Integrating multi-omics data reveals energy and stress signaling activated by abscisic acid in Arabidopsis.

Phytohormones are essential signaling molecules regulating various processes in growth, development, and stress responses. Genetic and molecular studies, especially using Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis), have discovered many important players involved in hormone perception, signal transduction, transport, and metabolism. Phytohormone signaling pathways are extensively interconnected with other endogenous and environmental stimuli. However, our knowledge of the huge and complex molecular network governed by a hormone remains limited. Here we report a global overview of downstream events of an abscisic acid (ABA) receptor, REGULATORY COMPONENTS OF ABA RECEPTOR (RCAR) 6 (also known as PYRABACTIN RESISTANCE 1 [PYR1]-LIKE [PYL] 12), by integrating phosphoproteomic, proteomic and metabolite profiles. Our data suggest that the RCAR6 overexpression constitutively decreases the protein levels of its coreceptors, namely clade A protein phosphatases of type 2C, and activates sucrose non-fermenting-1 (SNF1)-related protein kinase 1 (SnRK1) and SnRK2, the central regulators of energy and ABA signaling pathways. Furthermore, several enzymes in sugar metabolism were differentially phosphorylated and expressed in the RCAR6 line, and the metabolite profile revealed altered accumulations of several organic acids and amino acids. These results indicate that energy- and water-saving mechanisms mediated by the SnRK1 and SnRK2 kinases, respectively, are under the control of the ABA receptor-coreceptor complexes.

Is There an Optimal Time Window of Placement of Intracranial Pressure (ICP) Monitor for Elderly Patients With Severe Traumatic Brain Injury? An 11-Year Institutional Cohort Study With Restricted Cubic Spline Analysis.

Severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) is a prominent contributor to both morbidity and mortality in the elderly population. The monitoring of intracranial pressure (ICP) is crucial in the management of sTBI patients. Nevertheless, the appropriate timing for the placement of ICP monitor in elderly sTBI patients remains uncertain. To determine the optimal timing for the placement of ICP monitor in elderly sTBI patients, in this retrospective cohort study, we collected data from elderly patients (> 65 years) who suffered sTBI and received ICP monitors at Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, between January 2011 and December 2021. To examine the relationship between the time of ICP monitor placement and in-hospital mortality, we conducted a multi-variate-adjusted restricted cubic spline (RCS) analysis. Additionally, logistic regression analysis was applied to further analyze the influencing factors contributing to early or late ICP monitor placements. A total of 283 eligible elderly TBI patients were included in the current analysis. The in-hospital mortality rate was 73 out of 283 (26%). The RCS analysis demonstrated an inverted U-shaped curve in the relationship between the timing of ICP monitor placement and in-hospital mortality. For the elderly sTBI patient cohort, 6 h was identified as the crucial moment for the treatment strategy. In addition, the protective time window for ICP placement was less than 4.92 h for the GCS 3-5 group, and less than 8.26 h for the GCS 6-8 group. However, the clinical benefit of ICP placement decreased gradually over time. The relationship between ICP placement and in-hospital mortality was non-linear, exhibiting an inverted U-shaped curve in elderly patients with sTBI. For elderly patients with sTBI, early (≤ 6 h) ICP placement was associated with reduced in-hospital mortality. The clinical benefit of ICP placement decreased beyond the optimal time window.

Uncovering Variations in Clinical Notes for NLP Modeling.

Clinical text contains rich patient information and has attracted much research interest in applying Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools to model it. In this study, we quantified and analyzed the textual characteristics of five common clinical note types using multiple measurements, including lexical-level features, semantic content, and grammaticality. We found there exist significant linguistic variations in different clinical note types, while some types tend to be more similar than others.

Nomogram for Predicting Central Nervous System Infection Following Traumatic Brain Injury in the Elderly.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to identify risk factors for central nervous system (CNS) infection in elderly patients hospitalized with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and to develop a reliable predictive tool for assessing the likelihood of CNS infection in this population. METHOD: We conducted a retrospective study on 742 elderly TBI patients treated at Tangdu Hospital, China. Clinical data was randomly split into training and validation sets (7:3 ratio). By conducting univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis in the training set, we identified a list of variables to develop a nomogram for predicting the risk of CNS infection. We evaluated the performance of the predictive model in both cohorts respectively, using receiver operating characteristics curves, calibration curves, and decision curve analysis. RESULTS: Results of the logistic analysis in the training set indicated that surgical intervention (P = 0.007), red blood cell count (P = 0.019), C-reactive protein concentration (P < 0.001), and cerebrospinal fluid leakage (P < 0.001) significantly predicted the occurrence of CNS infection in elderly TBI patients. The model constructed based on these variables had high predictive capability (area under the curve-training = 0.832; area under the curve-validation = 0.824) as well as clinical utility. CONCLUSIONS: A nomogram constructed based on several key predictors reasonably predicts the risk of CNS infection in elderly TBI patients upon hospital admission. The model of the nanogram may contribute to timely interventions and improve health outcomes among affected individuals.

