Transcription factor CgSte12 regulates pathogenicity by affecting appressorium structural development in the anthracnose-causing fungus Colletotrichum gloeosporioides.

Colletotrichum gloeosporioides is the causal agent of poplar anthracnose, which induces major economic losses and adversely affects the ecosystem services of poplar forests. The appressorium serves as a penetration structure for many pathogenic fungi, including C. gloeosporioides. The production of mucilage and the formation of penetration pegs are critically important for the appressorium-mediated penetration of host tissues. We previously found that CgPmk1 is a key protein involved in appressorium formation, penetration, and pathogenicity. Although CgSte12, which is a transcription factor that functions downstream of CgPmk1, regulates the formation of penetration pegs, its role in C. gloeosporioides appressorium development and pathogenicity has not been elucidated. Here, we developed C. gloeosporioides CgSTE12 mutants and characterized the molecular and cellular functions of CgSTE12. The results showed that mycelial growth and morphology were not affected in the CgSTE12 knockout mutants, which produced normal melanized appressoria. However, these mutants had less mucilage secreted around the appressoria, impaired appressorial cone formation, and the inability to form penetration pores and pegs, which ultimately led to a significant loss of pathogenicity. Our comparative transcriptome analysis revealed that CgSte12 controls the expression of genes involved in appressorium development and function, including genes encoding cutinases, NADPH oxidase, spermine biosynthesis-related proteins, ceramide biosynthesis-related proteins, fatty acid metabolism-related proteins, and glycerophospholipid metabolism-related proteins. Overall, our findings indicate that CgSte12 is a critical regulator of appressorium development and affects C. gloeosporioides pathogenicity by modulating the structural integrity of appressoria.

Assessing cognitive impairment in home-dwelling Chinese elders aged 80+: a detailed survey of 13,000 participants focusing on demographic factors, social engagement, and disease prevalence.

Introduction: Cognitive Impairment (CI) in the elderly, encompassing conditions ranging from Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) to dementia, represents a growing public health concern globally. This study aims to investigate the prevalence and correlates of CI among individuals aged 80 and above. Methods: The study conducts 13,027 elderly individual's door-to-door surveys, followed by the cross-tabulation of analysis data, logistic regression analysis, and health condition assessments to examine various determinants of CI. Results: The current study's key findings demonstrate sub-statical correlations between CI and various factors, including educational attainment, marital status, and gender. Pronounced differences are evident between urban and rural demographics. Furthermore, aspects of social engagement, notably communication proficiency and sensory capabilities, exhibit a strong association with CI. Logistic regression analysis highlights that residing in rural areas (Odds Ratio [OR] = 0.637) and being female (OR = 0.71) are linked to a decreased risk of CI. In contrast, behavioral and health-related variables present a complex picture. Specifically, aggressive behavior (Adjusted OR = 1.881) and symptoms of depression (Adjusted OR = 0.549) contrast with conditions such as asthma (OR= 2.857) and cerebral infarction (OR=1.348), which elevate the risk of CI. Intriguingly, hyperlipidemia (OR= 0.671) appears to confer a protective effect against CI. Conclusion: The study highlights the complexity of factors affecting CI in the elderly, advocating for a comprehensive approach to understanding and managing cognitive health.

Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals the importance of phenylpropanoid biosynthesis for the induced resistance of 84K poplar to anthracnose.

