Nursing Care of Postoperative Supplementary Surgery for Patients with Positive or High-level CIN after Conization Using CINIII Cold Knife.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of personalized nursing care in postoperative supplementary surgery for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade III (CIN III) patients with positive or high-grade CIN margins after cold knife conization at the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University in Shijiazhuang, China. The primary objective was to assess the impact of personalized nursing intervention on postoperative outcomes, including psychological well-being, self-care ability, quality of life, and postoperative complications. Methods: A total of 106 patients undergoing additional surgery after CIN III cold knife conization at the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University from January 2020 to April 2023 were randomly allocated into an observation group (n=53) and a control group (n=53) using a random number table method. Detailed information on the randomization process, including stratification factors and blinding procedures, is provided. The observation group received personalized nursing intervention, while the control group received routine nursing. The retreatment methods, including repeat cold knife conization, total hysterectomy, and radical cervical cancer surgery, were analyzed using appropriate statistical methods. Statistical software was employed for data analysis. Results: Pathological results post-cold knife conization revealed positive margins in 76 cases and pathological upgrades in 30 cases. The consistency rate between post-cold knife conization and post-retreatment pathological results was 75.47%. After the intervention, the observation group exhibited significantly lower SAS and SDS scores and significantly higher ESCA and WHO QOL-100 scores compared to the control group (P < .05), indicating improved psychological well-being and quality of life. The total incidence of postoperative complications in the observation group was 5.66%, significantly lower than in the control group (P < .05). Conclusion: Personalized nursing care in postoperative supplementary surgery for CIN III patients with positive or high-grade CIN margins at the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University improves psychological well-being, self-care ability, quality of life, and reduces postoperative complications. The findings underscore the importance of tailored nursing interventions in enhancing patient outcomes. The inclusion of detailed patient demographics and methodological transparency enhances the generalizability and reliability of the study findings beyond the study setting.

Antibiotics therapy combined with probiotics administered intravaginally for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The objective was to examine the pooled effects of antibiotic-probiotic combinations by examining the cure rate and recurrence rate for bacterial vaginosis (BV). A systematic literature search was conducted from electronic databases. All parallel randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that focused on the effects of antibiotics combined with intravaginal probiotics were included. Cure rate and recurrence rate were the primary and secondary outcomes to be analyzed. Meta-analysis was conducted following the Cochrane handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. As a result, of 923 studies identified, 11 articles involving 1,493 BV patients met the inclusion criteria and nine were available for meta-analysis. A meta-analysis of two studies evaluated the recurrence rate 12-16 weeks after treatment. Results showed a statistically significant difference favoring the antibiotics plus probiotics group vs the antibiotics plus placebo group (relative risk 0.62, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.45-0.85). The narrative review in one study indicated that the cure rate was higher in the antibiotics plus probiotics group, giving a significant HR ratio of 0.73 (95% CI 0.54-0.98) (p = 0.042). In conclusion, vaginal application of Lactobacillus in combination with antibiotics for the treatment of BV could be a promising method for both reducing the recurrence rate and relieving symptoms of BV.

Transcriptome and Physiological Analysis Highlight Lignin Metabolism of the Fruit Dots Disordering during Postharvest Cold Storage in 'Danxiahong' Pear.

