Transcription factors NtNAC028 and NtNAC080 form heterodimers to regulate jasmonic acid biosynthesis during leaf senescence in Nicotiana tabacum.

Plant senescence, as a highly integrated developmental stage, involves functional degeneration and nutrient redistribution. NAM/ATAF1/CUC (NAC) transcription factors orchestrate various senescence-related signals and mediate the fine-tuning underlying plant senescence. Previous data revealed that knockout of either NtNAC028 or NtNAC080 leads to delayed leaf senescence in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), which implies that NtNAC028 and NtNAC080 play respective roles in the regulation of leaf senescence, although they share 91.87% identity with each other. However, the mechanism underlying NtNAC028- and NtNAC080-regulated leaf senescence remains obscure. Here, we determined that NtNAC028 and NtNAC080 activate a putative jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthetic gene, NtLOX3, and enhance the JA level in vivo. We found that NtNAC028 and NtNAC080 interact with each other and themselves through their NA-terminal region. Remarkably, only the dimerization between NtNAC028 and NtNAC080 stimulated the transcriptional activation activity, but not the DNA binding activity of this heterodimer on NtLOX3. Metabolome analysis indicated that overexpression of either NtNAC028 or NtNAC080 augments both biosynthesis and degradation of nicotine in the senescent stages. Thus, we conclude that NtNAC028 cooperates with NtNAC080 and forms a heterodimer to enhance NtLOX3 expression and JA biosynthesis to trigger the onset of leaf senescence and impact secondary metabolism in tobacco.

Wheat VQ Motif-Containing Protein VQ25-A Facilitates Leaf Senescence via the Abscisic Acid Pathway.

Leaf senescence is an important factor affecting the functional transition from nutrient assimilation to nutrient remobilization in crops. The senescence of wheat leaves is of great significance for its yield and quality. In the leaf senescence process, transcriptional regulation is a committed step in integrating various senescence-related signals. Although the plant-specific transcriptional regulation factor valine-glutamine (VQ) gene family is known to participate in different physiological processes, its role in leaf senescence is poorly understood. We isolated TaVQ25-A and studied its function in leaf senescence regulation. TaVQ25-A was mainly expressed in the roots and leaves of wheat. The TaVQ25-A-GFP fusion protein was localized in the nuclei and cytoplasm of wheat protoplasts. A delayed senescence phenotype was observed after dark and abscisic acid (ABA) treatment in TaVQ25-A-silenced wheat plants. Conversely, overexpression of TaVQ25-A accelerated leaf senescence and led to hypersensitivity in ABA-induced leaf senescence in Arabidopsis. A WRKY type transcription factor, TaWRKY133, which is tightly related to the ABA pathway and affects the expression of some ABA-related genes, was found to interact with TaVQ25-A both in vitro and in vivo. Results of this study indicate that TaVQ25-A is a positive regulator of ABA-related leaf senescence and can be used as a candidate gene for wheat molecular breeding.

Effects of 8-week High-Intensity Interval Training and Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training on Bone Metabolism in Sedentary Young Females.

