Exploration of SERPINA family functions and prognostic value in breast cancer based on transcriptome and in vitro analysis.

Breast cancer poses a significant risk to women worldwide, yet specific role of SERPINA gene family in breast cancer remains unclarified. Data were collected from online databases. SERPINA family gene expression was presented, and prognosis value was evaluated. Multi-omics methods were employed to explore the SERPINA-related biological processes, followed by comprehensive analyses of their roles in breast cancer. Single-cell data were analyzed to characterize the SERPINA family gene expression in different cell clusters. We selected SERPINA5 as the target gene. Via pan-cancer analysis, SERPINA5 was also investigated in various cancers. The experimental validation was conducted in MDA-MB-231 cell line eventually. SERPINA family showed differential expression in breast cancer, which were mainly expressed in myeloid cells, epithelial cells, and dendritic cells. SERPINA5 expression was upregulated in breast cancer, which was associated with a better prognosis. Immune infiltration illustrated the positive correlativity between SERPINA5 intensity and eosinophilic recruitment. Pan-cancer analysis indicated the function of SERPINA5 as a potential biomarker in other cancers. Finally, experimental validation demonstrated that SERPINA5 contributes to lower invasion and metastatic potential of breast cancer cells. With bioinformatics analysis, the significant role SERPINA family genes functioned in breast cancer was comprehensively explored, with SERPINA5 emerging as a key gene in suppressing breast cancer progression.

Comprehensive review: Effects of climate change and greenhouse gases emission relevance to environmental stress on horticultural crops and management.

Global climate change exerts a significant impact on sustainable horticultural crop production and quality. Rising Global temperatures have compelled the agricultural community to adjust planting and harvesting schedules, often necessitating earlier crop cultivation. Notably, climate change introduces a suite of ominous factors, such as greenhouse gas emissions (CGHs), including elevated temperature, increased carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations, nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) ozone depletion (O3), and deforestation, all of which intensify environmental stresses on crops. Consequently, climate change stands poised to adversely affect crop yields and livestock production. Therefore, the primary objective of the review article is to furnish a comprehensive overview of the multifaceted factors influencing horticulture production, encompassing fruits, vegetables, and plantation crops with a particular emphasis on greenhouse gas emissions and environmental stressors such as high temperature, drought, salinity, and emission of CO2. Additionally, this review will explore the implementation of novel horticultural crop varieties and greenhouse technology that can contribute to mitigating the adverse impact of climate change on agricultural crops.

InAs/GaAs quantum-dot lasers grown on on-axis Si (001) without dislocation filter layers.

InAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) laser monolithically grown on silicon is one of the potential approaches to realizing silicon-based light sources. However, the mismatch between GaAs and Si generates a high density of threading dislocations (TDs) and antiphase boundaries (APBs), which trap carriers and adversely affect device performance. In this paper, we present a simple method to reduce the threading dislocation density (TDD) merely through GaAs buffer, eliminating the intricate dislocation filter layers (DFLs) as well as any intermediate buffer layers whose compositions are different from the target GaAs. An APB-free epitaxial 2.5 µm GaAs film was grown on exact Si (001) by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) with a TDD of 9.4 × 106 cm-2. InAs/GaAs QDs with a density of 5.2 × 1010 cm-2 were grown on this GaAs/Si (001) virtual substrate by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) system. The fabricated QD laser has achieved a single facet room temperature continuous-wave output power of 138 mW with a threshold current density of 397 A/cm2 and a lasing wavelength of 1306 nm. In this work, we propose a simplified method to fabricate high-power QD lasers, which is expected to promote the application of photonic integrated circuits.

A novel integrated optimization model for carbon emission prediction: A case study on the group of 20.

