4-Vinylanisole is an aggregation pheromone in locusts.

Locust plagues threaten agricultural and environmental safety throughout the world1,2. Aggregation pheromones have a crucial role in the transition of locusts from a solitary form to the devastating gregarious form and the formation of large-scale swarms3,4. However, none of the candidate compounds reported5-7 meet all the criteria for a locust aggregation pheromone. Here, using behavioural assays, electrophysiological recording, olfactory receptor characterization and field experiments, we demonstrate that 4-vinylanisole (4VA) (also known as 4-methoxystyrene) is an aggregation pheromone of the migratory locust (Locusta migratoria). Both gregarious and solitary locusts are strongly attracted to 4VA, regardless of age and sex. Although it is emitted specifically by gregarious locusts, 4VA production can be triggered by aggregation of four to five solitary locusts. It elicits responses specifically from basiconic sensilla on locust antennae. We also identified OR35 as a specific olfactory receptor of 4VA. Knockout of OR35 using CRISPR-Cas9 markedly reduced the electrophysiological responses of the antennae and impaired 4VA behavioural attractiveness. Finally, field trapping experiments verified the attractiveness of 4VA to experimental and wild populations. These findings identify a locust aggregation pheromone and provide insights for the development of novel control strategies for locusts.

MicroRNA-191 regulates oral squamous cell carcinoma cells growth by targeting PLCD1 via the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that microRNA-191 (miR-191) is involved in the development and progression of a variety of tumors. However, the function and mechanism of miR-191 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) have not been clarified. METHODS: The expression level of miR-191 in tumor tissues of patients with primary OSCC and OSCC cell lines were detected using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blot. OSCC cells were treated with miR-191 enhancers and inhibitors to investigate the effects of elevated or decreased miR-191 expression on OSCC cells proliferation, migration, cell cycle, and tumorigenesis. The target gene of miR-191 in OSCC cells were analyzed by dual-Luciferase assay, and the downstream signaling pathway of the target genes was detected using western blot assay. RESULTS: The expression of miR-191 was significantly upregulated in OSCC tissues and cell lines. Upregulation of miR-191 promoted proliferation, migration, invasion, and cell cycle progression of OSCC cells, as well as tumor growth in nude mice. Meanwhile, reduced expression of miR-191 inhibited these processes. Phospholipase C delta1 (PLCD1) expression was significantly downregulated, and negatively correlated with the expression of miR-191 in OSCC tissues. Dual-Luciferase assays showed that miR-191-5p could bind to PLCD1 mRNA and regulate PLCD1 protein expression. Western blot assay showed that the miR-191 regulated the expression of ß-catenin and its downstream gene through targeting PLCD1. CONCLUSION: MicroRNA-191 regulates oral squamous cell carcinoma cells growth by targeting PLCD1 via the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway. Thus, miR-191 may serve as a potential target for the treatment of OSCC.

The intellectual base and global trends in contrast-induced acute kidney injury: a bibliometric analysis.

Contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) has become the third leading cause of hospital-acquired kidney injury. A comprehensive analysis of the current state of research in the field of CI-AKI will help to reveal trends and hot topics in the field. To date, there are no published bibliometric analyses related to CI-AKI studies. Here, we analyze the relevant literature since the emergence of the concept and provide valuable insights. The literature was collected from the Web of Science Core Collection. The data were analyzed visually using CiteSpace and VOSviewer software. We collected a total of 4775 papers, with the United States and Guangdong Acad Med Sci as the major publishing powers in terms of country/region and institution. J AM COLL CARDIOL was the journal with the most published and cocited articles. Cluster analysis showed that clinical trials are the current research hotspot. The areas of risk assessment, prevention strategies, risk factors, and vascular lesions have been popular in recent years. Research on the mechanism of injury in CI-AKI will be the focus of future research, which will be crucial to reduce the clinical incidence of CI-AKI. In summary, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of the development process in the field of CI-AKI and discusses future research directions based on the analysis of objective data from many studies on CI-AKI.