Pear (Pyrus L.) is one of the most important fruits in the world. Fruit dots are an important trait that affects pear quality. Abnormal fruit dots usually reduce the merchantability of pears. In this research, during cold storage, 'Danxiahong' pear fruit exhibited protrudent fruit dots on the peels. Microscopy system measurement showed that fruit dots size and height on the abnormal fruit peel were bigger and higher than the normal ones. Likewise, scanning electron microscopy observations indicated that the abnormal fruit peel, in contrast to the normal pear peel, exhibited an abnormal cell structure and fruit dots. Physiological analysis showed that the lignin content in abnormal fruit peel was significantly higher than in normal fruit peel. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis revealed that the top-enriched pathways were mainly associated with lignin synthesis and metabolism. The transcripts of lignin biosynthesis-associated genes were analyzed, and the results showed that the expression of a cascade of structural genes, including PpyPAL, PpyCCR, PpyC3H, PpyC4H, PpyHCT, PpyCAD, PpyLAC, and PpyPOD, was significantly induced in the protrudent peels. Furthermore, the expression of regulatory genes involved in lignin biosynthesis, especially the NAC-MYB-based gene regulatory network, was significantly upregulated in the abnormal peels. Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) analysis confirmed the induction of lignin biosynthesis genes. Overall, this research revealed that the abnormal fruit surface was caused by fruit dots disorder during cold storage. This research provides insights into the fine regulation pathways in the prevention of fruit dots protrusion, especially in modulating lignin synthesis and metabolism during postharvest storage.

Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Roles of Sucrose in Anthocyanin Accumulation in 'Kuerle Xiangli' (Pyrus sinkiangensis Yü).

Pear (Pyrus L.) is one of the most important temperate fruit crops worldwide, with considerable economic value and significant health benefits. Red-skinned pears have an attractive appearance and relatively high anthocyanin accumulation, and are especially favored by customers. Abnormal weather conditions usually reduce the coloration of red pears. The application of exogenous sucrose obviously promotes anthocyanins accumulation in 'Kuerle Xiangli' (Pyrus sinkiangensis Yü); however, the underlying molecular mechanism of sucrose-mediated fruit coloration remains largely unknown. In this study, comprehensive transcriptome analysis was performed to identify the essential regulators and pathways associated with anthocyanin accumulation. The differentially expressed genes enriched in Gene Ontology and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes items were analyzed. The transcript levels of some anthocyanin biosynthetic regulatory genes and structural genes were significantly induced by sucrose treatment. Sucrose application also stimulated the expression of some sugar transporter genes. Further RT-qPCR analysis confirmed the induction of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes. Taken together, the results revealed that sucrose promotes pear coloration most likely by regulating sugar metabolism and anthocyanin biosynthesis, and this study provides a comprehensive understanding of the complex molecular mechanisms underlying the coloration of red-skinned pear.

Genomic Analysis of the Glutathione S-Transferase Family in Pear (Pyrus communis) and Functional Identification of PcGST57 in Anthocyanin Accumulation.

Anthocyanin accumulation in vacuoles results in red coloration in pear peels. Glutathione S-transferase (GST) proteins have emerged as important regulators of anthocyanin accumulation. Here, a total of 57 PcGST genes were identified in the European pear 'Bartlett' (Pyrus communis) through comprehensive genomic analysis. Phylogenetic analysis showed that PcGST genes were divided into 10 subfamilies. The gene structure, chromosomal localization, collinearity relationship, cis-elements in the promoter region, and conserved motifs of PcGST genes were analyzed. Further research indicated that glutamic acid (Glu) can significantly improve anthocyanin accumulation in pear peels. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis showed that Glu induced the expression of most PcGST genes, among which PcGST57 was most significantly induced. Further phylogenetic analysis indicated that PcGST57 was closely related to GST genes identified in other species, which were involved in anthocyanin accumulation. Transcript analysis indicated that PcGST57 was expressed in various tissues, other than flesh, and associated with peel coloration at different developmental stages. Silencing of PcGST57 by virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) inhibited the expression of PcGST57 and reduced the anthocyanin content in pear fruit. In contrast, overexpression of PcGST57 improved anthocyanin accumulation. Collectively, our results demonstrated that PcGST57 was involved in anthocyanin accumulation in pear and provided candidate genes for red pear breeding.

Insight into VvGH3 genes evolutional relationship from monocotyledons and dicotyledons reveals that VvGH3-9 negatively regulates the drought tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis.