OBJECTIVE: High-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) have been reported as effective exercise modes on bone metabolism. However, very few studies focused on young women with sedentary behavior. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of 8-week HIIT on bone metabolism in sedentary young women. METHODS: 26 healthy, sedentary female participants were randomly assigned to either the HIIT (n = 13, age 23.2 ± 2.9 yr, weight 59.2 ± 7.2 kg, height 162.9 ± 3.3 cm, body mass index 22.3 ± 2.7 kg/m2) or MICT (n = 13, age 21.9 ± 1.7 yr, weight 59.3 ± 6.6 kg, height 160.9 ± 4.4 cm, body mass index 21.6 ± 2.4 kg/m2) group. Both groups completed 8 weeks (3 sessions/week) of training on the treadmill, where the HIIT group were asked to complete 6 × 3-min bouts of running at the intensity of 80-90% maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) separated by 2-min active recovery at 30-40% VO2max and the MICT group completed 30-min continuous running at the intensity of 60-70% VO2max. The body composition, bone mineral density (BMD), calcaneus quantitative ultrasound, bone turnover markers, and lower limb muscle strength were measured pre and post interventions. RESULTS: After 8-week interventions, 1) The total body BMD (HIIT, +8.5%; MICT, +5.5%) significantly increased (p < 0.05) without difference between the two groups (p > 0.05). The calcaneus broadband ultrasound attenuation (CBUA) (HIIT, +16.0%; MICT, +4.6%) and calcaneus stiffness index (CSI) (HIIT, +16.7%; MICT, +2.5%) significantly increased in HIIT group (p < 0.05), but not in MICT group (p > 0.05). 2) The 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) (HIIT, +42.8%; MICT, +24.9%) level increased in both groups with significantly higher changes in HIIT (p < 0.05). 3) The score of standing long jump (HIIT, +10.3%; MICT, +3.8%) and vertical jump (HIIT, +5.3%; MICT, +2.0%) increased in both groups with significantly higher changes in HIIT (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: It suggested that 8-week HIIT and MICT interventions could improve bone metabolism. Compared with a similar workload of MICT, HIIT elicited superior benefits on bone metabolism.

Comparison of the Differences Between Web-Based and Traditional Questionnaire Surveys in Pediatrics: Comparative Survey Study.

BACKGROUND: A web-based survey is a novel method for data capture. Some studies have applied web-based surveys in pediatrics, but few of them have reported data on the differences between web-based and traditional questionnaire surveys. OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to evaluate the internal consistency of a web-based survey and compare it with a traditional questionnaire survey in pediatrics. METHODS: A convenience sample of caregivers was invited to participate in the survey on feeding patterns and their children's eating behaviors if their children were aged 2 to 7 years. A web-based survey and a traditional questionnaire survey were carried out between October 2018 and July 2019. A total of 1085 caregivers were involved in this study, and they were divided into the following three groups based on methods and sources: (1) web-based survey from a web source, (2) web-based survey from a hospital source, and (3) traditional questionnaire survey from a hospital source. The data were then compared and analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 735 caregivers participated in the web-based survey and 350 caregivers participated in the traditional questionnaire survey, and 816 cases were then included in the analyses after data processing. The effective rate of the web-based survey was 70.1% (515/735), and the completeness rate of the traditional questionnaire survey was 86.0% (301/350). There were no significant differences between web-based surveys from different sources. However, demographic characteristics were significantly different between the web-based and traditional questionnaire surveys, mainly in terms of age and caregivers (χ²4=16.509, P=.002 and χ²4=111.464, P<.001, respectively). Caregivers of children aged 2 to 3 years and grandparents were more likely to respond to the web-based survey. Age-specific stratified analysis showed that the score of "monitoring" and the reporting rate of "poor appetite" in children aged 2 to 3 years were significantly higher in the web-based survey compared to the traditional questionnaire survey after adjusting for demographic characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: A web-based survey could be a feasible tool in pediatric studies. However, differences in demographic characteristics and their possible impacts on the results should be considered in the analyses.

Influence of carbon dioxide plasma treatment on the dry adhesion of vertical aligned carbon nanotube arrays.

Vertical aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) arrays used as dry adhesive materials have broad prospects in the applied fields of space, medicine and electronics. The adhesion of VACNT arrays is believed to be related not only to the nano-array structure and a clean surface, but also to chemical composition. Here, radio-frequency (RF) carbon dioxide (CO2) plasma treatment is introduced as an effective method for purifying and functionalizing the surface to improve the dry adhesive performance of VACNT arrays. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the VACNT arrays retained the alignment architecture with minimal damage at low power. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and contact angle tests revealed that the content of non-polar components (C = C bonds) decreased after treatment, while the content of polar groups (C = O and O-C = O bonds) increased, which changed the surface polarity of the VACNT arrays. Raman analyses and transmission electron microscopy demonstrated that amorphous carbon can be selectively removed with increasing time (0-18 min), but was continuously generated with increasing power (30-90 W). The best adhesive strength of 18 N cm-2 (increased by 39%) was obtained after CO2 plasma treating for 10 min at 30 W power, which was attributed to the combined action of purification and polarization.

