Endothelial Cells Promote Pseudo-islet Function Through BTC-EGFR-JAK/STAT Signaling Pathways.

Interactions between cells are of fundamental importance in affecting cell function. In vivo, endothelial cells and islet cells are close to each other, which makes endothelial cells essential for islet cell development and maintenance of islet cell function. We used endothelial cells to construct 3D pseudo-islets, which demonstrated better glucose regulation and greater insulin secretion compared to conventional pseudo-islets in both in vivo and in vitro trials. However, the underlying mechanism of how endothelial cells promote beta cell function localized within islets is still unknown. We performed transcriptomic sequencing, differential gene analysis, and enrichment analysis on two types of pseudo-islets to show that endothelial cells can promote the function of internal beta cells in pseudo-islets through the BTC-EGFR-JAK/STAT signaling pathway. Min6 cells secreted additional BTC after co-culture of endothelial cells with MIN6 cells outside the body. After BTC knockout in vitro, we found that beta cells functioned differently: insulin secretion levels decreased significantly, while the expression of key proteins in the EGFR-mediated JAK/STAT signaling pathway simultaneously decreased, further confirming our results. Through our experiments, we elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which endothelial cells maintain islet function in vitro, which provides a theoretical basis for the construction of pseudo-islets and islet cell transplants for the treatment of diabetes mellitus.

Heme induced loss of renovascular endothelial protein C receptor promotes chronic kidney disease in sickle mice.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality in sickle cell disease (SCD). Anemia, induced by chronic persistent hemolysis, is associated with progressive deterioration of renal health resulting in CKD. Moreover, patients with SCD experience acute kidney injury (AKI), a risk factor for CKD, often during vasoocclusive crisis associated with acute intravascular hemolysis. However, the mechanisms of the hemolysis-driven pathogenesis of the AKI-to-CKD transition in SCD remain elusive. Here, we investigated the role of increased renovascular rarefaction and the resulting substantial loss of vascular endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR) on the progressive deterioration of renal function in transgenic SCD mice. Multiple hemolytic events raised circulating levels of soluble EPCR (sEPCR) indicating loss of EPCR from the cell surface. Using bone marrow transplantation and super-resolution ultrasound imaging, we demonstrated that SCD mice overexpressing EPCR were protective against heme-induced CKD development. In a cohort of SCD patients, plasma sEPCR was significantly higher in individuals with CKD than in those without CKD. This study concludes that multiple hemolytic events may trigger CKD in SCD through the gradual loss of renovascular EPCR. Thus, restoration of EPCR may be a therapeutic target, and plasma sEPCR can be developed as a prognostic marker for sickle CKD.

Dual-crosslinking gelatin-hyaluronic acid methacrylate based biomimetic PDAC desmoplastic niche enhances tumor-associated macrophages recruitment and M2-like polarization.

The tumor microenvironment (TME) of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by deposition of desmoplastic matrix (including collagen and hyaluronic acid). And the interactions between tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and tumor cells play a crucial role in progression of PDAC. Hence, the appropriate model of tumor cell-macrophage interaction within the unique PDAC TME is of significantly important. To this end, a 3D tumor niche based on dual-crosslinking gelatin methacrylate and hyaluronic acid methacrylate hydrogels was constructed to simulate the desmoplastic tumor matrix with matching compressive modulus and composition. The bionic 3D tumor niche creates an immunosuppressive microenvironment characterized by the downregulation of M1 markers and upregulation of M2 markers in TAMs. Mechanistically, RNA-seq analysis revealed that the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway might modulate the phenotypic balance and recruitment of macrophages through regulating SELE and VCAM-1. Furthermore, GO and GSEA revealed the biological process of leukocyte migration and the activation of cytokine-associated signaling were involved. Finally, the 3D tumor-macrophage niches with three different ratios were fabricated which displayed increased M2-like polarization and stemness. The utilization of the 3D tumor niche has the potential to provide a more accurate investigation of the interplay between PDAC tumor cells and macrophages within an in vivo setting.

3-D real-time ultrasound tracking of acoustically actuated swimming microdrone.