BACKGROUND: Poplar anthracnose, which is one of the most important tree diseases, is primarily caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, which has been detected in poplar plantations in China and is responsible for serious economic losses. The characteristics of 84K poplar that have made it one of the typical woody model plants used for investigating stress resistance include its rapid growth, simple reproduction, and adaptability. RESULTS: In this study, we found that the resistance of 84K poplar to anthracnose varied considerably depending on how the samples were inoculated of the two seedlings in each tissue culture bottle, one (84K-Cg) was inoculated for 6 days, whereas the 84K-DCg samples were another seedling inoculated at the 6th day and incubated for another 6 days under the same conditions. It was showed that the average anthracnose spot diameter on 84K-Cg and 84K-DCg leaves was 1.23 ± 0.0577 cm and 0.67 ± 0.1154 cm, respectively. Based on the transcriptome sequencing analysis, it was indicated that the upregulated phenylpropanoid biosynthesis-related genes in 84K poplar infected with C. gloeosporioides, including genes encoding PAL, C4H, 4CL, HCT, CCR, COMT, F5H, and CAD, are also involved in other KEGG pathways (i.e., flavonoid biosynthesis and phenylalanine metabolism). The expression levels of these genes were lowest in 84K-Cg and highest in 84K-DCg. CONCLUSIONS: It was found that PAL-related genes may be crucial for the induced resistance of 84K poplar to anthracnose, which enriched in the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis. These results will provide the basis for future research conducted to verify the contribution of phenylpropanoid biosynthesis to induced resistance and explore plant immune resistance-related signals that may regulate plant defense capabilities, which may provide valuable insights relevant to the development of effective and environmentally friendly methods for controlling poplar anthracnose.

Overexpression of cry1c* Enhances Resistance against to Soybean Pod Borer (Leguminivora glycinivorella) in Soybean.

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], an essential staple food and oil crop worldwide, boasts abundant vegetable proteins and fats beneficial for both human and animal consumption. However, the soybean pod borer (Leguminivora glycinivorella) (SPB) stands as the most destructive soybean insect pest in northeast China and other northeastern Asian regions, leading to significant annual losses in soybean yield and economic burden. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the introduction of a previously tested codon-optimized cry1c gene, cry1c*, into the soybean genome and assess its effect on the SPB infestation by generating and characterizing stable transgenic soybeans overexpressing cry1c*. The transgenic soybean lines that constitutively overexpressed cry1c* exhibited a significant reduction in the percentage of damaged seeds, reaching as low as 5% in plants under field conditions. Additionally, feeding transgenic leaves to the larvae of S. exigua, S. litura, and M. separta resulted in inhibited larval growth, decreased larval body weight, and lower survival rates compared to larvae fed on wild-type leaves. These findings showed that the transgenic lines maintained their resistance to SPB and other lepidopteran pests, especially the transgenic line KC1. Southern blotting and genome-wide resequencing analysis revealed that T-DNA integration occurred as a single copy between loci 50,868,122 and 50,868,123 of chromosome 10 in the transgenic line KC1. Therefore, the transgenic line KC1, overexpressing high levels of cry1c* in leaves and seeds, holds strong potential for commercial use in the integrated management of SPB and other lepidopteran pests.

Immune to temperature interference sensor of carbon dioxide gas concentration based on a single modified fiber Bragg grating.

In this study, a novel method that can detect carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration and realize temperature immunity based on only one fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is proposed. The outstanding contribution lies in solving the temperature crosstalk issue of FBG and ensuring the accuracy of detection results under the condition of anti-temperature interference. To achieve immunity to temperature interference without changing the initial structure of FBG, the optical fiber cladding of FBG and adjacent optical fiber cladding at both ends of FBG are modified by a polymer coating. Moreover, a universal immune temperature demodulation algorithm is derived. The experimental results demonstrate that the temperature response sensitivity of the improved FBG is controlled within the range of 0.00407 nm/°C. Compared with the initial FBG (the temperature sensitivity of the initial FBG is 0.04 nm/°C), it decreases by nearly 10 times. Besides, the gas response sensitivity of FBG reaches 1.6 pm/ppm and has overwhelmingly ideal linearity. The detection error results manifest that the gas concentration error in 20 groups of data does not exceed 3.16 ppm. The final reproducibility research shows that the difference in detection sensitivity between the two sensors is 0.08 pm/ppm, and the relative error of linearity is 1.07%. In a word, the proposed method can accurately detect the concentration of CO2 gas and is efficiently immune to temperature interference. The sensor we proposed has the advantages of a simple production process, low cost, and satisfactory reproducibility. It also has the prospect of mass production.

New Barrier Role of Iron Plaque: Producing Interfacial Hydroxyl Radicals to Degrade Rhizosphere Pollutants.