Airborne host-plant manipulation by whiteflies via an inducible blend of plant volatiles.

The whitefly Bemisia tabaci is one of the world's most important invasive crop pests, possibly because it manipulates plant defense signaling. Upon infestation by whiteflies, plants mobilize salicylic acid (SA)-dependent defenses, which mainly target pathogens. In contrast, jasmonic acid (JA)-dependent defenses are gradually suppressed in whitefly-infested plants. The down-regulation of JA defenses make plants more susceptible to insects, including whiteflies. Here, we report that this host-plant manipulation extends to neighboring plants via airborne signals. Plants respond to insect attack with the release of a blend of inducible volatiles. Perception of these volatiles by neighboring plants usually primes them to prepare for an imminent attack. Here, however, we show that whitefly-induced tomato plant volatiles prime SA-dependent defenses and suppress JA-dependent defenses, thus rendering neighboring tomato plants more susceptible to whiteflies. Experiments with volatiles from caterpillar-damaged and pathogen-infected plants, as well as with synthetic volatiles, confirm that whiteflies modify the quality of neighboring plants for their offspring via whitefly-inducible plant volatiles.

Animal model and bioinformatics analyses suggest the TIMP1/MMP9 axis as a potential biomarker in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a common malignant tumor of the head and neck. However, the molecular mechanism underlying its development and progression is yet unclear. Genes that are differentially expressed, that is, differentially expressed genes (DEGs), between normal and diseased tissues are believed to be involved in disease development and progression. To identify the DEGs in OSCC and explore their role in occurrence and progression, we established a Chinese hamster OSCC model, determined the DEG, screened the identified DEGs, and performed Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG enrichment analyses. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was generated to screen potential candidate genes. We then analyzed the expression, tumor stage and prognosis of candidate genes using the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) database. Finally, we verified the candidate DEGs by quantitative real-time PCR and Gene Expression Omnibus analysis. The results showed 194 significantly DEGs, 140 enriched GO terms, and 8 KEGG pathways, which suggested that OSCC was closely related to the immune system, cell migration, and extracellular matrix. GEPIA and PPI network analysis revealed that SPP1, TNC, and ACTA1 were significantly related to tumor staging; SPP1, tissue inhibitors of matrix metallopeptidases (MMPs) 1 (TIMP1), and ACTA1 were closely related to prognosis. The scores for the top five highest degree genes were close, and the TIMP1/MMP9 axis appeared to be at the center of the PPI network, indicating that expression changes in the TIMP1/MMP9 axis and related genes may be involved in tumor invasion and metastasis. These findings provide novel insights into the mechanism of oral cancer.

Closely related NAC transcription factors of tomato differentially regulate stomatal closure and reopening during pathogen attack.

To restrict pathogen entry, plants close stomata as an integral part of innate immunity. To counteract this defense, Pseudomonas syringae pv tomato produces coronatine (COR), which mimics jasmonic acid (JA), to reopen stomata for bacterial entry. It is believed that abscisic acid (ABA) plays a central role in regulating bacteria-triggered stomatal closure and that stomatal reopening requires the JA/COR pathway, but the downstream signaling events remain unclear. We studied the stomatal immunity of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and report here the distinct roles of two homologous NAC (for NAM, ATAF1,2, and CUC2) transcription factors, JA2 (for jasmonic acid2) and JA2L (for JA2-like), in regulating pathogen-triggered stomatal movement. ABA activates JA2 expression, and genetic manipulation of JA2 revealed its positive role in ABA-mediated stomatal closure. We show that JA2 exerts this effect by regulating the expression of an ABA biosynthetic gene. By contrast, JA and COR activate JA2L expression, and genetic manipulation of JA2L revealed its positive role in JA/COR-mediated stomatal reopening. We show that JA2L executes this effect by regulating the expression of genes involved in the metabolism of salicylic acid. Thus, these closely related NAC proteins differentially regulate pathogen-induced stomatal closure and reopening through distinct mechanisms.