The Gretchen Hagen3 (GH3) gene family is necessary for growth and development in plants and is regulated by osmotic stress and various hormones. Although it has been reported in many plants, the evolutionary relationship of GH3 in grape has not been systematically analyzed from the perspective of monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous. This study identified and analyzed 188 GH3 genes, which were distinctly divided into 9 subgroups, and found these subgroups have obviously been clustered between monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous. VvGH3-x genes had higher synteny with apple and Arabidopsis than that of rice, and the average Ka/Ks value in monocotyledons was higher than that of dicotyledons. The codon usage index showed that monocotyledons preferred to use G3s, C3s, and GC3s, while dicotyledons preferred to use A3s and T3s. The GH3 genes of grape exhibited different expression patterns in various tissues, different abiotic stresses, and hormonal treatments. The subcellular localization showed that VvGH3-9 was expressed in the nucleus and cytoplasm. Additionally, under 20% PEG treatment, the IAA and ABA contents, relative expression levels of VvGH3-9, relative electrical conductivity (REC), as well as MDA were obviously increased in VvGH3-9 overexpression lines at 72 h. In contrast, compared to WT, the contents of proline and H2O2, the activities of POD, SOD, and CAT, and the relative expression levels of drought responsive genes were significantly decreased in overexpressing lines. Collectively, this study provided helpful insight for the evolution of GH3 genes and presented some possibilities to study the functions of GH3 genes in monocotyledons and dicotyledons.

Prediction model for the onset risk of impaired fasting glucose: a 10-year longitudinal retrospective cohort health check-up study.

BACKGROUND: Impaired fasting glucose (IFG) is a prediabetic condition. Considering that the clinical symptoms of IFG are inconspicuous, these tend to be easily ignored by individuals, leading to conversion to diabetes mellitus (DM). In this study, we established a prediction model for the onset risk of IFG in the Chongqing health check-up population to provide a reference for prevention in a health check-up cohort. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective longitudinal cohort study in Chongqing, China from January 2009 to December 2019. The qualified subjects were more than 20 years old and had more than two health check-ups. After following the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the cohort population was randomly divided into a training set and a test set at a ratio of 7:3. We first selected the predictor variables through the univariate generalized estimation equation (GEE), and then the training set was used to establish the IFG risk model based on multivariate GEE. Finally, the sensitivity, specificity, and receiver operating characteristic curves were used to verify the performance of the model. RESULTS: A total of 4,926 subjects were included in this study, with an average of 3.87 check-up records, including 2,634 males and 2,292 females. There were 442 IFG cases during the follow-up period, including 286 men and 156 women. The incidence density was 26.88/1000 person-years for men and 18.53/1000 person-years for women (P<0.001). The predictor variables of our prediction model include male (relative risk (RR) =1.422, 95 % confidence interval (CI): 0.923-2.193, P=0.3849), age (RR=1.030, 95 %CI: 1.016-1.044, P<0.0001), waist circumference (RR=1.005, 95 %CI: 0.999-1.012, P=0.0975), systolic blood pressure (RR=1.004, 95 %CI: 0.993-1.016, P=0.4712), diastolic blood pressure (RR=1.023, 95 %CI: 1.005-1.041, P=0.0106), obesity (RR=1.797, 95 %CI: 1.126-2.867, P=0.0140), triglycerides (RR=1.107, 95 %CI: 0.943-1.299, P=0.2127), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (RR=0.992, 95 %CI: 0.476-2.063, P=0.9818), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (RR=1.793, 95 %CI: 1.085-2.963, P=0.0228), blood urea (RR=1.142, 95 %CI: 1.022-1.276, P=0.0192), serum uric acid (RR=1.004, 95 %CI: 1.002-1.005, P=0.0003), total cholesterol (RR=0.674, 95 %CI: 0.403-1.128, P=0.1331), and serum creatinine levels (RR=0.960, 95 %CI: 0.945-0.976, P<0.0001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) in the training set was 0.740 (95 %CI: 0.712-0.768), and the AUC in the test set was 0.751 (95 %CI: 0.714-0.817). CONCLUSIONS: The prediction model for the onset risk of IFG had good predictive ability in the health check-up cohort.

