the two MoAcat homologues during the fungal morphogenesis and pathogenesis. The findings from our investigations showed that the activity of MoAcat1 promoted virulence in the rice blast fungus as such, the ΔMoacat1 mutants generated exhibited defect in virulence, whilst ΔMoacat1 mutants did not portray growth defects. ΔMoacat2 mutants on the other hand were characterized by reduction in growth and virulence. Furthermore, MoAcat1 and MoAcat2 showed different expression patterns and subcellular localizations in M. oryzae. From our investigations we came to the conclusion that, different subcellular localization contributes to the diverse functions of MoAcat1 and MoAcat2, which helps the successful establishment of blast disease by promoting efficient development of cell morphology and effective colonization of host tissue.

Putative RhoGAP proteins orchestrate vegetative growth, conidiogenesis and pathogenicity of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae.

Rho GTPases, acting as molecular switches, are involved in the regulation of diverse cellular functions. Rho GTPase activating proteins (Rho GAPs) function as negative regulators of Rho GTPases and are required for a variety of signaling processes in cell development. But the mechanisms underlying Rho GAPs in Rho-mediated signaling pathways in fungi are still elusive. There are eight RhoGAP domain-containing genes annotated in the Magnaporthe oryzae genome. To understand the function of these RhoGAP genes, we generated knockout mutants of each of the RhoGAP genes through a homologous recombination-based method. Phenotypic analysis showed that growth rate of aerial hyphae of the Molrg1 deletion mutant decreased dramatically. The ΔMolrg1 mutant showed significantly reduced conidiation and appressorium formation by germ tubes. Moreover, it lost pathogenicity completely. Deletion of another Rho GAP (MoRga1) resulted in high percentage of larger or gherkin-shaped conidia and slight decrease in conidiation. Appressorial formation of the ΔMoRga1 mutant was delayed significantly on hydrophobic surface, while the development of mycelial growth and pathogenicity in plants was not affected. Confocal fluorescence microscopy imaging showed that MoRga1-GFP localizes to septal pore of the conidium, and this localization pattern requires both LIM and RhoGAP domains. Furthermore, either deleting the LIM or RhoGAP domain or introducing an inactivating R1032A mutation in the RhoGAP domain of MoRga1 caused similar defects as the Morga1 deletion mutant in terms of conidial morphology and appressorial formation, suggesting that MoRga1 is a stage-specific regulator of conidial differentiation by regulating some specific Rho GTPases. In this regard, MoRga1 and MoLrg1 physically interacted with both MoRac1-CA and MoCdc42-CA in the yeast two-hybrid and pull-down assays, suggesting that the actions of these two GAPs are involved in MoRac1 and MoCdc42 pathways. On the other hand, six other putative Rho GAPs (MoRga2 to MoRga7) were dispensable for conidiation, vegetative growth, appressorial formation and pathogenicity, suggesting that these Rho GAPs function redundantly during fungal development. Taking together, Rho GAP genes play important roles in M. oryzae development and infectious processes through coordination and modulation of Rho GTPases.

Nucleoside Diphosphate Kinase FgNdpk Is Required for DON Production and Pathogenicity by Regulating the Growth and Toxisome Formation of Fusarium graminearum.

Nucleoside diphosphate kinases (NDPKs) are nucleotide metabolism enzymes that play different physiological functions in different species. However, the roles of NDPK in phytopathogen and mycotoxin production are not well understood. In this study, we showed that Fusarium graminearum FgNdpk is important for vegetative growth, conidiation, sexual development, and pathogenicity. Furthermore, FgNdpk is required for deoxynivalenol (DON) production; deletion of FgNDPK downregulates the expression of DON biosynthesis genes and disrupts the formation of FgTri4-GFP-labeled toxisomes, while overexpression of FgNDPK significantly increases DON production. Interestingly, FgNdpk colocalizes with the DON biosynthesis proteins FgTri1 and FgTri4 in the toxisome, and coimmunoprecipitation (Co-IP) assays show that FgNdpk associates with FgTri1 and FgTri4 in vivo and regulates their localizations and expressions, respectively. Taken together, these data demonstrate that FgNdpk is important for vegetative growth, conidiation, and pathogenicity and acts as a key protein that regulates toxisome formation and DON biosynthesis in F. graminearum.