Phosphorylation of AHR by PLK1 promotes metastasis of LUAD via DIO2-TH signaling.

Metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is a major cause of death in patients. Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), an important transcription factor, is involved in the initiation and progression of lung cancer. Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1), a serine/threonine kinase, acts as an oncogene promoting the malignancy of multiple cancer types. However, the interaction between these two factors and their significance in lung cancer remain to be determined. In this study, we demonstrate that PLK1 phosphorylates AHR at S489 in LUAD, leading to epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and metastatic events. RNA-seq analyses reveal that type 2 deiodinase (DIO2) is responsible for EMT and enhanced metastatic potential. DIO2 converts tetraiodothyronine (T4) to triiodothyronine (T3), activating thyroid hormone (TH) signaling. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrate that treatment with T3 or T4 promotes the metastasis of LUAD, whereas depletion of DIO2 or a deiodinase inhibitor disrupts this property. Taking together, our results identify the AHR phosphorylation by PLK1 and subsequent activation of DIO2-TH signaling as mechanisms leading to LUAD metastasis. These findings can inform possible therapeutic interventions for this event.

Visible Light-Accelerated Palladium-Catalyzed Thiocarbonylation Using Oxalic Acid Monothioester with Aryl/Alkenyl Sulfonium Salts.

Herein, we present a decarboxylative thiocarbonylation of aryl and alkenyl sulfonium salts with oxalic acid monothioethers (OAMs), which can be achieved by visible light-accelerated palladium catalysis. Sulfonium salts are widely available, and OAM is an easily accessible and stored reagent; this mild reaction method can also be used for the synthesis of different types of thioester compounds. The reaction represents a new application of visible light-accelerated palladium catalysis in catalytic decarboxylative cross-couplings.

Functional connectomic profile correlates with effective anterior thalamic stimulation for refractory epilepsy.

BACKGROUND: Deep brain stimulation of the anterior nucleus of the thalamus (ANT-DBS) is an effective treatment for refractory epilepsy; however, seizure outcome varies among individuals. Identifying a reliable noninvasive biomarker to predict good responders would be helpful. OBJECTIVES: To test whether the functional connectivity between the ANT-DBS sites and the seizure foci correlates with effective seizure control in refractory epilepsy. METHODS: We performed a proof-of-concept pilot study of patients with focal refractory epilepsy receiving ANT-DBS. Using normative human connectome data derived from 1000 healthy participants, we investigated whether intrinsic functional connectivity between the seizure foci and the DBS site was associated with seizure outcome. We repeated this analysis controlling for the extent of seizure foci, distance between the seizure foci and DBS site, and using functional connectivity of the ANT instead of the DBS site to test the contribution of variance in DBS sites. RESULTS: Eighteen patients with two or more seizure foci were included. Greater functional connectivity between the seizure foci and the DBS site correlated with more favorable outcome. The degree of functional connectivity accounted for significant variance in clinical outcomes (DBS site: |r| = 0.773, p < 0.001 vs ANT-atlas: |r| = 0.715, p = 0.001), which remained significant when controlling for the extent of the seizure foci (|r| = 0.773, p < 0.001) and the distance between the seizure foci and DBS site (|r| = 0.777, p < 0.001). Significant correlations were independent of variance in the DBS sites (|r| = 0.148, p = 0.57). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that functional connectomic profile is a potential reliable non-invasive biomarker to predict ANT-DBS outcomes. Accordingly, the identification of ANT responders could decrease the surgical risk for patients who may not benefit and optimize the cost-effective allocation of health care resources.

Classification of Central Nervous System Tumors Histologically Diagnosed in a Single Center of China 2003-2019.