Expression analysis of tissue factor pathway inhibitors TFPI-1 and TFPI-2 in Paralichthys olivaceus and antibacterial and anticancer activity of derived peptides.

Tissue factor pathway inhibitors (TFPI), including TFPI-1 and TFPI-2, are Kunitz-type serine protease inhibitors that mainly inhibit the blood coagulation induced by tissue factors. Previous reports on teleost proved TFPI play important roles in innate immunity. In this study, two TFPI (PoTFPI-1 and PoTFPI-2) molecules from Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) were analyzed and characterized for their expression patterns, antibacterial and anticancer activities of the C-terminal derived peptides. Quantitative real time RT-PCR analysis shows that constitutive PoTFPI-1 expression occurred, in increasing order, in the brain, muscle, spleen, gills, head kidney, blood, intestine, heart, and liver; PoTFPI-2 was expressed, in increasing order, in the brain, gills, head kidney, muscle, intestine, spleen, liver, heart, and blood. Under the stimulation of fish pathogens, both PoTFPI-1 and PoTFPI-2 expressions increased significantly in a manner that depended on the pathogens, tissue type, and infection stage. Furthermore, C-terminal peptides TP25 and TP26, derived from PoTFPI-1 and PoTFPI-2, respectively, were synthesized and proved to be active against Micrococcus luteus (for TP25 and TP26) and Staphylococcus aureus (for TP25) via retardation effects on bacterial nucleic acids. In addition, TP25 and TP26 also displayed significant inhibitory effects on human colon cancer cell line HT-29. These results reveal that both PoTFPI-1 and PoTFPI-2 play important roles in host innate immunity. The antibacterial activity and anticancer cells function of TP25 and TP26 will add new insights into the roles of teleost TFPI.

Genome-wide characterization and expression analyses of the auxin/indole-3-acetic acid (Aux/IAA) gene family in apple (Malus domestica).

Auxin is a necessary phytohormone for fruit development, accompanying the whole process of fruit growth and development. The Aux/IAA gene family is one of the early auxin-responsive gene families. At present, there were few reports involved in Aux/IAA genes in the fruit, especially in apple. In our study, we identified 42 MdAux/IAAs, phylogenetic analysis showed that Aux/IAA proteins from apple, tomato, and strawberry were clustered into 5 groups, 42 MdAux/IAAs randomly distributed on 13 chromosomes. Additionally, a comprehensive analysis of Aux/IAA gene family was completed, including gene structures, conserved motifs, phylogenetic analysis, chromosome mapping, orthologous identification, selection pressure analyses, synteny analysis, and protein interaction. We also tested the expression of MdAux/IAAs in different tissues and fruit development stages using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), we found that the most members of Aux/IAA showed higher expression in seeds compared within stem and leaves, indicating they may play a role in regulating fruit development. We also declared that the expression of Aux/IAA gene was not consistent in the pericarp and seeds at the same developmental stage, 3 MdAux/IAAs of the pericarp were upregulated over 20-fold at 90 d and 5 MdAux/IAAs of the seeds were upregulated over 40-fold at 90 d. It was MdAux/IAA23 that showed extreme up-regulated expression in both pericarp and seeds. This study proved that the Aux/IAA gene families may perform a different function in apple fruit development and ripening, more importantly, it provided a foundation for further exploring the biological function of these MdAux/IAAs.

TC26, a teleost TFPI-1 derived antibacterial peptide that induces degradation of bacterial nucleic acids and inhibits bacterial infection in vivo.

