Exploring mycorrhizal diversity in sympatric mycoheterotrophic plants: a comparative study of Monotropastrum humile var. humile and M. humile var. glaberrimum.

Mycoheterotrophic plants (MHPs) rely on their mycorrhizal fungus for carbon and nutrient supply, thus a shift in mycobionts may play a crucial role in speciation. This study aims to explore the mycorrhizal diversity of two closely related and sympatric fully MHPs, Monotropastrum humile var. humile (Mhh) and M. humile var. glaberrimum (Mhg), and determine their mycorrhizal associations. A total of 1,108,710 and 1,119,071 ectomycorrhizal fungal reads were obtained from 31 Mhh and 31 Mhg, and these were finally assigned to 227 and 202 operational taxonomic units, respectively. Results show that sympatric Mhh and Mhg are predominantly associated with different fungal genera in Russulaceae. Mhh is consistently associated with members of Russula, whereas Mhg is associated with members of Lactarius. Associating with different mycobionts and limited sharing of fungal partners might reduce the competition and contribute to their coexistence. The ectomycorrhizal fungal communities are significantly different among the five forests in both Mhh and Mhg. The distinct mycorrhizal specificity between Mhh and Mhg suggests the possibility of different mycobionts triggered ecological speciation between sympatric species.

Factors associated with perceived cognitive function in breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy: A multicenter cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with perceived cognitive function among breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy in China. METHODS: The study was a multicenter cross-sectional design. Data were collected from 10 public hospitals in China between April 2022 and February 2023. A total of 741 participants completed questionnaires assessing sociodemographic and medical characteristics, perceived cognitive function, sleep quality, fatigue, anxiety, and depression. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to assess the determinants of cognitive function. RESULTS: The hierarchical multiple regression model accounted for 31.5% of variation in perceived cognitive function (sociodemographic 4.5%; medical 6.6%; exercise frequency 6.6%; sleep quality 2.1%; fatigue 2.8%; anxiety combined with depression 9.0%). Education level, chemotherapy type, number of chemotherapy cycles, and cyclophosphamide drug use were significant predisposing factors of perceived cognitive function (p < 0.001). Exercising ≥3 times/week (p < 0.001) was a significant factor positively influencing perceived cognitive function, meanwhile, anxiety (p < 0.001) and depression (p < 0 0.001) were negative factors. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that patients with low education levels, postoperative chemotherapy, cyclophosphamide treatment, and a greater number of chemotherapy cycles need more assessment. Sedentary patients, those who have never exercised, and those with anxiety or depression all showed greater cognitive decline. By identifying susceptible populations, encouraging regular exercise, and addressing anxiety and depression, healthcare professionals can contribute significantly to prevent patients' cognitive decline throughout chemotherapy.

Bacteria inhabiting spider webs enhance host silk extensibility.

Spider silk is a promising material with great potential in biomedical applications due to its incredible mechanical properties and resistance to degradation of commercially available bacterial strains. However, little is known about the bacterial communities that may inhabit spider webs and how these microorganisms interact with spider silk. In this study, we exposed two exopolysaccharide-secreting bacteria, isolated from webs of an orb spider, to major ampullate (MA) silk from host spiders. The naturally occurring lipid and glycoprotein surface layers of MA silk were experimentally removed to further probe the interaction between bacteria and silk. Extensibility of major ampullate silk produced by Triconephila clavata that was exposed to either Microbacterium sp. or Novosphigobium sp. was significantly higher than that of silk that was not exposed to bacteria (differed by 58.7%). This strain-enhancing effect was not observed when the lipid and glycoprotein surface layers of MA silks were removed. The presence of exopolysaccharides was detected through NMR from MA silks exposed to these two bacteria but not from those without exposure. Here we report for the first time that exopolysaccharide-secreting bacteria inhabiting spider webs can enhance extensibility of host MA silks and silk surface layers play a vital role in mediating such effects.

Octave soliton microcombs in lithium niobate microresonators.

Soliton microcombs are regarded as an ideal platform for applications such as optical communications, optical sensing, low-noise microwave sources, optical atomic clocks, and frequency synthesizers. Many of these applications require a broad comb spectrum that covers an octave, essential for implementing the f - 2f self-referencing techniques. In this work, we have successfully generated an octave-spanning soliton microcomb based on a z-cut thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) microresonator. This achievement is realized under on-chip optical pumping at 340 mW and through extensive research into the broadening of dual dispersive waves (DWs). Furthermore, the repetition rate of the octave soliton microcomb is accurately measured using an electro-optic comb generated by an x-cut TFLN racetrack microresonator. Our results represent a crucial step toward the realization of practical, integrated, and fully stabilized soliton microcomb systems based on TFLN.