OBJECTIVE: The classification of central nervous system (CNS) tumors has changed greatly. The Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States (CBTRUS) and other institutions have analyzed the incidence rate and characteristics of primary CNS tumors. However, there are limited studies analyzing the incidence rate and characteristics of CNS tumors in China. To better understand CNS tumors in China, we summarized all primary CNS tumors diagnosed pathologically in a single center from 2003 to 2019. METHODS: All patients with primary CNS tumors who underwent neurosurgery at our hospital from January 2003 to December 2019 were included in this study. The data were collected from the hospital information system, including diagnosis time, age, gender, anatomic sites, and pathologic results. RESULTS: A total of 17,226 cases of primary CNS tumors were retrospectively analyzed in this study. Among all cases, the major tumor types included meningiomas, tumors of neuroepithelial tissue, and pituitary adenomas. Most tumors of neuroepithelial tissue were glioblastoma and astrocytoma. Most tumors of neuroepithelial tissue were located in the frontal lobe. However, grade 4 tumors of neuroepithelial tissue were more common in the temporal lobe. The median age of all patients was 46 years. The incidence of CNS tumors was higher in women than in men. CONCLUSIONS: Based on this data set, we analyzed various parameters of CNS tumors and found that grade 4 tumors of neuroepithelial tissue were more common in the temporal lobe, which were rarely reported in previous articles.

Attention-based multimodal fusion with contrast for robust clinical prediction in the face of missing modalities.

OBJECTIVE: With the increasing amount and growing variety of healthcare data, multimodal machine learning supporting integrated modeling of structured and unstructured data is an increasingly important tool for clinical machine learning tasks. However, it is non-trivial to manage the differences in dimensionality, volume, and temporal characteristics of data modalities in the context of a shared target task. Furthermore, patients can have substantial variations in the availability of data, while existing multimodal modeling methods typically assume data completeness and lack a mechanism to handle missing modalities. METHODS: We propose a Transformer-based fusion model with modality-specific tokens that summarize the corresponding modalities to achieve effective cross-modal interaction accommodating missing modalities in the clinical context. The model is further refined by inter-modal, inter-sample contrastive learning to improve the representations for better predictive performance. We denote the model as Attention-based cRoss-MOdal fUsion with contRast (ARMOUR). We evaluate ARMOUR using two input modalities (structured measurements and unstructured text), six clinical prediction tasks, and two evaluation regimes, either including or excluding samples with missing modalities. RESULTS: Our model shows improved performances over unimodal or multimodal baselines in both evaluation regimes, including or excluding patients with missing modalities in the input. The contrastive learning improves the representation power and is shown to be essential for better results. The simple setup of modality-specific tokens enables ARMOUR to handle patients with missing modalities and allows comparison with existing unimodal benchmark results. CONCLUSION: We propose a multimodal model for robust clinical prediction to achieve improved performance while accommodating patients with missing modalities. This work could inspire future research to study the effective incorporation of multiple, more complex modalities of clinical data into a single model.

Phosphorylation of AHR by PLK1 promotes metastasis of LUAD via DIO2-TH signaling.

Metastasis of Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is a major cause of death in patients. Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is an important transcription factor involved in the initiation and progression of lung cancer. Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1), a serine/threonine kinase, is an oncogene that promotes the malignancy of multiple cancer types. Nonetheless, the interaction between these two factors and significance in lung cancer remains to be determined. Here, we demonstrate that PLK1 phosphorylates AHR at S489 in LUAD, which leads to epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and metastatic events. RNA-seq analyses show that type 2 deiodinase (DIO2) is responsible for EMT and enhanced metastatic potential. DIO2 converts tetraiodothyronine (T4) to triiodothyronine (T3), which then activates thyroid hormone signaling. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrate that treatment with T3 or T4 promotes the metastasis of LUAD, whereas depletion of DIO2 or deiodinase inhibitor disrupts this property. Taken together, our results identify the phosphorylation of AHR by PLK1 as a mechanism leading to the progression of LUAD and provide possible therapeutic interventions for this event.

Transcriptomic Profiling Highlights the ABA Response Role of BnSIP1-1 in Brassica napus.

BnSIP1-1 is the first identified SIP1 (6b Interacting Protein1) subfamily gene of the trihelix transcription factor family from Brassica napus (B. napus). We previously used a reverse genetic method to reveal its abiotic stress response function in endowing plants resistance to drought and salinity, as well as ABA (Abscisic acid). However, the molecular mechanisms of BnSIP1-1 are unclear. In this study, the global transcriptome files of BnSIP1-1-overexpressing transgenic and wildtype B. napus seedlings under ABA treatment were constructed using RNA-seq. A total of 1823 and 5512 DEGs (Differentially Expressed Genes) were identified in OE vs. WT and OE_ABA vs. WT_ABA comparison groups, which included 751 and 2567 up-regulated DEGs, and 1072 and 2945 down-regulated DEGs, separately. The impact of overexpressed BnSIP1-1 on plants was amplified by ABA, indicating BnSIP1-1 was an ABA-conditioned responsive gene. More interestingly, we found the reasons for BnSIP1-1 increasing plants' insensitivity to ABA were not by regulating ABA synthesis and catabolism, but by manipulating ABA transportation, ABA signal perception and transduction, inositol phosphate metabolism, as well as endomembrane trafficking, indirectly suggesting this gene may play roles upstream of the core ABA response pathway. Our results provided new insights into improving the knowledge about the function of BnSIP1-1 and the ABA signaling mechanism in B. napus.