At present, several reports have indicated that the C-terminal peptides of tissue factor pathway inhibitor 1 (TFPI-1) were active antibacterial peptides. However, the functions of TFPI-1 C-terminal peptides in teleost are still very limited. In this study, a C-terminal peptide, TC26 (with 26 amino acids), derived from common carp (Cyprinus carpio) TFPI-1, was synthesized and investigated for its antibacterial spectrum, action mechanism, as well as the in vivo effects on bacterial invasion. Our results showed that TC26 was active against Gram-positive bacteria Micrococcus luteus and Staphylococcus aureus, as well as Gram-negative bacterium Vibrio vulnificus. TC26 treatment facilitated the bactericidal process of erythromycin by enhancing the out-membrane permeability of V. vulnificus. During the bactericidal process, TC26 killed the target bacterial cells Vibrio vulnificus, by destroying cell membrane integrity, penetrating into the cytoplasm and inducing degradation of genomic DNA and total RNA. In vivo study showed that administration of turbot with TC26 before bacterial infection significantly reduced pathogen dissemination and replication in tissues. These results indicated that TC26 is a novel and active antibacterial peptide and may play a vital role in fighting pathogenic infection in aquaculture.

Serum biochemistry, liver histology and transcriptome profiling of bighead carp Aristichthys nobilis following different dietary protein levels.

Dietary protein plays a major role in determining the rate of fish growth and overall health. Given that the liver is an important organ for metabolism and detoxification, we hypothesized that optimal dietary protein levels may benefit liver function. Herein, we investigated the effects of dietary protein level on serum biochemistry, liver histology and transcriptome profiling of juvenile bighead carp Aristichthys nobilis fed for 8 weeks on a diet supplemented with high protein (HP, 40%), low protein (LP, 24%) or optimal protein (OP, 32%; controls). The results revealed a significant change in liver morphology in LP and HP groups compared with the OP group, coupled with increased serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity. RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) analysis of the liver transcriptome yielded 47 million high-quality reads using an Illumina platform, which were de novo assembled into 80,777 unique transcript fragments (unigenes) with an average length of 1021 bp. Subsequent bioinformatics analysis identified 878 and 733 differentially expressed unigenes (DEGs) in liver in response to LP and HP diets, respectively. KEGG enrichment analysis of DEGs identified immune and metabolism-related pathways, including Toll-like receptor signaling, PI3K-Akt signaling, NF-κB signaling, complement and coagulation, peroxisome, nitrogen metabolism, PPAR signaling, and glycolysis and gluconeogenesis pathways. Transcriptome profiling results were validated by quantitative real-time PCR for 16 selected DEGs. The findings expand our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of dietary protein level on liver function in bighead carp.

Chromosome level high-density integrated genetic maps improve the Pyrus bretschneideri 'DangshanSuli' v1.0 genome.

BACKGROUND: Chromosomal level reference genomes provide a crucial foundation for genomics research such as genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and whole genome selection. The chromosomal-level sequences of both the European (Pyrus communis) and Chinese (P. bretschneideri) pear genomes have not been published in public databases so far. RESULTS: To anchor the scaffolds of P. bretschneideri 'DangshanSuli' (DS) v1.0 genome into pseudo-chromosomes, two genetic maps (MH and YM maps) were constructed using half sibling populations of Chinese pear crosses, 'Mantianhong' (MTH) × 'Hongxiangsu' (HXS) and 'Yuluxiang' (YLX) × MTH, from 345 and 162 seedlings, respectively, which were prepared for SNP discovery using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) technology. The MH and YM maps, each with 17 linkage groups (LGs), were constructed from 2606 and 2489 SNP markers and spanned 1847 and 1668 cM, respectively, with average marker intervals of 0.7. The two maps were further merged with a previously published genetic map (BD) based on the cross 'Bayuehong' (BYH) × 'Dangshansuli' (DS) to build a new integrated MH-YM-BD map. By using 7757 markers located on the integrated MH-YM-BD map, 898 scaffolds (400.57 Mb) of the DS v1.0 assembly were successfully anchored into 17 pseudo-chromosomes, accounting for 78.8% of the assembled genome size. About 88.31% of them (793 scaffolds) were directionally anchored with two or more markers on the pseudo-chromosomes. Furthermore, the errors in each pseudo-chromosome (especially 1, 5, 7 and 11) were manually corrected and pseudo-chromosomes 1, 5 and 7 were extended by adding 19, 12 and 14 scaffolds respectively in the newly constructed DS v1.1 genome. Synteny analyses revealed that the DS v1.1 genome had high collinearity with the apple genome, and the homologous fragments between pseudo-chromosomes were similar to those found in previous studies. Moreover, the red-skin trait of Asian pear was mapped to an identical locus as identified previously. CONCLUSIONS: The accuracy of DS v1.1 genome was improved by using larger mapping populations and merged genetic map. With more than 400 MB anchored to 17 pseudo-chromosomes, the new DS v1.1 genome provides a critical tool that is essential for studies of pear genetics, genomics and molecular breeding.