Carbon emission is a central factor in the study of the greenhouse effect and a crucial consideration in environmental policy making. Therefore, it is essential to establish carbon emission prediction models to provide scientific guidance for leaders in implementing effective carbon reduction policies. However, existing research lacks comprehensive roadmaps that integrate both time series prediction and analysis of influencing factors. This study combines the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) theory to classify and qualitatively analyzes research subjects based on national development patterns and levels. Considering the autocorrelated characteristics of carbon emissions and their correlation with other influencing factors, we propose an integrated carbon emission prediction model named SSA-FAGM-SVR. This model optimizes the fractional accumulation grey model (FAGM) and support vector regression (SVR) using the sparrow search algorithm (SSA), considering both time series and influencing factors. The model is subsequently applied to predict the carbon emissions of the G20 for the next 10 years. The results demonstrate that this model significantly improves prediction accuracy compared to other mainstream prediction algorithms, exhibiting strong adaptability and high accuracy.

Na+ Sensitivity of the KAT2-Like Channel Is a Common Feature of Cucurbits and Depends on the S5-P-S6 Segment.

Inhibition of Shaker K+ channel activity by external Na+ was previously reported in the melon (Cucumis melo L.) inwardly rectifying K+ channel MIRK and was hypothesized to contribute to salt tolerance. In this study, two inward Shaker K+ channels, CsKAT2 from cucumber (Cucumis sativus) and ClKAT2 from watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), were identified and characterized in Xenopus oocytes. Both channels were inwardly rectifying K+ channels with higher permeability to potassium than other monovalent cations and more active when external pH was acidic. Similarly to MIRK, their activity displayed an inhibition by external Na+, thus suggesting a common feature in Cucurbitaceae (Cucumis spp., Citrullus spp.). CsKAT2 and ClKAT2 are highly expressed in guard cells. After 24 h of plant treatment with 100 mM NaCl, the three KAT2-like genes were significantly downregulated in leaves and guard cells. Reciprocal chimeras were obtained between MIRK and Na+-insensitive AtKAT2 cDNAs. The chimera where the MIRK S5-P-S6 segment was replaced by that from AtKAT2 no longer showed Na+ sensitivity, while the inverse chimera gained Na+ sensitivity. These results provide evidence that the molecular basis of the channel blockage by Na+ is located in the S5-P-S6 region. Comparison of the electrostatic property in the S5-P-S6 region in AtKAT2 and MIRK revealed four key amino acid residues potentially governing Na+ sensitivity.

Physiological and Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals the Responses and Difference to High Temperature and Humidity Stress in Two Melon Genotypes.

Due to the frequent occurrence of continuous high temperatures and heavy rain in summer, extremely high-temperature and high-humidity environments occur, which seriously harms crop growth. High temperature and humidity (HTH) stress have become the main environmental factors of combined stress in summer. The responses of morphological indexes, physiological and biochemical indexes, gas exchange parameters, and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters were measured and combined with chloroplast ultrastructure and transcriptome sequencing to analyze the reasons for the difference in tolerance to HTH stress in HTH-sensitive 'JIN TAI LANG' and HTH-tolerant 'JIN DI' varieties. The results showed that with the extension of stress time, the superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activities of the two melon varieties increased rapidly, the leaf water content increased, and the tolerant varieties showed stronger antioxidant capacity. Among the sensitive cultivars, Pn, Fv/Fm, photosystem II, and photosystem I chlorophyll fluorescence parameters were severely inhibited and decreased rapidly with the extension of stress time, while the HTH-tolerant cultivars slightly decreased. The cell membrane and chloroplast damage in sensitive cultivars were more severe, and Lhca1, Lhca3, and Lhca4 proteins in photosystem II and Lhcb1-Lhcb6 proteins in photosystem I were inhibited compared with those in the tolerant cultivar. These conclusions may be the main reason for the different tolerances of the two cultivars. These findings will provide new insights into the response of other crops to HTH stress and also provide a basis for future research on the mechanism of HTH resistance in melon.

The response regularity of biohydrogen production by anthracite H2-producing bacteria consortium to six conventional veterinary antibiotics.