Iron plaque, as a natural barrier between rice and soil, can reduce the accumulation of pollutants in rice by adsorption, contributing to the safe production of rice in contaminated soil. In this study, we unveiled a new role of iron plaque, i.e., producing hydroxyl radicals (·OH) by activating root-secreted oxygen to degrade pollutants. The ·OH was produced on the iron plaque surface and then diffused to the interfacial layer between the surface and the rhizosphere environment. The iron plaque activated oxygen via a successive three-electron transfer to produce ·OH, involving superoxide and hydrogen peroxide as the intermediates. The structural Fe(II) in iron plaque played a dominant role in activating oxygen rather than the adsorbed Fe(II), since the structural Fe(II) was thermodynamically more favorable for oxygen activation. The oxygen vacancies accompanied by the structural Fe(II) played an important role in oxygen activation to produce ·OH. The interfacial ·OH selectively degraded rhizosphere pollutants that could be adsorbed onto the iron plaque and was less affected by the rhizosphere environments than the free ·OH. This study uncovered the oxidative role of iron plaque mediated by its produced ·OH, reshaping our understanding of the role of iron plaque as a barrier for rice.

Gene Family Expansion during the Adaptation of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides to Woody Plants.

Gene gains/losses during evolution are critical for the adaptation of organisms to new environments or hosts. However, it remains unknown whether gene family expansions facilitated the adaptation of phytopathogenic fungi to woody plants. In this study, we compared the newly sequenced genome of the Colletotrichum gloeosporioides strain CFCC80308 with the genomes of two other C. gloeosporioides strains, Cg-14 and Lc-1, isolated from Persea americana and Liriodendron leaves, respectively. The genes in the expanded families, which were associated with plant surface signal recognition, encoded various proteins, including glycosyde hydrolases (GHs) and cytochrome P450. Interestingly, there was a substantial increase in the number of GH family genes in CFCC80308. Specifically, there were 368 enriched genes in the GH families (e.g., GH1, GH3, GH10, GH12, GH15, GH16, GH17, GH18, GH25, GH32, GH53, GH61, GH76, and GH81); the expression levels of these genes were highly up-regulated during the infection of poplar trees. Additionally, the GH17 family was larger in CFCC80308 than in C. gloeosporioides strains Cg-14 and Lc-1. Furthermore, the expansion of the MP65-encoding gene family during the adaptation of Colletotrichum species to woody plants was consistent with the importance of gene gains/losses for the adaptation of organisms to their environments. This study has clarified how C. gloeosporioides adapted to woody plants during evolution.

Dynamics of cis-regulatory sequences and transcriptional divergence of duplicated genes in soybean.

Transcriptional divergence of duplicated genes after whole genome duplication (WGD) has been described in many plant lineages and is often associated with subgenome dominance, a genome-wide mechanism. However, it is unknown what underlies the transcriptional divergence of duplicated genes in polyploid species that lack subgenome dominance. Soybean is a paleotetraploid with a WGD that occurred 5 to 13 Mya. Approximately 50% of the duplicated genes retained from this WGD exhibit transcriptional divergence. We developed accessible chromatin region (ACR) datasets from leaf, flower, and seed tissues using MNase-hypersensitivity sequencing. We validated enhancer function of several ACRs associated with known genes using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing. The ACR datasets were used to examine and correlate the transcriptional patterns of 17,111 pairs of duplicated genes in different tissues. We demonstrate that ACR dynamics are correlated with divergence of both expression level and tissue specificity of individual gene pairs. Gain or loss of flanking ACRs and mutation of cis-regulatory elements (CREs) within the ACRs can change the balance of the expression level and/or tissue specificity of the duplicated genes. Analysis of DNA sequences associated with ACRs revealed that the extensive sequence rearrangement after the WGD reshaped the CRE landscape, which appears to play a key role in the transcriptional divergence of duplicated genes in soybean. This may represent a general mechanism for transcriptional divergence of duplicated genes in polyploids that lack subgenome dominance.

Low Detection Limit and High Sensitivity 2-Butanone Gas Sensor Based on ZnO Nanosheets Decorated by Co Nanoparticles Derived from ZIF-67.