Aripiprazole combination for reversal of paliperidone-induced increase in prolactin level.

Hyperprolactinemia is a common side effect of antipsychotic drugs. Although changes of antipsychotic drugs or reduction of their doses can solve this problem, a modification of the treatment regimen can lead to instability in patients. Herein, we followed up a patient with elevated prolactin caused by paliperidone and found that the prolactin level was decreased after the administration of a combination with a low-dose aripiprazole. In addition, we summarized and analyzed the findings from the case and the literature review conducted.

The genetic locus underlying red foliage and fruit skin traits is mapped to the same location in the two pear bud mutants 'Red Zaosu' and 'Max Red Bartlett'.

BACKGROUND: Red-skinned pears are attractive to consumers because of their aesthetic appeal and the antioxidant-associated health benefits provided by the anthocyanins in their red skin. In China, the 'Red Zaosu' (RZS) red bud mutation of the Zaosu (ZS) pear has been used as a parent in Asian pear breeding to generate new cultivars with crispy red fruit and red tender shoots resembling those of the 'Max Red Bartlett' (MRB) pears. RESULTS: In this study, a segregation ratio of 1:1 was observed between plants with red or green shoots in four families with RZS as the only red shoot gene donor parent, suggesting that the red shoot trait of RZS is associated with a dominant gene. Three markers, In1400-1, In1579-1 and In1579-3, were chosen from 22 pairs of indel primers targeting regions in the vicinity of the previously identified red fruit skin locus of MRB and were able to effectively distinguish the eight red shoot plants from the eight green shoot plants. Linkage analysis indicated that the genetic distance between the two marker loci (In1579-1 and In1579-3) and the red shoot locus of RZS were both 1.4 cM, while the genetic distance between the In1400-1 marker and the red shoot locus was 2.1 cM. The physical position of the red locus in RZS should be in the 368.6 kb candidate interval at the bottom of LG4. CONCLUSIONS: The genetic locus responsible for the red tender shoots of RZS was located in the same interval of the red fruit skin gene of MRB, meaning that the bud mutation loci of RZS and MRB may be the same or adjacent to each other, and the red shoot trait and the red fruit skin trait in RZS may be controlled by the same, or a closely linked locus. As a result, breeders could use red shoots as a morphological marker to select for the red-skinned hybrids from RZS families.

Genome-wide characterization of simple sequence repeats in Pyrus bretschneideri and their application in an analysis of genetic diversity in pear.