Ki-67 Change in Anthracyline-containing Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Response in Breast Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Anthracycline-containing regimens are irreplaceable in neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for breast cancer (BC) at present. However, 30% of early breast cancer (EBC) patients are resistant to anthracycline-containing chemotherapy, leading to poor prognosis and higher mortality. Ki-67 is associated with the prognosis and response to therapy, and it changes after NAC. METHODS: A total of 105 BC patients who received anthracycline-containing NAC were enrolled. Then, the optimal model of Ki-67 was selected, and its predictive efficacy was analyzed. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to determine the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) status and Ki-67 level. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) was used to verify the HER-2 when the IHC score was 2+. RESULTS: The post-NAC Ki67 level after treatment with anthracycline drugs was lower than pre-NAC Ki-67 (19.6%±23.3% vs. 45.6%±23.1%, P<0.001). Furthermore, patients with the Ki-67 decrease had a border line higher pathological complete response (pCR) rate (17.2% vs. 0.0%, P=0.068), and a higher overall response rate (ORR) (73.6% vs. 27.8%, P<0.001), when compared to patients without the Ki-67 decrease. The ΔKi-67 and ΔKi-67% were valuable markers for the prediction of both the pCR rate and ORR. The area under the curve (AUC) for ΔKi-67 on pCR and ORR was 0.809 (0.698-0.921) and 0.755 (0.655-0.855), respectively, while the AUC for ΔKi-67% on pCR and ORR was 0.857 (0.742-0.972) and 0.720 (0.618-0.822), respectively. Multivariate logistic regression model 1 revealed that ΔKi-67 was an independent predictor for both pCR [odds ratio (OR)=61.030, 95% confidence interval (CI)=4.709-790.965; P=0.002] and ORR (OR=10.001, 95% CI: 3.044-32.858; P<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression model 2 revealed that ΔKi-67% was also an independent predictor for both pCR (OR=408.922, 95% CI=8.908-18771.224; P=0.002) and ORR (OR=5.419, 95% CI=1.842-15.943; P=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: The present study results suggest that ΔKi67 and ΔKi67% are candidate predictors for anthracycline-containing NAC response, and that they may provide various information for further systematic therapy after surgery in clinical practice.

Regulation of Fluorescence and Self-assembly of a Salicylaldehyde Azine-Containing Amphiphile by Pillararene.

Regulation of fluorescence and self-assembly of a salicylaldehyde azine-containing amphiphile by a water-soluble pillar[5]arene via host-guest recognition in water was realized. The fluorescence and the self-assembled aggregates of the bola-type amphiphile G can be tailored by adding different amounts of water-soluble pillar[5]arene (WP5). In addition, the emission property and self-assembly behavior of G and WP5 are responsive to pH conditions. Furthermore, the fluorescence emission property of G and the regulation by WP5 or pH conditions was applied as information encryption material, rewritable paper, and erasable ink. We believe that this fluorescence regulation strategy is promising for the construction of advanced fluorescent organic materials.

Fluorescence color change of supramolecular polymer networks controlled by crown ether-cation recognition.

We report a fluorescent supramolecular polymer networks (SPNs) system based on crown ether-cation recognition. The polymer side chains bear ammonium cations, which can be recognized by host molecules with a B15C5 unit and a quinoline group at each end. The quinoline group makes the host molecule exhibit blue fluorescence. After the formation of SPNs, the recognition of the crown ether-cation transforms the blue fluorescence into yellow fluorescence. The accompanying fluorescence color change during the formation of SPNs makes it with potential applications in the fields of display, printing, information storage, and bioimaging.

A supramolecular polymer network constructed using a pillararene-based multi-functional monomer and its application as a rewritable fluorescent paper.

A simple and mild stimulus-responsive fluorescent supramolecular polymer network was constructed from a pillararene-based multi-functional monomer through multiple noncovalent interactions and used as a rewritable paper.

Self-Luminescent Drug Delivery Vehicle: Synthesis, Self-Assembly Behavior, Cysteine-Responsive Property, and Application in the Visualization of Drug Release.