Role of tomato lipoxygenase D in wound-induced jasmonate biosynthesis and plant immunity to insect herbivores.

In response to insect attack and mechanical wounding, plants activate the expression of genes involved in various defense-related processes. A fascinating feature of these inducible defenses is their occurrence both locally at the wounding site and systemically in undamaged leaves throughout the plant. Wound-inducible proteinase inhibitors (PIs) in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) provide an attractive model to understand the signal transduction events leading from localized injury to the systemic expression of defense-related genes. Among the identified intercellular molecules in regulating systemic wound response of tomato are the peptide signal systemin and the oxylipin signal jasmonic acid (JA). The systemin/JA signaling pathway provides a unique opportunity to investigate, in a single experimental system, the mechanism by which peptide and oxylipin signals interact to coordinate plant systemic immunity. Here we describe the characterization of the tomato suppressor of prosystemin-mediated responses8 (spr8) mutant, which was isolated as a suppressor of (pro)systemin-mediated signaling. spr8 plants exhibit a series of JA-dependent immune deficiencies, including the inability to express wound-responsive genes, abnormal development of glandular trichomes, and severely compromised resistance to cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) and Botrytis cinerea. Map-based cloning studies demonstrate that the spr8 mutant phenotype results from a point mutation in the catalytic domain of TomLoxD, a chloroplast-localized lipoxygenase involved in JA biosynthesis. We present evidence that overexpression of TomLoxD leads to elevated wound-induced JA biosynthesis, increased expression of wound-responsive genes and, therefore, enhanced resistance to insect herbivory attack and necrotrophic pathogen infection. These results indicate that TomLoxD is involved in wound-induced JA biosynthesis and highlight the application potential of this gene for crop protection against insects and pathogens.

Plant stomatal closure improves aphid feeding under elevated CO2.

Stomata help plants regulate CO2 absorption and water vapor release in response to various environmental changes, and plants decrease their stomatal apertures and enhance their water status under elevated CO2 . Although the bottom-up effect of elevated CO2 on insect performance has been extensively studied, few reports have considered how insect fitness is altered by elevated CO2 -induced changes in host plant water status. We tested the hypothesis that aphids induce stomatal closure and increase host water potential, which facilitates their passive feeding, and that this induction can be enhanced by elevated CO2 . Our results showed that aphid infestation triggered the abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathway to decrease the stomatal apertures of Medicago truncatula, which consequently decreased leaf transpiration and helped maintain leaf water potential. These effects increased xylem-feeding time and decreased hemolymph osmolarity, which thereby enhanced phloem-feeding time and increased aphid abundance. Furthermore, elevated CO2 up-regulated an ABA-independent enzyme, carbonic anhydrase, which led to further decrease in stomatal aperture for aphid-infested plants. Thus, the effects of elevated CO2 and aphid infestation on stomatal closure synergistically improved the water status of the host plant. The results indicate that aphid infestation enhances aphid feeding under ambient CO2 and that this enhancement is increased under elevated CO2 .

Reciprocal crosstalk between jasmonate and salicylate defence-signalling pathways modulates plant volatile emission and herbivore host-selection behaviour.

The jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA) signalling pathways, which mediate induced plant defence responses, can express negative crosstalk. Limited knowledge is available on the effects of this crosstalk on host-plant selection behaviour of herbivores. We report on temporal and dosage effects of such crosstalk on host preference and oviposition-site selection behaviour of the herbivorous spider mite Tetranychus urticae towards Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus) plants, including underlying mechanisms. Behavioural observations reveal a dynamic temporal response of mites to single or combined applications of JA and SA to the plant, including attraction and repellence, and an antagonistic interaction between SA- and JA-mediated plant responses. Dose-response experiments show that concentrations of 0.001mM and higher of one phytohormone can neutralize the repellent effect of a 1mM application of the other phytohormone on herbivore behaviour. Moreover, antagonism between the two signal-transduction pathways affects phytohormone-induced volatile emission. Our multidisciplinary study reveals the dynamic plant phenotype that is modulated by subtle changes in relative phytohormonal titres and consequences for the dynamic host-plant selection by an herbivore. The longer-term effects on plant-herbivore interactions deserve further investigation.