Maneuverable microswimmers/microdrones that navigate in hard-to-reach spaces inside human bodies hold a great potential for various biomedical applications. Acoustically actuated microswimmers have already demonstrated feasibility. However, for eventual translation of this technology, a robust 3-D tracking strategy for the microswimmer is particularly required. This paper presents our lab-designed 3-D ultrasound tracking system for real-time tracking of an acoustically actuated 3-D swimming microdrone. The ultrasound tracking system utilizing two ultrasound probes, a step motor and a host controller, was built to track the 3-D arbitrary motion of the microdrone in real-time. The performance of tracking was evaluated in the benchtop experiments by comparing the reconstructed trajectories with synchronized camera recordings. The ultrasound tracking system showed high reliability, with an average error of less than 0.3 mm across six different trials when compared to camera tracking. The results demonstrated the capability of our lab-designed 3-D ultrasound tracking system in accurately tracking the undetermined motion of the acoustic actuated 3-D swimming microdrone in real-time. The developed tracking system holds promise as a potential approach for biomedical applications and could pave the way for future clinical translation of the microswimmer technology.

Correlation between computed tomography-based body composition parameters and hepatic venous pressure gradient in patients with cirrhosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: Computed tomography (CT)-based body composition parameters and the hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) are key characteristics in patients with liver cirrhosis. The present study aims to explore the correlation between CT-based body composition parameters and HVPG, as well as the difference in HVPG between patients with and patients without sarcopenia. METHODS: A literature search for studies reporting the correlation between HVPG and CT-based body composition parameters published in English up to August 2023 in four databases, Embase, MEDLINE (via PubMed), Web of Science, and Cochrane Library, was conducted. The correlation coefficient between HVPG and CT-based body composition parameters was the primary outcome, and the difference in the HVPG value between the sarcopenia and non-sarcopenia groups was the secondary outcome. A meta-analysis was conducted using a random-effects models. The methodologic quality was assessed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Studies instrument. RESULTS: A total of 652 articles were identified, of which nine studies (n = 1,569) met the eligibility criteria. Among them, seven studies reported the primary outcome via the muscle index, five via the skeletal muscle index (SMI), two via the psoas-muscle-related index (PRI), and three via two adipose tissue indexes. A total of five studies reported the secondary outcome: four via SMI and one via PRI. No evidence of a significant correlation was determined between the various body composition parameters and the HVPG value, either in the muscle index or the adipose tissue index. Higher HVPG values were observed in patients with sarcopenia than in patients without sarcopenia [pooled standardized mean difference (SMD): 0.628 (-0.350, 1.606), P < 0.001; I2 = 92.8%; P < 0.001] when an Asian sarcopenia definition was adopted. In contrast, when a Western cut-off value was applied, the HVPG value was higher in patients without sarcopenia than in patients with sarcopenia [pooled SMD: -0.201 (-0.366, -0.037), P = 0.016; I2 = 0.00%; P = 0.785]. CONCLUSION: No sufficient evidence regarding a correlation between the CT-based body composition and HVPG value was discovered. The difference in the HVPG value between the sarcopenia and non-sarcopenia groups was likely dependent on the sarcopenic cut-off value.

High-brightness hybrid compressive light field display with improved image quality.

Previous LCD-based multiplicative compressive light field (CLF) display has the trade-off between the brightness and the depth of field (DOF). In this paper, we propose a hybrid CLF display using a reflective polarizer and RGB mini-LED panel. By the polarization-multiplexing and the reflector dam (RD) designed on the mini-LED panel, the proposed system can preserve high brightness while enhancing the DOF. Then, a decomposition algorithm is proposed to improve the image quality by depth segmentation and limiting the motion parallax. Compared to the conventional hybrid CLF display, the brightness of the proposed system reaches 348 nits and the reconstruction quality achieves structural similarity index measure (SSIM) improvement by 0.12. The experiments also demonstrate that the proposed method could achieve a higher brightness, larger depth of field, and higher image quality.

Dynamic Changes in Flavor and Microbiota in Traditionally Fermented Bamboo Shoots (Chimonobambusa szechuanensis (Rendle) Keng f.).

Dissecting flavor formation and microbial succession during traditional fermentation help to promote standardized and large-scale production in the sour shoot industry. The principal objective of the present research is to elucidate the interplay between the physicochemical attributes, flavor, and microbial compositions of sour bamboo shoots in the process of fermentation. The findings obtained from the principal component analysis (PCA) indicated notable fluctuations in both the physicochemical parameters and flavor components throughout the 28 day fermentation process. At least 13 volatile compounds (OAV > 1) have been detected as characteristic aroma compounds in sour bamboo shoots. Among these, 2,4-dimethyl Benzaldehyde exhibits the highest OAV (129.73~668.84) and is likely the primary contributor to the sour odor of the bamboo shoots. The analysis of the microbial community in sour bamboo shoots revealed that the most abundant phyla were Firmicutes and Proteobacteria, while the most prevalent genera were Enterococcus, Lactococcus, and Serratia. The results of the correlation analysis revealed that Firmicutes exhibited a positive correlation with various chemical compounds, including 3,6-nonylidene-1-ol, 2,4-dimethyl benzaldehyde, silanediol, dimethyl-, nonanal, and 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3-pentylenediol diisobutyrate. Similarly, Lactococcus was found to be positively correlated with several chemical compounds, such as dimethyl-silanediol, 1-heptanol, 3,6-nonylidene-1-ol, nonanal, 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3-pentanediol diisobutyrate, dibutyl phthalate, and TA. This study provides a theoretical basis for the standardization of traditional natural fermented sour bamboo production technology, which will help to further improve the flavor and quality of sour bamboo.