The impact of antibiotics on H2-producing bacteria must be considered in the industrialization of biological H2 production using livestock manure as raw resources. However, whether antibiotics that may be contained in excreta will threaten the safety of biohydrogen production needs to be researched. This study explored the impact characteristics and mechanism of six single antibiotics and three groups of compound antibiotics on H2 production. Experiments confirmed that most antibiotics have different degrees of H2 production inhibition, while some antibiotics, which like Penicillin G, Streptomycin Sulfate, and their compound antibiotics, could promote the growth of Ethanoligenens sp. and improve H2 yield on the contrary. Comprehensive analysis shows that the main inhibitory mechanisms were: (1) board-spectrum inhibition, (2) partial inhibition, (3) H2 consumption enhancement; and the enhancement mechanisms were: (1) enhance the growth of H2-producing bacteria, (2) enhanced starch hydrolysis, (3) inhibitory H2 consumption or release of acid inhibition. Meanwhile, experiment found that the effect of antibiotics on H2 producing was not only related to type, but also to dosage. Even one kind of antibiotic may have completely opposite effects on H2-producing bacteria under different dosage conditions. Inhibition of H2 yield was highest with Levofloxacin at 6.15 mg/L, gas production was reduced by 88.77%; and enhancement of H2 yield was highest with Penicillin G at 7.20 mg/L, the gas production increased by 72.90%. In the selection of raw material, the type and content of antibiotics demand a detailed investigation and analysis to ensure that the sustainability of H2 yield.

A green and environmental sustainable approach to synthesis the Mn oxide nanomaterial from Punica granatum leaf extracts and its in vitro biological applications.

Pathogenic fungal infections in fruit cause economic losses and have deleterious effects on human health globally. Despite the low pH and high water contents of vegetables and fresh, ripened fruits, they are prone to fungal and bacterial diseases. The ever-increasing resistance of phytopathogens toward pesticides, fungicides and bactericides has resulted in substantial threats to plant growth and production in recent years. However, plant-mediated nanoparticles are useful tools for combating parasitic fungi and bacteria. Herein, we synthesized biogenic manganese oxide nanoparticles (MnONPs) from an extract of Punica granatum (P. granatum), and these nanoparticles showed significant antifungal and antibacterial activities. The production of MnONPs from plant extracts was confirmed by infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV visible spectroscopy (UV). The surface morphology and shape of the nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Using a detached fruit method, the MnONPs were shown to exhibit significant antimicrobial activities against two bacterial strains, E. coli and S. aureus, and against the fungal species P. digitatum. The results revealed that the MnONPs had a minimum antimicrobial activity at 25 µg/mL and a maximum antimicrobial activity at 100 µg/mL against bacterial strains in lemon (citrus). Furthermore, the MnONPs exhibited significant ROS scavenging activity. Finally, inconclusive results from the green-synthesized MnONPs magnified their significant synergetic effects on the shelf life of tomatoes (Lycopercicum esculantum) and indicated that they could be used to counteract the phytopathological effects of postharvest fungal diseases in fruits and vegetables. Overall, this method of MnONPs synthesis is inexpensive, rapid and ecofriendly. MnONPs can be used as potential antimicrobial agents against different microbial species.

Spatial Information-Theoretic Optimal LPI Radar Waveform Design.

In this paper, the design of low probability of intercept (LPI) radar waveforms considers not only the performance of passive interception systems (PISs), but also radar detection and resolution performance. Waveform design is an important considerations for the LPI ability of radar. Since information theory has a powerful performance-bound description ability from the perspective of information flow, LPI waveforms are designed in this paper within the constraints of the detection performance metrics of radar and PISs, both of which are measured by the Kullback-Leibler divergence, and the resolution performance metric, which is measured by joint entropy. The designed optimization model of LPI waveforms can be solved using the sequential quadratic programming (SQP) method. Simulation results verify that the designed LPI waveforms not only have satisfactory target-detecting and resolution performance, but also have a superior low interception performance against PISs.