Targeted drug delivery systems have gained great attention from the chemistry and biomedical fields in recent years due to the minimized harm to normal cells. When designing targeted drug delivery systems, the property of harmlessness to normal cells and the tracking ability of the whole process are quite crucial. These two characters can be brought into the related systems by applying a drug carrier that is self-luminescent and its drug release can be induced by the microenvironment of cancer cells. Therefore, the design and synthesis of drug delivery vehicles are significant for the fabrication of target drug delivery systems. Herein, we have synthesized a cysteine-responsive and fluorescent molecule, maleic acid-modified tetraphenylethylene derivative (MATPE), by a facile method. In addition, a drug delivery system with self-luminescence and cysteine-responsiveness based on the self-assembly of MATPE was fabricated. In this system, MATPE and cysteine both played dual roles as cysteine probe/drug carrier and emission-enhanced inducement/drug-release stimulus. The drug-release process was successfully realized in cancer cells and can be visualized, exhibiting great potential in the field of theranostics.

Cloning and functional study of GmRPI2, which is the critical gene of photosynthesis in soybean.

Light provides energy for photosynthesis and is also an important environmental signal that regulates plant growth and development. Ribose-5-phosphate isomerase plays a crucial role in photosynthesis. However, ribose-5-phosphate isomerase has yet to be studied in soybean photosynthesis. To understand the biological function of GmRPI2, in this study, GmRPI2 was cloned, plant overexpression vectors and gene editing vectors were successfully constructed, and transformed into recipient soybean JN74 using the Agrobacterium-mediated method. Using qRT-PCR, we analyzed that GmRPI2 gene expression was highest in leaves, second highest in roots, and lowest in stems. Promoter analysis revealed the presence of multiple cis-acting elements related to light response in the promoter region of GmRPI2. Compared with the control soybean plants, the net photosynthetic rate and transpiration rate of the overexpression lines were higher than those of the control and gene editing lines, while the intercellular CO2 concentration was significantly lower than that of the control and gene editing lines; the total chlorophyll, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b contents and soluble sugar contents of the overexpression plants were significantly higher than those of the recipient and editing plants, indicating that the GmRPI2 gene can increase The GmRPI2 gene can increase the photosynthetic capacity of soybean plants, providing a theoretical basis and genetic resources for improving soybean yield by regulating photosynthetic efficiency.

Enhancement of root sulfur metabolic pathway by overexpression of OAS-TL3 to increase total soybean seed protein content.

Sulfur is essential for plant growth, and the uptake of sulfate by plant roots is the primary source of plant sulfur. Previous studies have shown that the OAS-TL gene is a key enzyme in the sulfur metabolic pathway and regulates cysteine (Cys) synthase production. However, the interaction mechanism of the glycine max OAS-TL3 Cys synthase (OAS-TL3) gene on soybean root morphology construction and seed protein accumulation is unclear. This study shows that mutant M18 has better root growth and development, higher seed protein content, and higher methionine (Met) content in sulfur-containing amino acids than wild-type JN18. By transcriptome sequencing, the differentially expressed OAS-TL3 gene was targeted in the mutant M18 root line. The relative expression of the OAS-TL3 gene in roots, stems, and leaves during the seedling, flowering, and bulking stages of the OAS-TL3 gene overexpression lines is higher than that of the recipient material. Compared to the recipient material JN74, the enzymatic activities, Cys, and GSH contents of OAS-TL are higher in the sulfur metabolic pathway of seedling roots. The receptor material JN74 is exogenously applied with different concentrations of reduced glutathione. The results demonstrate a positive correlation between reduced glutathione on total root length, projected area, surface area, root volume, total root tip number, total bifurcation number, and total crossing number. The Met and total protein contents of sulfur-containing amino acids in soybean seeds of the OAS-TL3 gene overexpression lines are higher than those of the recipient material JN74, while the gene-edited lines show the opposite results. In conclusion, the OAS-TL3 gene positively regulates soybean root growth, root activity, and the content of Met in the seeds through the OAS-TL-Cys-GSH pathway. It breaks the limitation of other amino acids and facilitates the increase of total seed protein content. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11032-022-01348-y.

Computation Offloading and User-Clustering Game in Multi-Channel Cellular Networks for Mobile Edge Computing.