An integrated design concept evaluation model based on interval valued picture fuzzy set and improved GRP method.

The objective of this research is to enhance the precision and efficiency of design concept assessments during the initial stages of new product creation. Design concept evaluation, which occurs at the end of the conceptual design phase, is a critical step in product development. The outcome of this evaluation significantly impacts the product's eventual success, as flawed design concepts are difficult to remedy in later stages. However, the evaluation of new product concepts is a procedure that encompasses elements of subjectivity and ambiguity. In order to deal with the problem, a novel decision-making method for choosing more logical new product concepts is introduced. Basically, the evaluation process is outlined in three main phases: the construction of evaluation index system for design concept alternatives, the calculation of weights for evaluation criteria and decision-makers, the selection of the best design concept alternatives. These stages are composed of a hybrid method based on kano model, multiplicative analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method, the entropy of IVPFS and improved grey relational projection (GRP) under interval-valued picture fuzzy set (IVPFS). The novel approach integrates the strength of interval-valued picture fuzzy number in handling vagueness, the advantage of multiplicative AHP and the merit of improved GRP method in modelling multi-criteria decision-making. In final, the effectiveness of the proposed model is validated through comparisons with other models. The potential applications of this study include but are not limited to product development, industrial design, and innovation management, providing decision-makers with a more accurate and comprehensive design concept evaluation tool.

Table tennis experience enhances motor control in older adults: Insights into sensorimotor-related cortical connectivity.

Background: Motor control declines with age and requires effective connectivity between the sensorimotor cortex and the primary motor cortex (M1). Despite research indicating that physical exercise can improve motor control in older individuals the effect of physical exercise on neural connectivity in older adults remains to be elucidated. Methods: Older adults with experience in table tennis and fit aerobics and individuals without such experience for comparison were recruited for the study. Differences in motor control were assessed using the stop-signal task. The impact of exercise experience on DLPFC-M1 and pre-SMA-M1 neural connectivity was assessed with transcranial magnetic stimulation. Varied time intervals (short and long term) and stimulus intensities (subthreshold and suprathreshold) were used to explore neural connectivity across pathways. Results: The present study showed that behavioral iexpression of the table tennis group was significantly better than the other two groups;The facilitatory regulation of preSMA-M1 in all groups is negatively correlated with SSRT. Regulatory efficiency was highest in the table tennis group. Only the neural network regulatory ability of the Table Tennis group showed a negative correlation with SSRT; Inhibitory regulation of DLPFC-M1 was positively correlated with SSRT; this effect was most robust in the table tennis group. Conclusion: The preliminary findings of this study suggest that table tennis exercise may enhance the motor system regulated by neural networks and stabilize inhibitory regulation of DLPFC-M1, thereby affecting motor control in older adults.

Sleep structure assessed by objective measurement in patients with mild cognitive impairment: A meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: A meta-analysis was used to explore the characteristic changes in objective sleep structure of patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) compared with cognitively healthy older adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PubMed, EMBAS, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched until November 2023. A literature quality evaluation was performed according to the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, and a meta-analysis was performed by RevMan 5.3 software. RESULTS: Fifteen studies with 771 participants were finally included. Compared with normal control groups, patients with MCI had a decreased total sleep time by 34.44 min, reduction in sleep efficiency by 7.96 %, increased waking after sleep onset by 19.61 min, and increased sleep latency by 6.97 min. Ten included studies showed that the patients with MCI had increased N1 sleep by 2.72 % and decreased N3 sleep by 0.78 %; however, there was no significant difference between the MCI and control groups in percentage of N2 sleep. Moreover, Twelve included studies reported the MCI groups had shorter REM sleep of 2.69 %. CONCLUSION: Our results provide evidence of abnormal sleep architecture in patients with MCI. As a "plastic state," abnormal sleep architecture may be a promising therapeutic target for slowing cognitive decline and dementia prevention.