Exogenous inoculation of endophytic bacterium Bacillus cereus suppresses clubroot (Plasmodiophora brassicae) occurrence in pak choi (Brassica campestris sp. chinensis L.).

MAIN CONCLUSION: The presence of Bacillus cereus plays a key role in clubroot suppression and improves plant biomass in pak choi. B. cereus is reported for the first time as a novel biocontrol agent against clubroot. Plasmodiophora brassicae Woronin causes a devastating infectious disease known as clubroot that is damaging to cruciferous vegetables. This study aimed to isolate beneficial bacteria from the rhizosphere soil of pak choi (Brassica campestris sp. chinensis) and to evaluate the ability of the isolate to reduce the severity of clubroot. Strains obtained from the rhizosphere of symptomless pak choi were first selected on the basis of their germination inhibition rate and effects on the viability of P. brassicae resting spores. Eight bacterial isolates had inhibitory effects against the resting spores of clubroot causing pathogen. However, MZ-12 showed the highest inhibitory effect at 73.4%. Inoculation with MZ-12 enhanced the plant biomass relative to plants grown without MZ-12 as well as P. brassicae infected plants. Furthermore, enhanced antioxidant enzymatic activities were observed in clubroot-infected plants during bacterial association. Co-inoculation of the plant with both P. brassicae and MZ-12 resulted in a 64% reduction of gall formation in comparison to plants inoculated with P. brassicae only. Three applications of MZ-12 to plants infected with P. brassicae at 7, 14 and 21 days after seeding (DAS) were more effective than one application and repressed root hair infection. According to 16S rDNA sequence analysis, strain MZ-12 was identified as had a 100% sequence similarity with type strain Bacillus cereus. The findings of the present study will facilitate further investigation into biological mechanisms of cruciferous clubroot control.

Supportive role of the Na+ transporter CmHKT1;1 from Cucumis melo in transgenic Arabidopsis salt tolerance through improved K+/Na+ balance.

KEY MESSAGE: CmHKT1;1 selectively exports Na+ from plant cells. Upon NaCl stress, its expression increased in a salt-tolerant melon cultivar. Overexpression of CmHKT1;1 increased transgenic Arabidopsis salt tolerance through improved K+/Na+ balance. High-affinity K+ transporters (HKTs) are thought to be involved in reducing Na+ in plant shoots under salt stress and modulating salt tolerance, but their function in a moderately salt-tolerant species of melon (Cucumis melo L.) remains unclear. In this study, a Na+ transporter gene, CmHKT1;1 (GenBank accession number: MK986658), was isolated from melons based on genome data. The transcript of CmHKT1;1 was relatively more abundant in roots than in stems or leaves from melon seedlings. The tobacco transient expression system showed that CmHKT1;1 was plasma-membrane localized. Upon salt stress, CmHKT1;1 expression was more strongly upregulated in a salt-tolerant melon cultivar, 'Bingxuecui' (BXC) compared with a salt-sensitive cultivar, 'Yulu' (YL). Electrophysiological evidence demonstrated that CmHKT1;1 only transported Na+, rather than K+, when expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Overexpression of CmHKT1;1 increased salt sensitivity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and salt tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana. Under NaCl treatments, transgenic Arabidopsis plants accumulated significantly lower concentrations of Na+ in shoots than wild type plants and showed a better K+/Na+ balance, leading to better Fv/Fm, root length, biomass, and enhanced plant growth. The CmHKT1;1 gene may serve as a useful candidate for improving crop salt tolerance.

Functional acute acquired comitant esotropia: clinical characteristics and efficacy of single Botulinum toxin type A injection.

