New horizons for the study of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) and its active ingredients in the management of neurological and psychiatric disorders: A systematic review of clinical evidence and mechanisms.

Saffron (Crocus sativus), as an herbal medicine, has been extensively investigated for treating neurological and psychiatric disorders. This systematic review aimed to assess the overall effects of saffron on cognition, depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were identified by searching PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, and Clinical Trials databases up to June 2023 according to search terms and inclusion criteria. The participants were either healthy or suffering from some diseases, including neurological and psychiatric disorders, and consumed saffron or its extracts as an intervention. The risk of bias was assessed according to the Cochrane guidelines, and the PRISMA statement was followed. The meta-analysis was performed using RevMan and STATA software. A random-effects or fixed-effects model was used to calculate the pooled effect sizes. Forty-six RCTs were enrolled, and the duration of these trials ranged from 4 to 48 weeks with saffron or its extracts, both alone or in combination with conventional drugs. Saffron was more effective than placebo in improving cognition, depression with an overall effect size of -4.26 (95% CI: -5.76, -2.77), anxiety of -3.75 (95% CI: -5.83, -1.67), and sleep disorders of -1.91 (95% CI: -2.88, -0.93). Saffron was non-inferior to conventional drugs for treating cognitive disorders, depression, anxiety, ADHD, and OCD, and it exhibited good tolerance with few side effects. Saffron may exert protective roles for neurological and psychiatric disorders and represents a relatively favorable and safe treatment.

Genomic and transcriptomic-based analysis of agronomic traits in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) pure line IMA1.

Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) is an important sugar-producing and energy crop worldwide. The sugar beet pure line IMA1 independently bred by Chinese scientists is a standard diploid parent material that is widely used in hybrid-breeding programs. In this study, a high-quality, chromosome-level genome assembly for IMA1was conducted, and 99.1% of genome sequences were assigned to nine chromosomes. A total of 35,003 protein-coding genes were annotated, with 91.56% functionally annotated by public databases. Compared with previously released sugar beet assemblies, the new genome was larger with at least 1.6 times larger N50 size, thereby substantially improving the completeness and continuity of the sugar beet genome. A Genome-Wide Association Studies analysis identified 10 disease-resistance genes associated with three important beet diseases and five genes associated with sugar yield per hectare, which could be key targets to improve sugar productivity. Nine highly expressed genes associated with pollen fertility of sugar beet were also identified. The results of this study provide valuable information to identify and dissect functional genes affecting sugar beet agronomic traits, which can increase sugar beet production and help screen for excellent sugar beet breeding materials. In addition, information is provided that can precisely incorporate biotechnology tools into breeding efforts.

Eu2+ as the structural probe in the phase transformation of CMSA by site-selective occupancy and adjustable multimode white luminescence in Ca2(Mg0.5Al0.5)(Si1.5Al0.5O7) akermanite based on high-aluminum blast furnace slag.

A tunable multimode white emission Ca2(Mg0.5Al0.5)(Si1.5Al0.5O7):Eu2+/Eu3+ phosphor was prepared by doping Eu2O3 in molten high-aluminum blast furnace slag. The structural probe Eu2+ was studied during phase transformation between the glassy state and Ca2(Mg0.5Al0.5)(Si1.5Al0.5O7) crystals based on site-selective Eu2+ occupancy. When the doped Eu2+ ions occupied two different Ca2+ sites in the matrix, blue light (421 nm) and green light (516 nm) emissions were observed corresponding to two types of Eu2+Ca2+, namely Eu2+Ca2+ (Mg2+ → Al3+) and Eu2+Ca2+ (Si4+ → Al3+). The effects of Eu concentration (0.1-2.0 mol%), heat treatment temperature (800-1000 °C), and thermal quenching temperature (30-150 °C) on the structural evolution of the emission unit were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses. The Eu2+Ca2+ (Mg2+ → Al3+) structure formed by site-selective Eu2+ occupancy possessed better structural stability in the Ca2(Mg0.5Al0.5)(Si1.5Al0.5O7) crystal matrix, in favour of light-emitting diode (LED) illumination and plasma display panels (PDPs).

Acupoint catgut embedding for asthma in adults: Protocol for a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Asthma exacerbations can do a lot of harm to the patients and consume large amounts of medical resources. Although some studies have evaluated acupuncture for asthma in children, few studies have estimated acupoint catgut embedding therapy. We aim to assess the efficacy and safety of acupoint catgut embedding for asthma in adults. METHODS: The following databases will be searched from inception to December, 2019: Medline, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed, EMBASE, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database (CNKI), the Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP database), and the Wan-fang database. We will also search relevant conference abstracts, and registers of clinical trials. Two reviewers will independently undertake study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment. Data will be synthesized by either the fixed-effects or random-effects model according to a heterogeneity test. The Revman V5.3 software will be used to conduct meta-analysis. RESULTS: The primary outcome was lung function, forced expiratory volume in one second and forced vital capacity (FVC) were the most commonly used parameters to evaluate lung function. The safety assessment includes the incidence of adverse events. CONCLUSION: This systematic review will retrieve clinical randomized controlled trials (RCT) on acupoint catgut embedding for asthma in 7 databases, aiming to describe and update existing evidence on the efficacy and safety of acupoint catgut embedding for asthma in adults.PROSPERO registration number: CRD42019148401.

Growth, Stratification, and Liberation of Phosphorus-Rich C2S in Modified BOF Steel Slag.