Epidemiological characteristics for patients with traumatic brain injury and the nomogram model for poor prognosis: an 18-year hospital-based study.

Objective: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a global social, economic, and health challenge that is associated with premature death and long-term disability. In the context of rapid development of urbanization, the analysis of TBI rate and mortality trend could provide abundant diagnosis and treatment suggestions, which helps to form future reference on public health strategies. Methods: In this study, as one of major neurosurgical centers in China, we focused on the regime shift of TBI based on 18-year consecutive clinical data and evaluated the epidemiological features. In our current study, a total of 11,068 TBI patients were reviewed. Results: The major cause of TBI was road traffic injuries (44.%), while the main type of injury was cerebral contusion (n = 4,974 [44.94%]). Regarding to temporal changes, a decreasing trend in TBI incidence for patients under 44 years old was observed, while an increasing trend for those aged over 45 years was indicated. Incidences of RTI and assaults decreased, while ground level fall presented increasing incidences. The total number of deaths was 933 (8.43%), with a decreasing trend in overall mortality since 2011. Age, cause of injury, GCS at admission, Injury Severity Score, shock state at admission, trauma-related diagnoses and treatments were significantly associated with mortality. A predictive nomogram model for poor prognosis was developed based on patient's GOS scores at discharge. Conclusions: The trends and characteristics of TBI patients changed with rapid development of urbanization in the past 18 years. Further larger studies are warranted to verify its clinical suggestions.

A kinome-wide CRISPR screen identifies CK1α as a target to overcome enzalutamide resistance of prostate cancer.

Enzalutamide (ENZA), a second-generation androgen receptor antagonist, has significantly increased progression-free and overall survival of patients with metastatic prostate cancer (PCa). However, resistance remains a prominent obstacle in treatment. Utilizing a kinome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screen, we identified casein kinase 1α (CK1α) as a therapeutic target to overcome ENZA resistance. Depletion or pharmacologic inhibition of CK1α enhanced ENZA efficacy in ENZA-resistant cells and patient-derived xenografts. Mechanistically, CK1α phosphorylates the serine residue S1270 and modulates the protein abundance of ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM), a primary initiator of DNA double-strand break (DSB)-response signaling, which is compromised in ENZA-resistant cells and patients. Inhibition of CK1α stabilizes ATM, resulting in the restoration of DSB signaling, and thus increases ENZA-induced cell death and growth arrest. Our study details a therapeutic approach for ENZA-resistant PCa and characterizes a particular perspective for the function of CK1α in the regulation of DNA-damage response.

The clinical and neurocognitive functional changes with awake brain mapping for gliomas invading eloquent areas: Institutional experience and the utility of The Montreal Cognitive Assessment.

Objective: Awake craniotomy with intraoperative brain functional mapping effectively reduces the potential risk of neurological deficits in patients with glioma invading the eloquent areas. However, glioma patients frequently present with impaired neurocognitive function. The present study aimed to investigate the neurocognitive and functional outcomes of glioma patients after awake brain mapping and assess the experience of a tertiary neurosurgical center in China over eight years. Methods: This retrospective study included 80 patients who underwent awake brain mapping for gliomas invading the eloquent cortex between January 2013 and December 2021. Clinical and surgical factors, such as the extent of resection (EOR), perioperative Karnofsky Performance Score (KPS), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS), were evaluated. We also used the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) to assess the neurocognitive status changes. Results: The most frequently observed location of glioma was the frontal lobe (33/80, 41.25%), whereas the tumor primarily invaded the language-related cortex (36/80, 45%). Most patients had supratotal resection (11/80, 13.75%) and total resection (45/80, 56.25%). The median PFS was 43.2 months, and the median OS was 48.9 months in our cohort. The transient (less than seven days) neurological deficit rate was 17.5%, whereas the rate of persistent deficit (lasting for three months) was 15%. At three months of follow-up, most patients (72/80, 90%) had KPS scores > 80. Meanwhile, compared to the preoperative baseline tests, the changes in MoCA scores presented significant improvements at discharge and three months follow-up tests. Conclusion: Awake brain mapping is a feasible and safe method for treating glioma invading the eloquent cortex, with the benefit of minimizing neurological deficits, increasing EOR, and extending survival time. The results of MoCA test indicated that brain mapping plays a critical role in preserving neurocognitive function during tumor resection.