BACKGROUND: To examine the clinical features of acute acquired comitant esotropia (AACE) and to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of a single injection of botulinum toxin type A (BTXA) on binocular visual function (BVF). METHODS: This retrospective, observational case series study enrolled patients with AACE examined from October 2018-May 2019. BTXA was injected into the both medial rectus muscles. The refractive error, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), stereoacuity, vergence, accommodation, the horizontal angle of deviation, and the gradient accommodative convergence/accommodation (AC/A) ratio were measured pre- and post-BTXA injection. Data pre- and postinjection were compared by the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. A Spearman correlation coefficient was calculated to explore the relationships between demographic characteristics and BVF. RESULTS: Twenty-two AACE cases were included. Compared with preinjection deviation, the postinjection deviation in the primary position was smaller for near (p < 0.001) and distance (p < 0.001) fixation at 3 months after injection (BTXA). Furthermore, convergence was better for near (p = 0.003) and distance (p < 0.001) fixation, divergence was better for near (p = 0.021) and distance (p < 0.001) fixation, accommodation was better in the right (p = 0.011) and left (p = 0.004) eyes, and the gradient AC/A ratio was better at the third month after injection (p = 0.001). Stereoacuity was improved in 11 (50%), unchanged in 5 (22.73%) and decreased in 6 (27.27%) patients. The preinjection stereoacuity (p = 0.013, r = 0.522) and preinjection deviation for near (p = 0.015 r, = - 0.512) and distance (p = 0.009, r = - 0.541) were significantly associated with patient age. CONCLUSIONS: AACE is characterized by a high AC/A ratio and low accommodation. A single injection of BTXA is effective for AACE. Deviation, stereoacuity, and the therapeutic effect of BTXA may be correlated with patient age.

Revealing Solute Clusters in Coalescence by Atom Probe Tomography Analysis.

Experimentally revealing dynamic evolution and growth behavior of small solute clusters in alloys remains a technical challenge. To date, the coalescence of the solute clusters has seldom been experimentally addressed. To address the challenge, we used atom probe tomography (APT) to access boundary information of solute clusters and identify those in close contact. By systematically investigating the population and size evolution of the clusters in close contact with aging time, we unveiled important information regarding the clusters in coalescence with the exsitu experimental technique. In this work, the maximum separation method was employed to identify clusters in APT datasets of naturally aged Al­Zn­Mg alloy. Coalescence was found to significantly contribute to the growth of small clusters and remained predominant for the formation and growth of large Guinier­Preston II ${\rm \lpar G}{\rm P}_{{\eta }^{\prime}}\rpar$ zones after 3 months aging.

Morphophysiological and molecular evidence supporting the augmentative role of Piriformospora indica in mitigation of salinity in Cucumis melo L.

Salinity is one of the major limiting factors in plant growth and productivity. Cucumis melo L. is a widely cultivated plant, but its productivity is significantly influenced by the level of salinity in soil. Symbiotic colonization of plants with Piriformospora indica has shown a promotion in plants growth and tolerance against biotic stress. In this study, physiological markers such as ion analysis, antioxidant determination, proline content, electrolyte leakage and chlorophyll measurement were assessed in melon cultivar under two concentrations (100 and 200 mM) of NaCl with and without P. indica inoculation. Results showed that the endophytic inoculation consistently upregulated the level of antioxidants, enhanced plants to antagonize salinity stress. The expression level of an RNA editing factor (SLO2) which is known to participate in mitochondria electron transport chain was analyzed, and its full mRNA sequence was obtained by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). Under salinity stress, the expression level of SLO2 was increased, enhancing the plant's capability to adapt to the stress. However, P. indica inoculation further elevated the expression level of SLO2. These findings suggested that the symbiotic association of fungi could help the plants to tolerate the salinity stress.

CmRAV1 shows differential expression in two melon (Cucumis melo L.) cultivars and enhances salt tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis plants.