Diagnosis and prognosis of pancreatic cancer with immunoglobulin heavy constant delta blood marker.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic cancer (PC) is highly malignant and difficult to detect, while few blood markers are currently available for diagnosing PC. METHODS: We obtained differential expression genes (DEGs) from GEO (gene expression omnibus) database and assessed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), receiver operating characteristic (ROC), univariate and multifactorial regression analysis, and survival analysis in our clinic center. Through the TCGA (the cancer genome atlas) database, we analyzed functional enrichment, different risk groups with survival analysis, immunological features, and the risk score established by the Cox regression model and constructed a nomogram. RESULT: Immunoglobulin heavy constant delta (IGHD) was remarkably upregulated in peripheral blood from PC patients, and IGHD was a potential independent biomarker for PC diagnosis (ROC sensitivity, 76.0%; specificity, 74.2%; area under the curve (AUC) = 0.817; univariate logistic regression analysis: odds ratio (OR) 1.488; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.182-1.872; P < 0.001; multiple logistic: OR 2.097; 95% CI 1.276-3.389, P = 0.003). In addition, the IGHD expression was remarkably reduced after resectioning the primary tumor. High IGHD expression indicated higher lymphocyte infiltration and increased activities of immunological pathways in PC patients. KRAS and SMAD were observed with a prominent difference among top mutated genes between the two groups. The risk score predicted reliable clinical prognosis and drug responses. Furthermore, a nomogram with the risk score and clinical characteristics was constructed, showing a better predictive performance. CONCLUSION: IGHD is a valuable PC diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic response marker.

Development and validation of a dynamic nomogram based on conventional ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasound for stratifying the risk of central lymph node metastasis in papillary thyroid carcinoma preoperatively.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to develop and validate a dynamic nomogram by combining conventional ultrasound (US) and contrast-enhanced US (CEUS) to preoperatively evaluate the probability of central lymph node metastases (CLNMs) for patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Methods: A total of 216 patients with PTC confirmed pathologically were included in this retrospective and prospective study, and they were divided into the training and validation cohorts, respectively. Each cohort was divided into the CLNM (+) and CLNM (-) groups. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression method was applied to select the most useful predictive features for CLNM in the training cohort, and these features were incorporated into a multivariate logistic regression analysis to develop the nomogram. The nomogram's discrimination, calibration, and clinical usefulness were assessed in the training and validation cohorts. Results: In the training and validation cohorts, the dynamic nomogram (https://clnmpredictionmodel.shinyapps.io/PTCCLNM/) had an area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.844 (95% CI, 0.755-0.905) and 0.827 (95% CI, 0.747-0.906), respectively. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test and calibration curve showed that the nomogram had good calibration (p = 0.385, p = 0.285). Decision curve analysis (DCA) showed that the nomogram has more predictive value of CLNM than US or CEUS features alone in a wide range of high-risk threshold. A Nomo-score of 0.428 as the cutoff value had a good performance to stratify high-risk and low-risk groups. Conclusion: A dynamic nomogram combining US and CEUS features can be applied to risk stratification of CLNM in patients with PTC in clinical practice.

Effect of five-elements music therapy combined with Baduanjin qigong on patients with mild COVID-19.

Background: To investigate the physical and psychological effects of five-element music therapy combined with Baduanjin qigong treatment on inpatients with mild coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan. Methods: A mixed-methods study was used. In the quantitative study, a randomized controlled trial was performed on 40 study participants divided into a control group (n = 20) and an intervention group (n = 20). The Self-rating Anxiety Scale, Self-rating Depression Scale and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were compared. For qualitative analysis, it adopted purposive sampling method, 13 patients of different ages from 18 to 60 years old and different exercise behavior were selected as the participants from the intervention group. A semi-structured interview method was used to collect data, and the content analysis method was used for data analysis. An interview outline was developed to assess the psychological condition and personal functional-exercise behavior of patients. Results: In the quantitative study, the anxiety self-scores and depression self-scores of patients in intervention group were significantly lower compared with control group after treatment (p < .05). The sleep quality of intervention group was significantly improved compared with control group (p < .001). Participants in the qualitative study responded to questions posed through semi-structured interviews. The effect of intervention was good, which has been supported and recognized by patients. Conclusion: The treatment of five-element music therapy combined with Baduanjin qigong on patients with mild COVID-19 alleviated anxiety and depression, and improved sleep quality, which was beneficial to the patients' physical and psychological recovery.

