Ethylene Response Factor109 Attunes Immunity, Photosynthesis, and Iron Homeostasis in Arabidopsis Leaves.

Iron (Fe) is an essential micronutrient element for all organisms including plants. Chlorosis of young leaves is a common symptom of Fe deficiency, reducing the efficiency of photosynthesis, and, ultimately, crop yield. Previous research revealed strong responsiveness of the putative key transcription factor ERF109 to the Fe regime. To elucidate the possible role of ERF109 in leaf Fe homeostasis and photosynthesis, we subjected Arabidopsis thaliana erf109 knockout lines and Col-0 wild-type plants to transcriptome profiling via RNA-seq. The transcriptome profile of Fe-sufficient erf109 leaves showed a 71% overlap with Fe-deficient Col-0 plants. On the other hand, genes that were differentially expressed between Fe-deficient and Fe-sufficient Col-0 plants remained unchanged in erf109 plants under conditions of Fe deficiency. Mutations in ERF109 increased the expression of the clade Ib bHLH proteins bHLH38, bHLH39, bHLH101, the nicotianamine synthase NAS4, and the Fe storage gene FER1. Moreover, mutations in ERF109 led to significant down-regulation of defense genes, including CML37, WRKY40, ERF13, and EXO70B2. Leaves of erf109 exhibited increased Fe levels under both Fe-sufficient and Fe-deficient conditions. Reduced Fv/Fm and Soil Plant Analysis Development (SPAD) values in erf109 lines under Fe deficiency indicate curtailed ability of photosynthesis relative to the wild-type. Our findings suggest that ERF109 is a negative regulator of the leaf response to Fe deficiency. It further appears that the function of ERF109 in the Fe response is critical for regulating pathogen defense and photosynthetic efficiency. Taken together, our study reveals a novel function of ERF109 and provides a systematic perspective on the intertwining of the immunity regulatory network and cellular Fe homeostasis.

Effectiveness of aerobic gymnastic exercise on stress, fatigue, and sleep quality during postpartum: A pilot randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Gymnastics is a preferable safe exercise for postnatal women performing regularly. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this pilot randomized controlled trial was to determine whether the aerobic gymnastic exercise improves stress, fatigue, sleep quality and depression in postpartum women. DESIGN: Single-blinded, randomized controlled trial held from December 2014 until September 2015. SETTING: Postnatal clinic of a medical center in southern Taiwan. PARTICIPANTS: 140 eligible postnatal women were systematically assigned, with a random start to experimental (n=70) or a control (n=70) group. INTERVENTIONS: Engage in aerobic gymnastic exercise at least three times (15min per section) a week for three months using compact disc in the home. OUTCOME MEASURES: Perceived Stress Scale, Postpartum Fatigue Scale, Postpartum Sleep Quality Scale, and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. RESULTS: In a two-way ANOVA with repeated measures, the aerobic gymnastic exercise group showed significant decrease in fatigue after practicing exercise 4 weeks and the positive effects extended to the 12-week posttests. Paired t-tests revealed that aerobic gymnastic exercise participants had improved significantly in perceived stress and fatigue after 4 weeks gymnastic exercise; these positive effects extended to the 12-week posttests. In addition, the changes in physical symptoms-related sleep inefficiency after 12 weeks gymnastic exercise were significantly decreased in the experimental group compared with the control group. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The findings can be used to encourage postnatal women to perform moderate-intensity gymnastic exercise in their daily life to reduce their stress, fatigue and improve sleep quality.

Development and validation of the postpartum sleep quality scale.

BACKGROUND: Postpartum sleep disorders are a significant problem for postnatal women. Although factors predisposing postnatal women to sleep disorders have been identified, few sleep quality assessment instruments adequately address these factors. PURPOSE: This study aimed to develop a Postpartum Sleep Quality Scale (PSQS) and test its psychometric properties. METHODS: Sixteen PSQS items were generated from clinical practice, a literature review, and expert recommendations. Two hundred two postpartum women were recruited from a medical center and an obstetric clinic in southern Taiwan in 2010-2011 to assess the internal consistency, test-retest reliability, construct validity, and convergent validity of the developed PSQS. RESULTS: Item analysis removed two of the initial PSQS items. The resultant 14-item PSQS showed good internal consistency (α = .81) and acceptable 5-day test-retest reliability (r = .81). Construct validity was confirmed using exploratory factor analysis, which extracted and defined "Infant night care-related daytime dysfunction" and "Physical symptoms-related sleep inefficiency" as the two main categories of postpartum sleep quality. These two factors explained 44.49% of total variance, with factor loadings between .43 and .76. Significant correlation (r = .67) with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index showed convergent validity. CONCLUSION: The 14-item PSQS is a reliable, valid, and useful scale for measuring postpartum sleep quality and examining intervention protocols in Taiwanese postpartum women with sleep disturbance.