2-butanone has been certified to cause potential harm to the human body, environment, etc. Therefore, achieving a method for the high sensitivity and low limit detection of 2-butanone is of great significance. To achieve this goal, this article uses ZIF-67 prepared by a precipitation method as a cobalt source, and then prepares cobalt-modified zinc oxide nanosheets through a hydrothermal method. The microstructure of the materials was observed by SEM, EDS, TEM, HRTEM, XPS and XRD. The test data display that the sensor ZC2 can produce a high response (2540) to 100 ppm 2-butanone at 270 °C, which is 21 times higher than that of pure ZnO materials. Its detection limit is also optimized to 24 ppb. The sensor (ZC2) also excels in these properties: selectivity, repeatability and stability over 30 days. Further analysis indicates that the synergistic and catalytic effects of p-n heterojunction are the key sources for optimizing the performance of sensors for detecting 2-butanone.

The Overexpression of Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) AhALDH2B6 in Soybean Enhances Cold Resistance.

Soybeans are the main source of oils and protein for humans and animals; however, cold stress jeopardizes their growth and limits the soybean planting area. Aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDH) are conserved enzymes that catalyze aldehyde oxidation for detoxification in response to stress. Additionally, transgenic breeding is an efficient method for producing stress-resistant germplasms. In this study, the peanut ALDH gene AhALDH2B6 was heterologously expressed in soybean, and its function was tested. We performed RNA-seq using transgenic and wild-type soybeans with and without cold treatment to investigate the potential mechanism. Transgenic soybeans developed stronger cold tolerance, with longer roots and taller stems than P3 soybeans. Biochemically, the transgenic soybeans exhibited a decrease in malondialdehyde activity and an increase in peroxidase and catalase content, both of which are indicative of stress alleviation. They also possessed higher levels of ALDH enzyme activity. Two phenylpropanoid-related pathways were specifically enriched in up-regulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including the phenylpropanoid metabolic process and phenylpropanoid biosynthetic process. Our findings suggest that AhALDH2B6 specifically up-regulates genes involved in oxidoreductase-related functions such as peroxidase, oxidoreductase, monooxygenase, and antioxidant activity, which is partially consistent with our biochemical data. These findings established the function of AhALDH2B6, especially its role in cold stress processes, and provided a foundation for molecular plant breeding, especially plant-stress-resistance breeding.

Electronic structure analysis of NiO quantum dot-modified jackfruit-shaped ZnO sensors and sensing properties investigation of their highly sensitive and selective for butyl acetate.

Detection of flammable, explosive and toxic butyl acetate helps to avoid accidents and protect health in industrial production. However, there are few reports on butyl acetate sensors, especially highly sensitive, low detection limit and highly selective ones. In this work, density functional theory (DFT) analyzes the electronic structure of sensing materials and the adsorption energy of butyl acetate. The effects of Ni element doping, oxygen vacancy constructions, and NiO quantum dot modifications on the modulation of the electronic structure of ZnO and on the adsorption energy of butyl acetate are investigated in detail. Based on the DFT analysis, the NiO quantum dot modified jackfruit-shaped ZnO is synthesized via thermal solvent method reduction. The NiO/ZnO sensor has a response 502.5 for 100 ppm butyl acetate with 100 ppb detection limit, and the response for 100 ppm butyl acetate is at least 6.2 times higher than 100 ppm methanol, 100 ppm benzene, 100 ppm triethylamine, 100 ppm isopropanol, 100 ppm ethyl acetate and 100 ppm formic acid. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) explores the change of oxygen vacancies in sensor accompanied with the addition of Ni element and reveales the reason for the change of oxygen vacancies.

Highly Selective and ppb-Level Butanone Sensors Based on SnO2/NiO Heterojunction-Modified ZnO Nanosheets with Electron Polarity Transport Properties.