BACKGROUND: Pear (Pyrus spp.) is an economically important temperate fruit tree worldwide. In the past decade, significant progress has been made in pear molecular genetics based on DNA research, but the number of molecular markers is still quite limited, which hardly satisfies the increasing needs of geneticists and breeders. RESULTS: In this study, a total of 156,396 simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci were identified from a genome sequence of Pyrus bretschneideri 'Dangshansuli'. A total of 101,694 pairs of SSR primers were designed from the SSR loci, and 80,415 of the SSR loci were successfully located on 17 linkage groups (LGs). A total of 534 primer pairs were synthesized and preliminarily screened in four pear cultivars, and of these, 332 primer pairs were selected as clear, stable, and polymorphic SSR markers. Eighteen polymorphic SSR markers were randomly selected from the 332 polymorphic SSR markers in order to perform a further analysis of the genetic diversity among 44 pear cultivars. The 14 European pears and their hybrid materials were clustered into one group (European pear group); 29 Asian pear cultivars were clustered into one group (Asian pear group); and the Zangli pear cultivar 'Deqinli' from Yunnan Province, China, was grouped in an independent group, which suggested that the cultivar 'Deqinli' is a distinct and valuable germplasm resource. The population structure analysis partitioned the 44 cultivars into two populations, Pop 1 and Pop 2. Pop 2 was further divided into two subpopulations. Results from the population structure analysis were generally consistent with the results from the UPGMA cluster analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study showed that the use of next-generating sequencing to develop SSR markers is fast and effective, and the developed SSR markers can be utilized by researchers and breeders for future pear improvement.

Identification of candidate genes involved in the sugar metabolism and accumulation during pear fruit post-harvest ripening of 'Red Clapp's Favorite' (Pyrus communis L.) by transcriptome analysis.

BACKGROUND: Pear (Pyrus spp.) is a popular fruit that is commercially cultivated in most temperate regions. In fruits, sugar metabolism and accumulation are important factors for fruit organoleptic quality. Post-harvest ripening is a special feature of 'Red Clapp's Favorite'. RESULTS: In this study, transcriptome sequencing based on the Illumina platform generated 23.8 - 35.8 million unigenes of nine cDNA libraries constructed using RNAs from the 'Red Clapp's Favorite' pear variety with different treatments, in which 2629 new genes were discovered, and 2121 of them were annotated. A total of 2146 DEGs, 3650 DEGs, 1830 DEGs from each comparison were assembled. Moreover, the gene expression patterns of 8 unigenes related to sugar metabolism revealed by qPCR. The main constituents of soluble sugars were fructose and glucose after pear fruit post-harvest ripening, and five unigenes involved in sugar metabolism were discovered. CONCLUSIONS: Our study not only provides a large-scale assessment of transcriptome resources of 'Red Clapp's Favorite' but also lays the foundation for further research into genes correlated with sugar metabolism.

Interval mapping for red/green skin color in Asian pears using a modified QTL-seq method.

Pears with red skin are attractive to consumers and provide additional health benefits. Identification of the gene(s) responsible for skin coloration can benefit cultivar selection and breeding. The use of QTL-seq, a bulked segregant analysis method, can be problematic when heterozygous parents are involved. The present study modified the QTL-seq method by introducing a |Δ(SNP-index)| parameter to improve the accuracy of mapping the red skin trait in a group of highly heterozygous Asian pears. The analyses were based on mixed DNA pools composed of 28 red-skinned and 27 green-skinned pear lines derived from a cross between the 'Mantianhong' and 'Hongxiangsu' red-skinned cultivars. The 'Dangshansuli' cultivar genome was used as reference for sequence alignment. An average single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) index was calculated using a sliding window approach (200-kb windows, 20-kb increments). Nine scaffolds within the candidate QTL interval were in the fifth linkage group from 111.9 to 177.1 cM. There was a significant linkage between the insertions/deletions and simple sequence repeat markers designed from the candidate intervals and the red/green skin (R/G) locus, which was in a 582.5-kb candidate interval that contained 81 predicted protein-coding gene models and was composed of two subintervals at the bottom of the fifth chromosome. The ZFRI 130-16, In2130-12 and In2130-16 markers located near the R/G locus could potentially be used to identify the red skin trait in Asian pear populations. This study provides new insights into the genetics controlling the red skin phenotype in this fruit.