Analysis of the adhesion mechanism of functionalized carbon nanotubes by molecular dynamics simulation.

Although a lot of research has been carried out on the adhesion mechanism of gecko bristles, the research on materials inspired by gecko bristles is still limited to the design of geometric structure and the optimization of preparation process, and the adhesion mechanism of materials is still unclear. In this paper, the molecular structure of the end of the bristle-like material is focused on, and the interaction between functional group modified carbon nanotubes and the interface is analyzed by molecular dynamics simulation. Thus, the influence of different polar functional groups on the interfacial force between carbon nanotubes and silica is revealed, and the adhesion enhancement mechanism of polar groups on the interface between carbon nanotubes and silica is further verified.

Gut hormone multi-agonists for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity: advances and challenges.

The rapidly rising incidence of obesity, coupled with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), is a growing concern. Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), an endogenous peptide secreted by enteroendocrine L-cells, demonstrates exceptional pharmacological potential for the treatment of T2DM and obesity, primarily through its pivotal roles in regulating glucose homeostasis, stimulating glucose-dependent insulin secretion, and promoting satiety. Considering its proven efficacy in glucoregulation and weight loss, GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) have emerged as a revolutionary breakthrough in the arena of diabetes management and weight control. Additional gastrointestinal hormones, such as glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP) and glucagon, exhibit structural similarities to GLP-1 and work synergistically to lower blood glucose levels or aid in weight loss. Today, various classes of gut hormone receptor multiple agonists are steadily progressing through development and clinical trials, including dual GLP-1/glucagon receptor agonists (first discovered in 2009), dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonists (first described in 2013), and triple GLP-1/GIP/glucagon receptor agonists (initially designed in 2015). The GLP-1/GIP receptor co-agonist, tirzepatide, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of T2DM, outperforming basal insulin or selective GLP-1RAs by providing superior HbA1c reductions. Remarkably, tirzepatide also facilitated unprecedented weight loss of up to 22.5% in non-diabetic individuals living with obesity. This result is comparable to those achieved with certain types of bariatric surgery. Therefore, the advent of gut hormone multi-agonists signifies the dawn of an exciting new era in peptide-based therapy for obesity and T2DM. This review offers a comprehensive summary of the various types of gut hormone multiple agonists, including their discovery, development, action of mechanisms, and clinical effectiveness. We further delve into potential hurdles, limitations, and prospective advancements in the field.

Flexible Needle Steering with Tethered and Untethered Actuation: Current States, Targeting Errors, Challenges and Opportunities.

Accurate needle targeting is critical for many clinical procedures, such as transcutaneous biopsy or radiofrequency ablation of tumors. However, targeting errors may arise, limiting the widespread adoption of these procedures. Advances in flexible needle (FN) steering are emerging to mitigate these errors. This review summarizes the state-of-the-art developments of FNs and addresses possible targeting errors that can be overcome with steering actuation techniques. FN steering techniques can be classified as passive and active. Passive steering directly results from the needle-tissue interaction forces, whereas active steering requires additional forces to be applied at the needle tip, which enhances needle steerability. Therefore, the corresponding targeting errors of most passive FNs and active FNs are between 1 and 2 mm, and less than 1 mm, respectively. However, the diameters of active FNs range from 1.42 to 12 mm, which is larger than the passive steering needle varying from 0.5 to 1.4 mm. Therefore, the development of active FNs is an area of active research. These active FNs can be steered using tethered internal direct actuation or untethered external actuation. Examples of tethered internal direct actuation include tendon-driven, longitudinal segment transmission and concentric tube transmission. Tendon-driven FNs have various structures, and longitudinal segment transmission needles could be adapted to reduce tissue damage. Additionally, concentric tube needles have immediate advantages and clinical applications in natural orifice surgery. Magnetic actuation enables active FN steering with untethered external actuation and facilitates miniaturization. The challenges faced in the fabrication, sensing, and actuation methods of FN are analyzed. Finally, bio-inspired FNs may offer solutions to address the challenges faced in FN active steering mechanisms.