Mobile devices may use mobile edge computing to improve energy efficiency and responsiveness by offloading computation tasks to edge servers. However, the transmissions of mobile devices may result in interference that decreases the upload rate and prolongs transmission delay. Clustering has been shown as an effective approach to improve the transmission efficiency for dense devices, but there is no distributed algorithm for the optimization of clustering and computation offloading. In this work, we study the optimization problem of computation offloading to minimize the energy consumption of mobile devices in mobile edge computing by adaptively clustering devices to improve the transmission efficiency. To address the optimization problem in a distributed manner, the decision problem of clustering and computation offloading for mobile devices is formulated as a potential game. We introduce the construction of the potential game and show the existence of Nash equilibrium in the game with a finite enhancement ability. Then, we propose a distributed algorithm of clustering and computation offloading based on game theory. We conducted a simulation to evaluate the proposed algorithm. The numerical results from our simulation show that our algorithm can improve offloading efficiency for mobile devices in mobile edge computing by improving transmission efficiency. By offloading more tasks to edge servers, both the energy efficiency of mobile devices and the responsiveness of computation-intensive applications can be improved simultaneously.

Thermal oscillation in the hybrid Si3N4 - TiO2 microring.

The hybrid microcavity composed of different materials shows unique thermal-optical properties such as resonance frequency shift and small thermal noise fluctuations with the temperature variation. Here, we have fabricated the hybrid Si3N4 - TiO2 microring, which decreases the effective thermo-optical coefficients (TOC) from 23.2pm/K to 11.05pm/K due to the opposite TOC of these two materials. In this hybrid microring, we experimentally study the thermal dynamic with different input powers and scanning speeds. The distorted transmission and thermal oscillation are observed, which results from the non-uniform scanning speed and the different thermal relaxation times of the Si3N4 and the TiO2. We calibrate the distorted transmission spectrum for the resonance measurement at the reverse scanning direction and explain the thermal oscillation with a thermal-optical coupled model. Finally, we analyse the thermal oscillation condition and give the diagram about the oscillation region, which has significant guidance for the occurrence and avoidance of the thermal oscillation in practical applications.

Caudodorsal approach combined with in situ split for laparoscopic right posterior sectionectomy.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic right posterior sectionectomy (LRPS) was technically challenging and lack of standardization. There were some approaches for LRPS, such as caudal approach and dorsal approach. During our practice, we initiated pure LRPS using the caudodorsal approach with in situ split and present several advantages of this method. METHODS: From April 2018 to December 2021, consecutive patients who underwent pure LRPS using the caudodorsal approach with in situ split at our institution entered into this retrospective study. The key point of the caudodorsal approach was that the right hepatic vein was exposed from peripheral branches toward the root and the parenchyma was transected from the dorsal side to ventral side. Specially, the right perihepatic ligaments were not divided to keep the right liver in situ before parenchymal dissection for each case. RESULTS: 11 patients underwent pure LRPS using the caudodorsal approach with in situ split. There were 9 hepatocellular carcinoma, 1 sarcomatoid hepatocellular carcinoma, and 1 hepatic hemangioma. Five patients had mild cirrhosis and 1 had moderate cirrhosis. All the procedures were successfully completed laparoscopically. The median operative time was 375 min (range of 290-505 min) and the median blood loss was 300 ml (range of 100-1000 ml). Five patients received perioperative blood transfusion, of which 1 patient received autologous blood transfusion and 2 patients received blood transfusion due to preoperative moderate anemia. No procedure was converted to open surgery. Two patients who suffered from postoperative complications, improved after conservative treatments. The median postoperative stay was 11 days (range of 7-25 days). No postoperative bleeding, hepatic failure, and mortality occurred. CONCLUSION: The preliminary clinical effect of the caudodorsal approach with in situ split for LRPS was satisfactory. Our method was feasible and expected to provide ideas for the standardization of LRPS. Further researches are required due to some limitations of this study.

Computation Offloading Game for Multi-Channel Wireless Sensor Networks.

Computation offloading for wireless sensor devices is critical to improve energy efficiency and maintain service delay requirements. However, simultaneous offloadings may cause high interferences to decrease the upload rate and cause additional transmission delay. It is thus intuitive to distribute wireless sensor devices in different channels, but the problem of multi-channel computation offloading is NP-hard. In order to solve this problem efficiently, we formulate the computation offloading decision problem as a decision-making game. Then, we apply the game theory to address the problem of allowing wireless sensor devices to make offloading decisions based on their own interests. In the game theory, not only are the data size of wireless sensor devices and their computation capability considered but the channel gain of each wireless sensor device is also included to improve the transmission rate. The consideration could evenly distribute wireless sensor devices to different channels. We prove that the proposed offloading game is a potential game, where the Nash equilibrium exists in each game after all device states converge. Finally, we extensively evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm based on simulations. The simulation results demonstrate that our algorithm can reduce the number of iterations to achieve Nash equilibrium by 16%. Moreover, it improves the utilization of each channel to effectively increase the number of successful offloadings and lower the energy consumption of wireless sensor devices.