The growth and development of melon (Cucumis melo L.) are severely affected by soil salinization in many areas of the world, but the understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying salt tolerance in melon remains limited. In this study, a new RAV (related to ABI3/VP1) gene, CmRAV1, was identified in melon. Protein structure homology analysis revealed that CmRAV1 contains an AP2 domain and a B3 domain, and subcellular localization assay revealed that CmRAV1 is localized in the nucleus. The transcript level of CmRAV1 was closely correlated with NaCl treatment, and the expression pattern of CmRAV1 differed between two cultivars (salt-tolerant and salt-sensitive cultivars) under NaCl treatment. In addition, yeasts transformed with CmRAV1 showed notably improved growth on medium containing 200 mM NaCl compared with wild-type ones. The overexpression of CmRAV1 in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana resulted in enhanced salt tolerance at the seed germination and seedling growth stages. This study demonstrated that the expression of CmRAV1 was associated with saline stress and can potentially be utilized to improve plant salt tolerance.

Balanced carrier injection of quantum dots light-emitting diodes: the case of interface barrier of bilayer ZnO electron transport layer.

Unbalanced carrier injection is one of the most important reasons for the efficiency roll-off in quantum dot light-emitting diodes. Reducing the electron injection can effectively balance the carrier transport and improve the optoelectronic performance of the device. In this work, a bilayer ZnO electron transport layer was fabricated by twice spin-coating and annealing methods. More than 60% of electrons are effectively blocked by the ZnO interface barrier compared with the standard device, resulting in increasing the maximum luminance of the device from 25 390 to 48 220 cd m-2 and the current efficiency from 1.5 to 3.2 cd A-1.

Thienoisoindigo-Based Polymers Bearing Diethynylbenzene and Diethynylanthracene Units for Thin Film Transistors and Solar Cells.

Two thienoisoindigo-based donor-acceptor conjugated polymers were synthesized via Sonogashira coupling reaction with 1,4-diethynylbenzene (P(TII-BEN)) and 9,10-diethynylanthracene (P(TII-ANT)) as donor units, respectively. The optical and electrochemical properties of the polymers were also investigated. The highest hole mobility were 4.38 × 10-3 cm2 V-1 s-1 for P(TII-BEN) and 9.40 × 10-3 cm2 V-1 s-1 for P(TII-ANT) in bottom-gated/top-contact field-effect transistors. The bulk heterojunction organic solar cells consisting of the polymers and PC71BM yielded power conversion efficiencies of 1.59% for P(TII-BEN) and 1.90% for P(TII-ANT). Moreover, the microstructures were investigated by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy.

Regulation of angiogenin expression and epithelial-mesenchymal transition by HIF-1α signaling in hypoxic retinal pigment epithelial cells.

Choroidal neovascularization (CNV) is a major cause of vision loss in many retinal diseases. Hypoxia is determined to be a key inducer of CNV and hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) is an important transcription factor. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and the synthesis of proangiogenic cytokines make great contributions to the development of CNV. In the present study, the role of HIF-1α signaling in the regulation of angiogenin (ANG) expression and EMT in hypoxic retinal pigment epithelial cells was investigated. A significant elevation expression of ANG expression level in a mouse model of laser-induced CNV was demonstrated. In a hypoxic model of ARPE-19, an increased expression level of ANG and induction of EMT accompanied with stabilization and nucleus translocation of HIF-1α. Blockage of HIF-1α signaling resulted in inhibition of high expression of ANG and EMT features. The direct interaction between HIF-1α and ANG promoter region was identified by ChIP-qPCR. The association of RNase 4 mRNA level with HIF-1α signaling was also clarified in APRE-19. Moreover, the exogenous ANG translocated into the nucleus, enhanced 45S rRNA transcription, promoted cell proliferation and tube formation in human retinal microvascular endothelial cells. In conclusion, the hypoxic conditions regulate the expression of ANG and EMT via an activation of HIF-1α signaling. It provides molecular evidence for potential therapy strategies of treating CNV.

[Research on Standard System of Home Use Electronic Medical Devices].

Medical device going home is an inevitable trend, however, using these devices has potential safety risks. Through introducing the home use electronic medical device products and related medical device standards, this paper provides recommendations on construction of standard system for home use electronic medical devices, to improve the advancement of existing medical device standard system and guide future medical standardization work, to fully utilize standars's guiding and security role in the scientific and technological innovation, industrial development.