A vision transformer for lightning intensity estimation using 3D weather radar.

Lightning has strong destructive powers; its blast wave, high temperature, and high voltage can pose a great threat to human production, life, and personal safety. The destructive power of high-intensity lightning is much greater than that of low-intensity lightning. The estimation of lightning intensity can provide an important reference for determining the lightning protection level and lightning disaster risk assessment. Lightning is a type of small-scale severe convective weather phenomenon. Weather radar is one of the best monitoring systems that can frequently sample the detailed three-dimensional (3D) structures of convective storms, with a small spatial scale and short lifetime at high temporal and spatial resolutions. Therefore, it is possible to extract the 3D spatial feature strongly correlated with lightning from 3D weather radar for estimating lightning intensity. This paper proposes a Vision Transformer model for lightning intensity estimation that can automatically estimate lightning intensity from 3D weather radar data. In an experiment, we transferred the task of estimating lightning intensity into a multicategory classification task. A framework was designed to produce lightning feature samples for model input from 3D weather radar and lightning location data. Then, the Synthetic Minority Over-Sampling Technique (SMOTE) algorithm was used to balance and optimize the sample distribution. Finally, samples were input into the proposed lightning intensity estimation model based on Vision Transformer for training and evaluation. Experimental results show that the proposed model based on Vision Transformers performs well with lightning intensity estimation.

Chinese Compilation of Physical Activities in healthy adults aged 18-64: Categories and metabolic intensities.

A Chinese Compilation of Physical Activities was compiled to estimate the energy costs of physical activities (PAs) using data on adults aged 18-64. Data were obtained from published articles and laboratory measurements. Databases, including PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Ebsco, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wan Fang Data, National Science and Technology Report Service, Public Health Scientific Data were searched to collect data from inception to January 2022, on energy expenditure associated with PA in the healthy Chinese population. Two reviewers independently screened the literature and extracted, classified, and summarized data. Data were measured for 36 PAs using indirect calorimetry. Detailed descriptions of specific activities and metabolic equivalent values were provided by summarizing 241 physical activities in 13 categories. The first edition of the Chinese Compilation of PAs in Healthy Adults Aged 18-64(CCPA) was created. It provides valuable resources for people who regularly engage in physical exercise, researchers, educators, fitness professionals, and health or commercial sectors to quickly obtain various PA MET intensities. In the future, the energy expenditure of various PAs of different ages within the Chinese population can be measured based on the CCPA.

A review of recent advancements in soft and flexible robots for medical applications.

BACKGROUND: Soft and flexible robots for medical applications are needed to change their flexibility over a wide range to perform tasks adequately. The mechanism and theory of flexibility has been a scientific issue and is of interest to the community. METHODS: Recent advancements of bionics, flexible actuation, sensing, and intelligent control algorithms as well as tunable stiffness have been referenced when soft and flexible robots are developed. The benefits and limitations of these relevant studies and how they affect the flexibility are discussed, and possible research directions are explored. RESULTS: The bionic materials and structures that demonstrate the potential capabilities of the soft medical robot flexibility are the fundamental guarantee for clinical medical applications. Flexible actuation that used to provide power, intelligent control algorithms which are the exact executors, and the wide range stiffness of the soft materials are the three important influence factors for soft medical robots. CONCLUSION: Some reasonable suggestions and possible solutions for soft and flexible medical robots are proposed, including novel materials, flexible actuation concepts with a built-in source of energy or power, programmable flexibility, and adjustable stiffness.

Increased expression of TNFRSF14 indicates good prognosis and inhibits bladder cancer proliferation by promoting apoptosis.