Blending controlled-release urea and urea under ridge-furrow with plastic film mulching improves yield while mitigating carbon footprint in rainfed potato.

Ridge-furrow with plastic film mulching and various urea types have been applied in rainfed agriculture, but their interactive effects on potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) yield and especially environments remain poorly understood. A three-year experiment was conducted to explore the responses of tuber yield, methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, net global warming potential (NGWP), carbon footprint (CF), and net ecosystem economic budget (NEEB) of rainfed potato to two mulching practices [plastic film mulching (RM) and no plastic film mulching (NM)] and three urea types [conventional urea (U), controlled-release urea (C), and a mixture of equal amounts of conventional urea and controlled-release urea at a ratio of 1:1 (CU)] and their interactions. The results showed that RM significantly decreased cumulative N2O emissions and CH4 uptake by 4.9% and 28.4%, but significantly increased NGWP by 8.9% relative to NM. Compared with U, the C and CU produced much lower cumulative N2O emissions and NGWP and higher CH4 uptake. The interaction of mulching methods and urea type had significant influence on tuber yield and NEEB. Considering both environment and production, RMCU could not only achieve a high tuber yield and NEEB (by up to 26.5% and 42.9%, respectively), but also reduce the CF (by up to 13.7%), and therefore should be considered an effective strategy for dryland potato.

Effect of seat tilting on biomechanics of L4 in tractor drivers.

The tilting of the tractors' seat during deep tillage operations affects the drivers' sitting position, which can lead to lumbar spine injuries. To investigate the effect of seat tilting on the driver's L4 biomechanics, we built a tractor-driver musculoskeletal model in AnyBody™. The maximum activity of the driver's erector spinae at different tilted angles were measured by sEMG and compared with the simulation results to validate the model. The spatial position of the driver's spine at different tilted angles were obtained by 3 D motion capture. The model simulated the driver's spine posture during the actual tilt and investigated the effects of different tilted angles and vibration on the biomechanics of the driver's L4 . The results showed that as the tilt angle of the tractor increased, the load on the driver's L4 also increased, especially the shear force increased at a faster rate than the axial and normal forces, with the shear force on the driver's L4 increasing from 0 N to 138.7 N when the tractor was tilted from 0° to 15°. When vibration was applied to the musculoskeletal model, the maximum value of the shear force on the driver became progressively greater as the angle of tilt of the tractor increased. Overall, tilting the tractor can have a large impact on the biomechanics of the driver's L4, and tilting the tractor may be an important cause of lumbar spine injuries for tractor drivers.

Study of tractor side tilt operation on intervertebral disc injury between L4 and L5 in drivers.

The tilting of the cab seat when the tractor is in deep ploughing operation changes the sitting position of the driver, which may accelerate lumbar spine injury. This paper adopts the musculoskeletal model and the finite element model of the lumbar L4-L5 segment to predict the maximum Von-Mises stress and maximum strain of the driver's lumbar L4-L5 segment intervertebral disc. In this study, we used 3D motion capture to obtain the driver's spine position spatial data when the tractor tilted at different angles. A tractor-driver musculoskeletal model and a finite element model of the lumbar spine L4-L5 segments were created in AnyBody™ and Abaqus, respectively. The tractor-driver musculoskeletal model was used to calculate the load of the driver's lumbar spine L4-L5 segment at different angles of tractor tilt, which was used as the load condition of the finite element model of the lumbar spine L4-L5 segment, and then the influence of tractor tilt angle and vibration on the driver's lumbar spine L4-L5 disc was studied. The results show that the maximum Von-Mises stress and maximum strain of the driver's lumbar L4-L5 intervertebral disc will increase due to the tilt. The maximum Von-Mises stress occurs in the annulus II, and the maximum strain occurs in the upper end plate of the intervertebral disc. With the occurrence of tilt, the position of the maximum Von-Mises stress changes, which can lead to disc injury to the driver, and vibration may exacerbate this injury.