Gas sensors require the construction of composites with high reactivity to reduce the detection limit, but this can lead to a broad-spectrum response between the adsorbed oxygen and the target gas, making it difficult to improve selectivity. In this study, the phenomenon of electron polar transport properties of the two-dimensional heterojunction material is first discovered in gas sensing and utilized to greatly improve the selectivity of butanone sensors. Ultra-thin porous ZnO nanosheets modified with SnO2/NiO heterogeneous particles are synthesized to achieve 20 ppb detection limits for butanone with a response of 328 to 100 ppm butanone, which is the lowest known detection limit. The combination of reaction kinetics and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry reveals a good synergistic catalytic effect of SnO2/NiO heterogeneous particles, which may contribute to the high response and low detection limit of butanone. Finally, the possible mechanism for the generation of electron polar transport phenomenon is analyzed in the two-dimensional heterojunction material. This work provides a novel perspective for achieving both selectivity and detection limits in gas sensors, with universal applicability and application potential.

Effects of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Poplar Secondary Metabolites on the Composition of Poplar Phyllosphere Microbial Communities.

Poplar anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides is a common disease affecting poplars globally that causes the destruction and alteration of poplar phyllosphere microbial communities; however, few studies have investigated these communities. Therefore, in this study, three species of poplar with different resistances were investigated to explore the effects of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and poplar secondary metabolites on the composition of poplar phyllosphere microbial communities. Evaluation of the phyllosphere microbial communities before and after inoculation of the poplars with C. gloeosporioides revealed that both bacterial and fungal OTUs decreased after inoculation. Among bacteria, the most abundant genera were Bacillus, Plesiomonas, Pseudomonas, Rhizobium, Cetobacterium, Streptococcus, Massilia, and Shigella for all poplar species. Among fungi, the most abundant genera before inoculation were Cladosporium, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Mortierella, and Colletotrichum, while Colletotrichum was the main genus after inoculation. The inoculation of pathogens may regulate the phyllosphere microorganisms by affecting the secondary metabolites of plants. We investigated metabolite contents in the phyllosphere before and after the inoculation of the three poplar species, as well as the effects of flavonoids, organic acids, coumarins, and indoles on poplar phyllosphere microbial communities. We speculated that coumarin had the greatest recruitment effect on phyllosphere microorganisms, followed by organic acids through regression analysis. Overall, our results provide a foundation for subsequent screening of antagonistic bacteria and fungi against poplar anthracnose and investigations of the mechanism by which poplar phyllosphere microorganisms are recruited. IMPORTANCE Our findings revealed that the inoculation of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides has a greater effect on the fungal community than the bacterial community. In addition, coumarins, organic acids, and flavonoids may have recruitment effects on phyllosphere microorganisms, while indoles may have inhibitory effects on these organisms. These findings may provide the theoretical basis for the prevention and control of poplar anthracnose.

Comparative Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Effect of the DHN Melanin Biosynthesis Pathway on the Appressorium Turgor Pressure of the Poplar Anthracnose-Causing Fungus Colletotrichum gloeosporioides.

Anthracnose of poplar caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides is a leaf disease that seriously affects poplar growth. The pathogen invades the host in the form of adherent cells, which generate turgor pressure through the metabolism of intracellular substances prior to penetrating the epidermis of poplar leaves. In this study, the expansion-related pressure of the mature appressorium of the wild-type C. gloeosporioides was approximately 13.02 ± 1.54 MPa at 12 h, whereas it was 7.34 ± 1.23 MPa and 9.34 ± 2.22 MPa in the melanin synthesis-related gene knockout mutants ΔCgCmr1 and ΔCgPks1, respectively. The CgCmr1 and CgPks1 genes were highly expressed at 12 h in the wild-type control, implying that the DHN melanin biosynthesis pathway may play an important role in the mature appressorium stage. The transcriptome sequencing analysis indicated that the upregulated melanin biosynthesis genes in C. gloeosporioides, such as CgScd1, CgAyg1, CgThr1, CgThr2, and CgLac1, are involved in specific KEGG pathways (i.e., fatty acid biosynthesis, fatty acid metabolism, and biotin metabolism). Therefore, we speculate that the melanin synthesis-related genes and fatty acid metabolism pathway genes contribute to the regulation of the turgor pressure in the mature C. gloeosporioides appressorium, ultimately leading to the formation of infection pegs that enter plant tissues. These observations may reflect the co-evolution of C. gloeosporioides and its host.