Despite advances in management, bladder cancer remains a principal cause of cancer­associated complications. Tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 14 (TNFRSF14) is dysregulated in certain types of cancer; however, limited data are available on the expression and function of TNFRSF14 in bladder cancer. In the present study, the aim was to evaluate the expression and biological functions of TNFRSF14 in bladder cancer. Firstly, the expression levels of TNFRSF14 in bladder cancer tissue were examined using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Secondly, reverse transcription­quantitative polymerase chain reaction was utilized to investigate the expression levels of TNFRSF14 in the T24, SW780 and EJ­M3 bladder cancer cell lines. Transfection and Cell Counting kit­8 (CCK­8) assay was used to evaluate whether TNFRSF14 overexpression or silencing would have an effect on cell proliferation of T24 and EJ­M3 cells. In addition, TNFRSF14­induced apoptotic cells were identified using Annexin V­fluorescein isothiocyanate and propidium iodide staining. Western blot analysis was used to detect proteins associated with the phosphatidylinositol 3­kinase pathway. According to the TCGA dataset, the expression levels TNFRSF14 were decreased in bladder cancer tissue compared with in normal control samples. Patients with bladder cancer exhibiting low expression levels of TNFRSF14 had a worse prognosis compared to those with high expression levels of TNFRSF14. Overexpression of TNFRSF14 in T24 cells led to increased apoptosis and inhibited cell proliferation in vitro. Western blotting demonstrated that TNFRSF14 overexpression increased the expression levels of caspase3­p17 in T24 cells, but significantly decreased the expression levels of phosphorylated (p)­protein kinase B (AKT) and P70 S6 kinase (P70). TNFRSF14 silencing in EJ­M3 cells enhanced cell growth, inhibited cell apoptosis, increased the expression levels of p­AKT and P70, and decreased the expression levels of caspase3­p17. In conclusion, TNFRSF14 may serve a tumor suppressive role in bladder cancer by inducing apoptosis and suppressing proliferation, and act as a novel prognostic biomarker for bladder cancer.

The Preparation of C-Reactive Protein Immunosensor Based on Nano-Mimetic Enzyme Co3O4.

In this work, a nano-mimetic enzyme Co3O4 nanoparticles with catalytic effect on the reduction of H2O2, was synthesized and used to label C-reactive protein antibody. Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) were loaded on COF-TpPa-1 to form Au NPs@COF-TpPa-1 with good biocompatibility and adsorption ability. A sandwich C-reactive protein immunosensor was prepared using Au NPs @COF-TpPa-1 as the immobilization matrix. The catalytic current of Co3O4 nanoparticles to the reduction of H2O2 was measured by the chronoamperometry which is in proportion to the concentration of CRP. The linear range of this immunosensor was 0.05-80 ng/mL with the linear correlation coefficient of 0.9955. The method demonstrated a good sensitivity with a detection limit of 0.017 ng/mL (S/N = 3) for CRP. When the C-reactive protein immunosensor was applied to real serum samples analysis, the satisfied results were obtained, indicating that the immunosensor is of prospect of application.

[Radiobiological characteristics and MRN complex expression of human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines].

OBJECTIVE: To study the radiobiological characteristic of human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines CNE1 and CNE2 and the changes in expression MRN (Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1) complex in the cell lines exposed to irradiation. METHODS: CNE1 and CNE2 were irradiated by a linear accelerator. Radiobiological characteristics were detected by colony assay and MTT assay. MRN complex expression were examined by Western blot. RESULTS: Surviving fraction at 2 Gy (SF2), quasi-threshold Dose (Dq), and mean lethal dose (Do) of CNE1 were 0.56, 1.449 Gy and 1.480 Gy; SF2, Dq, and Do of CNE2 were 0.44, 0.776 Gy and 1.685 Gy, respectively. Survival fraction of CNE1 at the day 6 after 4 Gy irradiation was 0.59 and that of CNE2 was 0.79 when compared with control, with the up-regulated expressions of Rad50 in CNE1 and Mre11, Rad50 and Nbs1 in CNE2 (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: CNE1 and CNE2 were sensitive to radiation, but there were radioresistance cells in CNE2. The expressions of some components of MRN complex were up-regulated to repair DNA lesions induced by radiation.