Antagonism between herbivore-induced plant volatiles and trichomes affects tritrophic interactions.

We used tomato genotypes deficient in the jasmonic acid (JA) pathway to study the interaction between the production of herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) that serve as information cues for herbivores as well as natural enemies of herbivores, and the production of foliar trichomes as defence barriers. We found that jasmonic acid-insensitive1 (jai1) mutant plants with both reduced HIPVs and trichome production received higher oviposition of adult leafminers, which were more likely to be parasitized by the leafminer parasitoids than JA biosynthesis spr2 mutant plants deficient in HIPVs but not trichomes. We also showed that the preference and acceptance of leafminers and parasitoids to trichome-removed plants from either spr2 or wild-type (WT) genotypes over trichome-intact genotypes can be ascribed to the reduced trichomes on treated plants, but not to altered direct and indirect defence traits such as JA, proteinase inhibitor (PI)-II and HIPVs levels. Although the HIPVs of WT plants were more attractive to adult insects, the insects preferred trichome-free jai1 plants for oviposition and also had greater reproductive success on these plants. Our results provide strong evidence that antagonism between HIPV emission and trichome production affects tritrophic interactions. The interactions among defence traits are discussed.

Analytical Tensor Voting in ND Space and its Properties.

This article aims to propose a novel Analytical Tensor Voting (ATV) mechanism, which enables robust perceptual grouping and salient information extraction for noisy N-dimensional (ND) data. Firstly, the approximation of the decaying function is investigated and adopted based on the idea of penalizing the 1-tensor votes by distance and curvature, respectively, followed by the derivation of analytical solution to the 1-tensor voting in ND space from the geometric view. Secondly, a novel spherical representation mechanism is proposed to facilitate the representation of the elementary tensors in various dimensional spaces, where the high dimensional spherical coordinate system is utilized to construct the controllable unit vectors and corresponding 1-tensors. Accordingly, any elementary K-tensor is represented by the surface integration of the constructed 1-tensors over the unit K-sphere. Thirdly, the ATV mechanism is constructed using the adopted decaying function and proposed spherical representation mechanism, where the analytical solution to tensor voting in ND space is derived, which enables the robust and accurate salient information extraction from noisy ND data. Finally, several interesting properties of the proposed ATV mechanism are investigated. Experimental results on synthetic and real data validate the effectiveness, efficiency and robustness of the proposed method in perceptual grouping tasks in 3D,10D or higher dimensional spaces.

Effects of whole-body vibration training on lower limb motor function and neural plasticity in patients with stroke: protocol for a randomised controlled clinical trial.

INTRODUCTION: Lower limb motor dysfunction is common in patients with stroke, and usually caused by brain neural connectivity disorder. Previous studies have shown that the whole-body vibration training (WBVT) significantly improves the lower limb motor function in patients with stroke and may promote nerve remodelling. The prior purpose of this study is to explore effects of WBVT on lower limb motor function and neuroplasticity in patients with stroke. METHODS: A single-blind randomised controlled trial will be conducted. Sixty patients with stroke will be recruited and allocated randomly to WBVT, routine rehabilitation training (RRT) and control group (CG). The WBVT and RRT interventions will be implemented as five 25 min sessions weekly for continuous 12 weeks; the CG will remain daily habitual living styles and routine treatments, in community or hospital, and will also receive telephone follow-up and health-related lectures. Transcranial magnetic stimulation will be used to assess neural plasticity while lower limb motor function is assessed using indicators of strength, walking ability and joint activity. The assessments will be conducted at the period of baseline, week 6, week 12 as well as on 4 and 8 weeks, respectively, after intervention completion. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study has been approved by the Shanghai University of Sport Research Ethics Committee (102772021RT067) and will provide data on the effects of WBVT relative to RRT in terms of the improvement of stroke patients' lower limb motor function and neural plasticity. The results of this study will be disseminated via publications in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at international conference. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ChiCTR2200055143.