Pesticide residue and dietary intake risk of vegetables grown in Shanghai under modern urban agriculture in 2018-2021.

Shanghai as an international metropolis is representative of modern urban agriculture in China, so it is of great significance to analyse the pesticide residue in vegetables grown in Shanghai. This study investigated the residue of 68 commonly used pesticides (divided into insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and plant growth regulators) in 7028 vegetable samples in Shanghai from 2018 to 2021, and estimated the dietary intake risk of these pesticides. These samples were divided into 6 categories. A total of 29.21% of vegetable samples had pesticide residues, and 0.47% of samples exceeded the maximum residue limits (MRLs) set by the national food safety standard of China. Leafy vegetables had the highest detection rate of pesticide residues (32.9%), multiple detection rate (12.2%), pesticide residue concentration (35.7 mg/kg), and the number of samples exceeding the MRL (30). There were 36 out of 68 pesticides detected in vegetables, and the top 3 were dimethomorph, propamocarb and acetamiprid. The target hazard quotient (THQ) and hazard index (HI) of these noticeablepesticides were all less than 1, illustrating that there may be no obvious health hazard for residents exposed to the pesticide levels. This study can promote the green development of the pesticide industry and provide important reference data for the monitoring of pesticide residues and their hazards under modern urban agriculture.

Transposable elements impact the population divergence of rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae.

Dynamic transposition of transposable elements (TEs) in fungal pathogens has significant impact on genome stability, gene expression, and virulence to the host. In Magnaporthe oryzae, genome plasticity resulting from TE insertion is a major driving force leading to the rapid evolution and diversification of this fungus. Despite their importance in M. oryzae population evolution and divergence, our understanding of TEs in this context remains limited. Here, we conducted a genome-wide analysis of TE transposition dynamics in the 11 most abundant TE families in M. oryzae populations. Our results show that these TEs have specifically expanded in recently isolated M. oryzae rice populations, with the presence/absence polymorphism of TE insertions highly concordant with population divergence on Geng/Japonica and Xian/Indica rice cultivars. Notably, the genes targeted by clade-specific TEs showed clade-specific expression patterns and are involved in the pathogenic process, suggesting a transcriptional regulation of TEs on targeted genes. Our study provides a comprehensive analysis of TEs in M. oryzae populations and demonstrates a crucial role of recent TE bursts in adaptive evolution and diversification of the M. oryzae rice-infecting lineage. IMPORTANCE: Magnaporthe oryzae is the causal agent of the destructive blast disease, which caused massive loss of yield annually worldwide. The fungus diverged into distinct clades during adaptation toward the two rice subspecies, Xian/Indica and Geng/Japonica. Although the role of TEs in the adaptive evolution was well established, mechanisms underlying how TEs promote the population divergence of M. oryzae remain largely unknown. In this study, we reported that TEs shape the population divergence of M. oryzae by differentially regulating gene expression between Xian/Indica-infecting and Geng/Japonica-infecting populations. Our results revealed a TE insertion-mediated gene expression adaption that led to the divergence of M. oryzae population infecting different rice subspecies.

Genome comparison of two Magnaporthe oryzae field isolates reveals genome variations and potential virulence effectors.

BACKGROUND: Rice blast caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae is an important disease in virtually every rice growing region of the world, which leads to significant annual decreases of grain quality and yield. To prevent disease, resistance genes in rice have been cloned and introduced into susceptible cultivars. However, introduced resistance can often be broken within few years of release, often due to mutation of cognate avirulence genes in fungal field populations. RESULTS: To better understand the pattern of mutation of M. oryzae field isolates under natural selection forces, we used a next generation sequencing approach to analyze the genomes of two field isolates FJ81278 and HN19311, as well as the transcriptome of FJ81278. By comparing the de novo genome assemblies of the two isolates against the finished reference strain 70-15, we identified extensive polymorphisms including unique genes, SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphism) and indels, structural variations, copy number variations, and loci under strong positive selection. The 1.75 MB of isolate-specific genome content carrying 118 novel genes from FJ81278, and 0.83 MB from HN19311 were also identified. By analyzing secreted proteins carrying polymorphisms, in total 256 candidate virulence effectors were found and 6 were chosen for functional characterization. CONCLUSIONS: We provide results from genome comparison analysis showing extensive genome variation, and generated a list of M. oryzae candidate virulence effectors for functional characterization.