Overexpression of the aldehyde dehydrogenase AhALDH3H1 from Arachis hypogaea in soybean increases saline-alkali stress tolerance.

Soybean production is severely hampered by saline-alkaline stress caused by saline-alkalization. Plants have aldehydrogenase (ALDH) family members that convert reactive aldehydes to carboxylic acids to remove active aldehyde molecules. However, little is known about the increased saline-alkali tolerance caused by the ALDH function in soybean. Here, we introduced a previously identified ALDH coding gene AhALDH3H1 from Arachis hypogaea into the soybean genome to investigate its critical role in response to saline-alkali stress. Transgenic soybean with increased aldehyde dehydrogenase activity showed significant tolerance to saline-alkali stress. It reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) content compared to its receptor, suggesting that over-expression of AhALDH3H1 accelerated soybean tolerance to saline-alkali stress by increasing aldehyde dehydrogenase activity, which is responsible for scavenging toxic MDA. To further analyze the inner mechanisms that allow transgenic plants to tolerate saline-alkali stress, we sequenced the transcriptome and metabolome of P3 (wild type, WT) and transgenic lines which were separately treated with water and a saline-alkali solution. When subjected to saline-alkali stress, the integrated analysis of the transcriptome and metabolome suggested that several genes related to cell wall structure crucial for preserving cell wall extensibility and plasticity were largely responsible for restoring homeostasis within the transgenic cells compared to WT. Metabolites, including both necessary ingredients for cell wall genesis and harmful production produced during the saline-alkali stress response, could be transported efficiently with the help of the ABC transporter, reducing the negative effects of saline-alkali stress. These findings suggest that introducing AhALDH3H1 increases transgenic soybean tolerance to saline-alkali stress may through cell wall structure maintenance and metabolites transport.

Lineage tracing reveals clonal progenitors and long-term persistence of tumor-specific T cells during immune checkpoint blockade.

Paired single-cell RNA and T cell receptor sequencing (scRNA/TCR-seq) has allowed for enhanced resolution of clonal T cell dynamics in cancer. Here, we report a scRNA/TCR-seq analysis of 187,650 T cells from 31 tissue regions, including tumor, adjacent normal tissues, and lymph nodes (LN), from three patients with non-small cell lung cancer after immune checkpoint blockade (ICB). Regions with viable cancer cells are enriched for exhausted CD8+ T cells, regulatory CD4+ T cells (Treg), and follicular helper CD4+ T cells (TFH). Tracking T cell clonotypes across tissues, combined with neoantigen specificity assays, reveals that TFH and tumor-specific exhausted CD8+ T cells are clonally linked to TCF7+SELL+ progenitors in tumor draining LNs, and progressive exhaustion trajectories of CD8+ T, Treg, and TFH cells with proximity to the tumor microenvironment. Finally, longitudinal tracking of tumor-specific CD8+ and CD4+ T cell clones reveals persistence in the peripheral blood for years after ICB therapy.

Pollutants removal, microbial community shift and oleic acid production in symbiotic microalgae-bacteria system.

The functional interaction between microorganisms is key in symbiotic microalga-bacteria systems; however, evaluations of fungi and pathogenic microorganisms are not clear. In this study, the roles of three groups (i.e., microalgae-activated sludge (MAS), Microalgae, and activated sludge) in pollutant removal and biomass recovery were comparatively studied. The data implied that microalgal assimilation and bacterial heterotrophic degradation were the major approaches for degradation of nutrients and organic matter, respectively. According to 16S rRNA and internal transcribed spacer sequencing, the relative abundance of Rhodotorula increased remarkably, favoring nutrient exchange between the microalgae and bacteria. The abundances of two types of pathogenic genes (human pathogens and animal parasites) were reduced in the MAS system. The oleic acid content in the MAS system (51.2 mg/g) was 1.7 times higher than that in the Microalgae system. The results can provide a basis for practical application and resource utilization of symbiotic microalgae-bacteria systems.