Selective effects of exercise on reactive and proactive inhibition in Parkinson's disease.

Objective: Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) have an obvious motor inhibition disorder, which is closely related to their motor symptoms. Although previous studies have shown that exercise can improve their inhibition deficits, the effect of exercise on different types of inhibition (proactive and reactive inhibition) has not been addressed. Methods: We used a behavioral paradigm combined with a series of questionnaires to explore the effect of long-term exercise on different types of motor inhibition in 59 patients with PD aged 55-75 years. According to the intensity and frequency of exercise, the participants were divided into regular-exercise and no-exercise groups. To obtain the average reference value for inhibition ability at the same age, we also recruited 30 healthy elderly people as controls. Results: The main defect in the motor inhibition of PD is reactive inhibition, while proactive inhibition has no obvious differences compared with healthy controls. Additionally, compared with the non-exercise group, PD in the exercise group showed significantly better reaction speeds and reactive control ability, fewer motor symptoms and negative emotions. Conclusions: Taken together, the motor inhibition defects of patients with PD affect only reactive inhibition. In addition, PD with exercise reported fewer negative emotions than that of the non-exercise group, indicating that exercise can relieve negative emotions and improve behavioral symptoms and quality of life in PD to a certain extent. We demonstrate for the first time that exercise has and can improve reactive inhibition in PD patients and has no effect on proactive inhibition.

Aggregation pheromone 4-vinylanisole promotes the synchrony of sexual maturation in female locusts.

Reproductive synchrony generally occurs in various group-living animals. However, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unexplored. The migratory locust, Locusta migratoria, a worldwide agricultural pest species, displays synchronous maturation and oviposition when forms huge swarm. The reproductive synchrony among group members is critical for the maintenance of locust swarms and population density of next generation. Here, we showed that gregarious female locusts displayed more synchronous sexual maturation and oviposition than solitarious females and olfactory deficiency mutants. Only the presence of gregarious male adults can stimulate sexual maturation synchrony of female adults. Of the volatiles emitted abundantly by gregarious male adults, the aggregation pheromone, 4-vinylanisole, was identified to play key role in inducing female sexual maturation synchrony. This maturation-accelerating effect of 4-vinylanisole disappeared in the females of Or35-/- lines, the mutants of 4-vinylanisole receptor. Interestingly, 4-vinylanisole displayed a time window action by which mainly accelerates oocyte maturation of young females aged at middle developmental stages (3-4 days post adult eclosion). We further revealed that juvenile hormone/vitellogenin pathway mediated female sexual maturation triggered by 4-vinylanisole. Our results highlight a 'catch-up' strategy by which gregarious females synchronize their oocyte maturation and oviposition by time-dependent endocrinal response to 4-vinylanisole, and provide insight into reproductive synchrony induced by olfactory signal released by heterosexual conspecifics in a given group.

Since 2019, a plague of flying insects known as migratory locusts has been causing extensive damage to crops in East Africa. Migratory locusts sometimes live a solitary lifestyle but, if environmental conditions allow, they form large groups containing millions of individuals known as swarms that are responsible for causing locust plagues.Locusts are able to maintain such large swarms because they can aggregate and synchronize. When they live in swarms, individual locusts produce odors that are sensed by other individuals in the group. For example, an aggregation pheromone, called 4-vinylanisole, is known to help keep large groups of locusts together. However, it is less clear how odors synchronize the reproductive cycles of the females in a swarm so that they are ready to mate with males and lay their eggs at the same time. To address this question, Chen et al. examined when female locusts reached sexual maturity after they were exposed to odors produced by other locusts living alone or in groups. The experiments found that only 4-vinylanisole, which was abundantly released by adult male locusts living in groups, stimulated female locusts to reach sexual maturity at the same time. This odor increased the levels of a hormone known as juvenile hormone in less-developed females to help them reach sexual maturity sooner. These findings demonstrate that when migratory locusts are living in swarms, male locusts promote the female locusts to reach sexual maturity at the same time by promoting less-developed females to 'catch up' with other females in the group. A next step will be to investigate the neural and molecular mechanisms underlying the 'catch up' effect induced by 4-vinylanisole.