Pharmacodynamics of human interferon α1b against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Omicron strain in vitro / 中国生物制品学杂志

@#Objective To evaluate the pharmacodynamics of human interferon(IFN)α1b against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)Omicron strain in vitro.Methods Total four drugs human IFNα1b bulk,human IFNα1b eye drops,human IFNα1b spray and Remdesivir were detected for cytotoxicity by CCK-8 assay.The inhibitory effect of human IFNα1b on SARS-CoV-2 Omicron strains(BA.5/BA.2/BA.1)was determined by qPCR.Results Human IFNα1b bulk of the maximum concentration(1 × 107IU/mL)and Remdesivir of the maximum concentration(150 μmol/L)did not achieve half cytotoxicity to Vero cells;The median cytotoxicity concentrations(CC_(50))of human IFNα1b eye drops and human IFNα1b sprays were 29 958 and 37 550 IU/mL,respectively,showing toxicity to Vero cells.The median effective concentrations(EC_(50))of human IFNα1b against virus strains BA.1,BA.2 and BA.5 after incubation for 2 h in advance were 9.30,13.38 and 12.33 IU/mL and those of Remdesivir were 0.314 7,0.291 0 and0.300 3 μmol/L.When incubation with virus simultaneously,the EC_(50)of human IFNα1b to BA.1,BA.2 and BA.5 were19.68,10.91 and 18.84 IU/mL and those of the control drug Remdesivir were 0.320 5,0.274 4 and 0.304 1 μmol/L,respectively.Conclusion At the cell level in vitro,human IFNα1b of very low activity showed a good inhibitory effect on SARS-CoV-2 Omicron strain,which was expected to be a clinical specific drug for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron strain infection.

Construction of A375·S2 Melanoma Cell Line with High Sensibility to IL-1 by Overexpressing IL-1 Receptor.

We described an operation that co-overexpress interleukin receptor 1 (IL-1R1) and its co-receptor (IL-1R1AcP) genes in wild-type A375·S2 cells in order to increase their sensibility to IL-1. Firstly, laser scanning confocal microscope observed that IL-1R1 could be expressed on the surface of A375·S2 cells. qPCR was performed to estimate the ratio of two genes and result showed the ratio was almost 4.57:1. Then two genes were linked to vectors and co-transfected into A375·S2 cells. qPCR and Western blotting showed the protein content improved markedly. Finally, MTS assay was executed and the sensitivity of A375·S2 cells that co-transfected receptors to IL-1ß increased significantly. Another MTS assay showed the cell activity variation changed significantly (P < 0.05) and the reliability of the experiment was high, indicating that cell line established in this study could be further used for the activity test of IL-1Ra. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12088-022-01027-8.

Silicon improves the photosynthetic performance of oat leaves infected with Puccinia graminis f. sp. avenae.

Stem rust, caused by Puccinia graminis f. sp. avenae (Pga) is a key disease affecting oat production worldwide. Silicon (Si) plays an essential role in enhancing plant resistance against pathogens. However, the scientific evidence of Si-mediated stem rust resistance of oat from the photosynthetic perspective has not been reported. The specific objective of this research was to investigate the effects of Si application on disease inhibition, photosynthetic gas exchange parameters, light response parameters, photosynthetic pigments and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters under Pga infection. Our results illustrated that Si application significantly reduced rust severity while the other parameters like net photosynthetic rate (P n), stomatal conductance (Gs), intercellular CO2 concentration (C i) and transpiration rate (T r) were significantly increased. Si application increased maximum photosynthetic rate (P nmax) and light saturation point (LSP), while reduced the dark respiration rate (Rd) and light compensation point (LCP). The results also indicated that Si application significantly increased the activities of maximum fluorescence (F m), variable fluorescence (F v), maximum quantum yield of photosystem II (F v/F m), photochemical quenching (qP), photosynthetic performance index (PI ABS), actual PSII quantum yield (ΦPSII), electron transfer rate (ETR), the absorbed light energy per unit reaction center (ABS/RC) and the dissipated energy per unit reaction center (DIo/RC), whereas it decreased the minimal fluorescence (F o), non-photochemical quenching (NPQ), the absorbed light energy used for electron transfer per unit reaction center (ETo/RC) and the absorbed light energy used for reduction of QA per unit reaction center (TRo/RC). The contents of chlorophyll a, b and carotenoids were also increased due to the change in the activity of parameters due to Si application as mentioned above. In conclusion, the results of the current study suggests that Si imparts tolerance to the stem rust possibly by the underlying mechanisms of improving gas exchange performance, and efficiency of the photochemical compounds in oat leaves.