Effects of long-term zinc smelting activities on the distribution and health risk of heavy metals in agricultural soils of Guizhou province, China.

To assess the effect of zinc smelting on environment and human health, the concentration, distribution, sources and health risk of eight heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Cr, Ni, Mn, and As) were investigated from agricultural soils in a long-term Zn smelting area in Guizhou, China. Different health risk assessment methods and models were used to access health risks. The results show that the concentrations of all the eight heavy metals were significantly higher than their corresponding background values (p < 0.05). Pb, Cd, and As were the most contaminated elements, with 93.6%, 90.3% and 48.4% of agricultural soil samples higher than the risk screening values, respectively. Statistical analysis indicated that Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Mn, and As could be mainly accounted for Zn smelting activities, while Cr and Ni may be generally more controlled by natural sources. The geo-accumulation index (Igeo) suggested that the most seriously contaminating heavy metals were Pb, Cd, and Zn, with 96.8%, 90.3%, and 96.8%, respectively, of the soil samples classified as moderately to extremely contaminated. The non-carcinogenic health risk associated with Pb, Cd and As were observed for children, meanwhile, the carcinogenic risk due to As was found for both adults and children. Regardless of cancer risk or non-cancer risk, local children are at greater risk than adults. Therefore, Pb, Cd and As play the leading role to cause potential health risks in the study area, which need to be paid more attention and also effective control measures should be taken.

Effectiveness of mHealth management with an implantable glucose sensor and a mobile application among Chinese adults with type 2 diabetes.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of mHealth management with an implantable glucose sensor and a mobile application among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in China. METHODS: A randomised controlled trial was carried out to compare the effectiveness of usual health management to mHealth management based on a model that consisted of the network platform, an implantable glucose sensor and a mobile app featuring guidance from general practitioners (GPs) over a four-week period. Patients (N=68) with T2DM were randomly divided into an intervention group and a control group. Before the intervention, there was no difference in body mass index (BMI), fasting blood glucose (FBG), postprandial two-hour blood glucose (2hPG) and glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) between the intervention group and the control group (p>0.05). Patients in the control group received their usual health management, while patients in the intervention group received mHealth management. RESULTS: After health management, the mean BMI, FBG, 2hPG and HbA1c of the intervention group patients were all lower than those of the control group patients (p < 0.05), and the quality of life and self-management of the intervention group patients had significantly improved. DISCUSSION: mHealth management effectively showed significant reductions in BMI, FBG, 2hPG and HbA1c and improved quality of life and self-management among patients, which may be related to real-time feedback from an implantable glucose sensor and guidance from GPs through a mobile app. mHealth management is a very promising way to promote the health management of T2DM in China, and this study provides a point of reference for mHealth management abroad.

Identification and functional validation of super-enhancers in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Super-enhancers (SEs) are exceptionally large enhancers and are recognized to play prominent roles in cell identity in mammalian species. We surveyed the genomic regions containing large clusters of accessible chromatin regions (ACRs) marked by deoxyribonuclease (DNase) I hypersensitivity in Arabidopsis thaliana. We identified a set of 749 putative SEs, which have a minimum length of 1.5 kilobases and represent the top 2.5% of the largest ACR clusters. We demonstrate that the genomic regions associating with these SEs were more sensitive to DNase I than other nonpromoter ACRs. The SEs were preferentially associated with topologically associating domains. Furthermore, the SEs and their predicted cognate genes were frequently associated with organ development and tissue identity in A. thaliana. Therefore, the A. thaliana SEs and their cognate genes mirror the functional characteristics of those reported in mammalian species. We developed CRISPR/Cas-mediated deletion lines of a 3,578-bp SE associated with the thalianol biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC). Small deletions (131-157 bp) within the SE resulted in distinct phenotypic changes and transcriptional repression of all five thalianol genes. In addition, T-DNA insertions in the SE region resulted in transcriptional alteration of all five thalianol genes. Thus, this SE appears to play a central role in coordinating the operon-like expression pattern of the thalianol BGC.