Monodispersed CaCO3@hydroxyapatite/magnetite microspheres for efficient and selective extraction of benzoylurea insecticides in tea beverages samples.

A novel monodispersed CaCO3@hydroxyapatite/magnetite microsphere (CaCO3 @HAP/Fe3O4) was prepared via an in-situ growth strategy, and applied as an adsorbent for efficient and selective adsorption of benzoylurea insecticides (BUs) in various tea beverages samples. The sorbent exhibited uniformity in particle size, good mono-dispersibility and excellent solvent stability. The adsorption equilibrium of BUs (100 ng/mL) in 10 mL of tea beverages samples was achieved on 20 mg of CaCO3 @HAP/Fe3O4 within 10 min. The adsorption followed pseudo-second-order kinetics and Langmuir models and the maximum adsorption capacities of 131.9-161.3 mg/g were accomplished via hydrophobic interactions, hydrogen bonding, and the affinity of F atom and Ca2+. Coupled with high performance liquid chromatography, the method offered wide linear ranges of 0.8-1000 ng/mL with correlation coefficients (r) ≥ 0.9995, low limits of detection of 0.2-0.3 ng/mL and large enrichment factors of 75.7-102. The recoveries ranged from 75.7%- 102% with intra- and inter-day precisions of 1.9%- 9.3% and 1.6%- 11.8%, respectively. In addition, CaCO3 @HAP/Fe3O4 could be easily regenerated and reused at least 10 times with no significant loss of recovery. These results revealed an alternative strategy for fast and convenient determination of BUs in tea beverages samples and proved the great feasibility of CaCO3 @HAP/Fe3O4 in the application for the selective adsorption of BUs.

Status and factors related to post-traumatic growth in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis: A multi-centre study.

AIM: To investigate the extent of post-traumatic growth, and the correlation between post-traumatic growth and self-perceived stress, post-traumatic growth and self-perceived burden among CAPD patients. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. METHODS: This was a multi-centre study including 752 patients from 44 hospitals. Self-perceived stress, self-perceived burden and post-traumatic growth were measured using the post-traumatic growth inventory (PTGI), the Chinese version of the perceived stress questionnaire (CPSQ) and the self-perceived burden scale (SPBS). A multiple stepwise regression analysis was fit with the total PTGI score as the outcome of interest. RESULTS: Patients concurrently experienced post-traumatic growth and stress following peritoneal dialysis. The initiation of patients' education level, employment status and self-perceived stress were all found to relate to growth among Chinese CAPD patients. There was not sufficient evidence to suggest that self-perceived burden was related to experiencing growth.

Ecological trade-offs between jasmonic acid-dependent direct and indirect plant defences in tritrophic interactions.

Recent studies on plants genetically modified in jasmonic acid (JA) signalling support the hypothesis that the jasmonate family of oxylipins plays an important role in mediating direct and indirect plant defences. However, the interaction of two modes of defence in tritrophic systems is largely unknown. In this study, we examined the preference and performance of a herbivorous leafminer (Liriomyza huidobrensis) and its parasitic wasp (Opius dissitus) on three tomato genotypes: a wild-type (WT) plant, a JA biosynthesis (spr2) mutant, and a JA-overexpression 35S::prosys plant. Their proteinase inhibitor production and volatile emission were used as direct and indirect defence factors to evaluate the responses of leafminers and parasitoids. Here, we show that although spr2 mutant plants are compromised in direct defence against the larval leafminers and in attracting parasitoids, they are less attractive to adult flies compared with WT plants. Moreover, in comparison to other genotypes, the 35S::prosys plant displays greater direct and constitutive indirect defences, but reduced success of parasitism by parasitoids. Taken together, these results suggest that there are distinguished ecological trade-offs between JA-dependent direct and indirect defences in genetically modified plants whose fitness should be assessed in tritrophic systems and under natural conditions.