Probiotics administered intravaginally as a complementary therapy combined with antibiotics for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis: a systematic review protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a highly prevalent vaginal polymicrobial disorder commonly encountered in women of childbearing age. Therapy with only recommended antibiotics results in low cure rates and unacceptably high recurrence rates. The use of probiotics as a complementary approach for use with antibiotics for the treatment of BV remains unclear. This review aims to assess the efficacy of lactobacilli administered intravaginally in conjunction with antibiotics for the treatment of BV. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials in The Cochrane Library, Cochrane Library of Systematic Reviews, Medline/PubMed and Embase will be used to search for articles from database inception to November 2016. Randomised controlled clinical trials using lactobacilli administered intravaginally in conjunction with antibiotics to treat BV will be included. Primary outcome will be the BV cure rate. The recurrence rate will be examined as secondary outcome. Two reviewers will independently select trials and extract data from the original publications. The risk of bias will be assessed according to the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. We will perform data synthesis using the Review Manager (RevMan) software V.5.2.3. To assess heterogeneity, we will compute the I2 statistic. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study will be a review of published data and it is not necessary to obtain ethical approval. Findings of this systematic review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews 2014: CRD42014015079.

Electrostatic-Interaction-Assisted Construction of 3D Networks of Manganese Dioxide Nanosheets for Flexible High-Performance Solid-State Asymmetric Supercapacitors.

A three-dimensional (3D) macroscopic network of manganese oxide (MnO2) sheets was synthesized by an easily scalable solution approach, grafting the negatively charged surfaces of the MnO2 sheets with an aniline monomer by electrostatic interactions followed by a quick chemical oxidizing polymerization reaction. The obtained structure possessed MnO2 sheets interconnected with polyaniline chains, producing a 3D monolith rich in mesopores. The MnO2 sheets had almost all their reactive centers exposed on the electrode surface, and combined with the electron transport highways provided by polyaniline and the shortened diffusion paths provided by the porous structure, the deliberately designed electrode achieved an excellent capacitance of 762 F g-1 at a current of 1 A g-1 and cycling performance with a capacity retention of 90% over 8000 cycles. Furthermore, a flexible asymmetric supercapacitor based on the constructed electrode and activated carbon serving as the positive and negative electrodes, respectively, was successfully fabricated, delivering a maximum energy density of 40.2 Wh kg-1 (0.113 Wh cm-2) and power density of 6227.0 W kg-1 (17.44 W cm-2) in a potential window of 0-1.7 V in a PVA/Na2SO4 gel electrolyte.

Chromosome instability drives phenotypic switching to metastasis.

Chromosome instability (CIN) is the most striking feature of human cancers. However, how CIN drives tumor progression to metastasis remains elusive. Here we studied the role of chromosome content changes in generating the phenotypic dynamics that are required for metastasis. We isolated epithelial and mesenchymal clones from human carcinoma cell lines and showed that the epithelial clones were able to generate mesenchymal variants, which had the potential to further produce epithelial revertants autonomously. The successive acquisition of invasive mesenchymal and then epithelial phenotypes recapitulated the steps in tumor progression to metastasis. Importantly, the generation of mesenchymal variants from clonal epithelial populations was associated with subtle changes in chromosome content, which altered the chromosome transcriptome and influenced the expression of genes encoding intercellular junction (IJ) proteins, whereas the loss of chromosome 10p, which harbors the ZEB1 gene, was frequently detected in epithelial variants generated from mesenchymal clones. Knocking down these IJ genes in epithelial cells induced a mesenchymal phenotype, whereas knocking down the ZEB1 gene in mesenchymal cells induced an epithelial phenotype, demonstrating a causal role of chromosome content changes in phenotypic determination. Thus, our studies suggest a paradigm of tumor metastasis: primary epithelial carcinoma cells that lose chromosomes harboring IJ genes acquire an invasive mesenchymal phenotype, and subsequent chromosome content changes such as loss of 10p in disseminated mesenchymal cells generate epithelial variants, which can be selected for to generate epithelial tumors during metastatic colonization.