Numerical characterization of soliton microcomb in an athermal hybrid Si3N4-TiO2 microring.

We theoretically investigate the athermal constructions to cancel the thermorefractive effect of a hybrid Si3N4-TiO2 microring, which merges two materials with opposite thermo-optical coefficients (TOCs). The analytical and numerical results predict that the thermorefractive effect can be reduced under the appropriate parameters. In addition, the soliton state is easily accessed under the athermal condition. The thermorefractive noise due to the fluctuation of the microresonator temperature caused by the heat exchange between the microresonator and the surrounding environment is also suppressed by one order of magnitude, which is critical for the potential applications of soliton microcombs, such as spectroscopy, optical clocks and microwave generation.

Rapid Control of a SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 (Delta) Variant COVID-19 Community Outbreak: The Successful Experience in Pingtung County of Taiwan.

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-associated Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was an outbreak in December, 2019 and rapidly spread to the world. All variants of SARS-CoV-2, including the globally and currently dominant Delta variant (Delta-SARS-CoV-2), caused severe disease and mortality. Among all variants, Delta-SARS-CoV-2 had the highest transmissibility, growth rate, and secondary attack rate than other variants except for the new variant of Omicron that still exists with many unknown effects. In Taiwan, the pandemic Delta-SARS-CoV-2 began in Pingtung from 14 June 2021 and ceased at 11 July 2021. Seventeen patients were infected by Delta-SARS-CoV-2 and 1 person died during the Pingtung outbreak. The Public Health Bureau of Pingtung County Government stopped the Delta-SARS-CoV-2 outbreak within 1 month through measures such as epidemic investigation, rapid gene sequencing, rapidly expanding isolation, expanded screening of the Delta-SARS-CoV-2 antigen for people who lived in regional villages, and indirect intervention, including rapid vaccination, short lockdown period, and travel restrictions. Indirect environmental factors, such as low levels of air pollution, tropic weather in the summer season, and rural areas might have accelerated the ability to control the Delta-SARS-CoV-2 spread. This successful experience might be recommended as a successful formula for the unvaccinated or insufficiently vaccinated regions.

The GmXTH1 gene improves drought stress resistance of soybean seedlings.

In order to study the role of GmXTH1 gene in alleviating drought stress, soybean seeds with GmXTH1 gene were transferred by T4 treated with PEG6000 concentration of 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15% respectively. The germination potential, germination rate, germination index, and other indicators were measured. The results showed that the germination potential, germination rate, and germination index of OEA1 and OEA2 strains overexpressed in T4 generation were significantly higher than those of the control material M18. After 0-day, 7-day, and 15-day drought stress, the analysis of seedling phenotypes and root-shoot of different T4 generation transgenic soybean lines showed that under stress conditions, the growth of GmXTH1 overexpression material was generally better than that of the control material M18. The growth of GmXTH1 interference expression material was generally worse than that of the control material M18, with significant differences in plant phenotypes. The root system of GmXTH1 overexpressed material was significantly developed compared with that of the control material M18. The analysis of physiological and biochemical indexes showed that the relative water content and the activity of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase and peroxidase) of GmXTH1 transgenic soybean material were significantly higher than those of the control material M18, and the accumulation of malondialdehyde was lower under the same stress conditions at seedling stage. Fluorescence quantitative PCR assay showed that the relative expression of GmXTH1 gene in transgenic soybean was significantly increased after drought stress. The results showed that the overexpression of GmXTH1 could increase the total root length, surface area, total projection area, root volume, average diameter, total cross number, and total root tip number, thereby increasing the water intake and reducing the transpiration of water content in leaves, thus reducing the accumulation of MDA and producing more protective enzymes in a more effective and prompt way, reducing cell membrane damage to improve drought resistance of soybean.

Construction of a pillararene-based supramolecular polymer network and its application in efficient removal of dyes from water.

An AB-type monomer based on a pillar[5]arene host and an imidazolium salt guest was successfully synthesized through a facile way. This monomer can self-assemble into linear supramolecular polymers in chloroform. After the addition of silver ions, the imidazolium salt group coordinated with silver ions to crosslink the linear supramolecular polymers at their ends, resulting in the formation of supramolecular polymer networks. Meanwhile, after further adding iodide ions, the supramolecular polymer network changed back to the linear supramolecular polymer. As a result, the topological structure of the system can be reversibly tuned. Furthermore, this supramolecular polymer network can be applied to remove organic dyes in water, suggesting its great potential in the treatment of waste water.