Roles and mechanisms of natural drugs on sinus node dysfunction.

Sinus node dysfunction is a common arrhythmia disorder with a high incidence and significant social and economic burden. Currently, there are no effective drugs for treating chronic sinus node dysfunction. The disease is associated with ion channel disturbances caused by aging, fibrosis, inflammation, oxidative stress, and autonomic dysfunction. Natural active substances and Chinese herbal medicines have been widely used and extensively studied in the medical community for the treatment of arrhythmias. Multiple studies have demonstrated that various active ingredients and Chinese herbal medicines, such as astragaloside IV, quercetin, and ginsenosides, exhibit antioxidant effects, reduce fibrosis, and maintain ion channel stability, providing promising drugs for treating sinus node dysfunction. This article summarizes the research progress on natural active ingredients and Chinese herbal formulas that regulate sick sinoatrial node function, providing valuable references for the treatment of sinus node dysfunction.

Simultaneous and Sensitive Detection of Three Pesticides Using a Functional Poly(Sulfobetaine Methacrylate)-Coated Paper-Based Colorimetric Sensor.

Chlorpyrifos (CHL), profenofos (PRO) and cypermethrin (CYP) are widely used in combination to increase crop yields. However, these three pesticides can cause serious harm to human health and do not easily degrade. In this study, a novel visible paper sensor has been prepared successfully and different colorimetric reactions were utilized to detect the three pesticides simultaneously. The sensor was constructed by grafting a zwitterionic polymer onto a cellulose filter (CF) and placing it on a glass surface modified with PDMS. The branch shape was designed to form multiple detection areas, which were modified with specific pesticides and corresponding chromogenic reagents. The as-prepared colorimetric platform exhibited high sensitivity, a short detection time, a good linear response and a low detection limit (LOD) for the three pesticides (chlorpyrifos: y = 46.801 - 1.939x, R2 = 0.983, LOD = 0.235 mg/L; profenofos: y = 40.068 + 42.5x, R2 = 0.988, LOD = 4.891 mg/L; cypermethrin: y = 51.993 + 1.474x, R2 = 0.993, LOD = 4.053 mg/L). The comparison of the results obtained by the proposed paper sensor and those obtained by spectrophotometry further revealed the stability and reliability of the paper sensor. In particular, the color intensity of the interaction between the pesticides and coloring agents could be directly observed by the human eye. The consistency of the colorimetric/optical assay was proven in real target pesticide samples. Thus, this sensing strategy provides a portable, cost-effective, accurate and visualized paper platform, which could be suitable for application in the fruit and vegetable industry for monitoring CHL, PRO and CYP in parallel.

Transcranial alternating current stimulation combined with sound stimulation improves the cognitive function of patients with Alzheimer's disease: A case report and literature review.

Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is a relatively new non-invasive brain electrical stimulation method for the treatment of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), but it has poor offline effects. Therefore, we applied a new combined stimulation method to observe the offline effect on the cognitive function of patients with AD. Here, we describe the clinical results of a case in which tACS combined with sound stimulation was applied to treat moderate AD. The patient was a 73-year-old woman with a 2-year history of persistent cognitive deterioration despite the administration of Aricept and Sodium Oligomannate. Therefore, the patient received tACS combined with sound stimulation. Her cognitive scale scores improved after 15 sessions and continued to improve at 4 months of follow-up. Although the current report may provide a new alternative therapy for patients with AD, more clinical data are needed to support its efficacy. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT05251649.