Basic oxygen furnace (BOF) slag was modified by adding 3.5% SiO2 and holding at 1673 K for 0, 5, 40, 90, 240, or 360 min. Kilo-scale modification was also carried out. The growth, stratification, and liberation of P-rich C2S in the modified slag were investigated. The optimum holding time was 240 min, and 90% of C2S grains were above 30 µm in size. The phosphorus content increased with holding time, and after modification, the phosphorus content in C2S was nearly three times higher than that in the original slag (2.23%). Obvious stratification of C2S was observed in the kilo-scale modification. Upper C2S particles with a relatively larger size of 20-110 µm was independent of RO (FeO-MgO-MnO solid solution) and spinel, which is favorable for liberation. Lower C2S was less than 3 µm and was embedded in spinel, which is not conducive to liberation. The content of phosphorus in upper C2S (6.60%) was about twice that of the lower (3.80%). After grinding, most of the upper C2S existed as free particles and as locked particles in the lower. The liberation degree of C2S in the upper increased with grinding time, from 86.02% to 95.92% in the range of 30-300 s, and the optimum grinding time was 180 s. For the lower slag grinding for 300 s, the liberation degree of C2S was 40.07%.

Composite AgBr Colloidal Spheres/g-C3N4 Nanosheets: An Effective Light-Emitting Diode (LED) Irradiation Photocatalyst.

In this investigation, AgBr/g-C3N4 composite as an effective LED-irradiation photocatalyst was synthesized via a one-pot method. In this composite, the colloidal spheres of AgBr were uniformly dispersed on the g-C3N4 nanosheets, which were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-vis diffused reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The introduction of g-C3N4 nanosheets improved the stability and optimized the spatial charge carrier transfer compared to pristine AgBr, hence exhibited excellent activities toward the degradation of methyl orange (MO) as evidenced by the discoloration rate of MO by 94.8% after 120 min of irradiation. Also, the mechanism based on the band structures and microstructures of the catalysts was then proposed.

Precise insertion and guided editing of higher plant genomes using Cpf1 CRISPR nucleases.

Precise genome editing of plants has the potential to reshape global agriculture through the targeted engineering of endogenous pathways or the introduction of new traits. To develop a CRISPR nuclease-based platform that would enable higher efficiencies of precise gene insertion or replacement, we screened the Cpf1 nucleases from Francisella novicida and Lachnospiraceae bacterium ND2006 for their capability to induce targeted gene insertion via homology directed repair. Both nucleases, in the presence of a guide RNA and repairing DNA template flanked by homology DNA fragments to the target site, were demonstrated to generate precise gene insertions as well as indel mutations at the target site in the rice genome. The frequency of targeted insertion for these Cpf1 nucleases, up to 8%, is higher than most other genome editing nucleases, indicative of its effective enzymatic chemistry. Further refinements and broad adoption of the Cpf1 genome editing technology have the potential to make a dramatic impact on plant biotechnology.

Preparation of Eu3+-Y3+ coactivating Na+ based red-emitting luminous materials for light-emitting diodes and investigation of its characteristics.

By solid-state reaction and doping, a series of red-emitting phosphors Na(x)Y(0.92-x/3)(MoO(4))(y)(WO(4))(1-y)O(0.5) : zEu(3+) have been synthesized. Through optimization of the process conditions and photoluminescent analysis, one type of red emission is obtained that matches nicely with ultraviolet light-emitting diode (UV-LED) chips.

A rapid test for the detection of influenza A virus including pandemic influenza A/H1N1 2009.

A new rapid diagnostic test for detection of influenza A virus was evaluated with four sets of experiments: first, a comparison with a commercial diagnostic kit against a panel of virus strains was conducted; second, the kit was tested against a collection of 40 strains of influenza A virus isolated from five different host species and 26 strains of other respiratory viruses used as controls; third, the kit was tested against specimens collected in the field obtained from human and chicken; and fourth, the kit was tested against the novel pandemic influenza A/H1N1 2009 clinical specimens obtained from admitted to hospital patients. The test kit displayed a sensitivity of 88% for both human specimens and avian specimens. The corresponding specificity was 99.3% for human specimens and 96.5% for avian specimens. This test kit may be useful for rapid diagnosis of influenza A virus.

[Surveillance of drug resistant tuberculosis in Hubei, China].

OBJECTIVES: To establish a surveillance system for antituberculous drug resistance according to WHO and IUATLD guidelines, to collect the data of initial and acquired drug resistance, and to evaluate the efficacy of ongoing tuberculosis control strategies. METHODS: Thirty counties (or cities or districts) were randomly selected as surveillance points by cluster sampling. Thirty new cases of smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis in each cluster were enrolled consecutively. Bacterial typing and susceptibility tests (proportion method for SM, INH, RFP and EMB) were done in all culture positive samples. Laboratory quality control was implemented by Korean Super-country Reference Laboratory. Data were analyzed by WHO SDRTB2 software. RESULTS: 1,136 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis were enrolled in 30 clusters, among them 1,097 were culture positive. Smear-positive culture-positive rate was 96.6% and the contamination rate was 0.4%. The total drug resistance rate was 23.3%, the initial drug resistance being 17.5% and the acquired drug resistance being 44.5%. The initial multi-drug resistance rate (H + R) was 2.1% and the acquired multi-drug resistance rate (H + R) was 21.8%. CONCLUSIONS: Laboratory methods for surveillance of drug resistant tuberculosis and quality control were established, and reliable data on the status of antituberculous drug resistance in Hubei province were collected. The results showed that implementation of DOTS and regular surveillance were very important.