Depth-Enhanced Holographic Super Multi-View Maxwellian Display Based on Variable Filter Aperture.

The super multi-view (SMV) near-eye display (NED) effectively provides depth cues for three-dimensional (3D) displays by projecting multiple viewpoint images or parallax images onto the retina simultaneously. Previous SMV NED suffers from a limited depth of field (DOF) due to the fixed image plane. Aperture filtering is widely used to enhance the DOF; however, an invariably sized aperture may have opposite effects on objects with different reconstruction depths. In this paper, a holographic SMV display based on the variable filter aperture is proposed to enhance the DOF. In parallax image acquisition, multiple groups of parallax images, each group recording a part of the 3D scene on a fixed depth range, are captured first. In the hologram calculation, each group of wavefronts at the image recording plane (IRP) is calculated by multiplying the parallax images with the corresponding spherical wave phase. Then, they are propagated to the pupil plane and multiplied by the corresponding aperture filter function. The size of the filter aperture is variable which is determined by the depth of the object. Finally, the complex amplitudes at the pupil plane are back-propagated to the holographic plane and added together to form the DOF-enhanced hologram. Simulation and experimental results verify the proposed method could improve the DOF of holographic SMV display, which will contribute to the application of 3D NED.

Effect of Insoluble Dietary Fiber Extracted from Feijoa (Acca sellowiana (O. Berg) Burret.) Supplementation on Physicochemical and Functional Properties of Wheat Bread.

This study aimed to assess the effects of insoluble dietary fiber (IDF) from feijoa supplementation on the physicochemical and functional properties of wheat bread. The results showed that feijoa IDF (FJI) had the typical structures of hydrolysis fiber, polysaccharide functional groups, and crystal structure of cellulose. The gradual increase of FJI levels (from 2 to 8%) in wheat bread resulted in increased total DF, ash, and protein contents, accompanied by a reduction in moisture, carbohydrates, and energy value. The inclusion of FJI in the bread crumb caused a rise in both redness (a*) and yellowness (b*) values while decreasing the brightness (L*) relative to the control specimen. In addition, adding FJI up to 2% significantly increased total phenolic and flavonoid contents and antioxidant activity, as well as flavor score of supplemented bread samples, while additions above 2% resulted in undesirable taste and texture. FJI addition caused higher bile acid, NO2-, and cholesterol adsorption capacities. Moreover, FJI addition up to 4% significantly reduced glucose adsorption capacities at different in vitro starch digestion intervals. The findings revealed that FJI offers great potential as an ideal functional ingredient in food processing.

Comparison of quantitative volumetric analysis and linear measurement for predicting the survival of Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer 0- and A stage hepatocellular carcinoma after radiofrequency ablation.

PURPOSE: The prognostic role of the tumor volume in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) at the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) 0 and A stages remains unclear. This study aims to compare the volumetric measurement with linear measurement in early HCC burden profile and clarify the optimal cut-off value of the tumor volume. METHODS: The consecutive patients diagnosed with HCC who underwent initial and curative-intent radiofrequency ablation (RFA) were included retrospectively. The segmentation was performed semi-automatically, and enhanced tumor volume (ETV) as well as total tumor volume (TTV) were obtained. The patients were categorized into high- and low-tumor burden groups according to various cutoff values derived from commonly used diameter values, X-tile software, and decision-tree analysis. The inter- and intra-reviewer agreements were measured using the intra-class correlation coefficient. Univariate and multivariate time-to-event Cox regression analyses were performed to identify the prognostic factors of overall survival. RESULTS: A total of 73 patients with 81 lesions were analyzed in the whole cohort with a median follow-up of 31.0 (interquartile range: 16.0­36.3). In tumor segmentation, excellent consistency was observed in intra- and inter-reviewer assessments. There was a strong correlation between diameter-derived spherical volume and ETV as well as ETV and TTV. As opposed to all linear candidates and 4,188 mm3 (sphere equivalent to 2 cm in diameter), ETV >14,137 mm3 (sphere equivalent to 3 cm in diameter) or 23,000 mm3 (sphere equivalent to 3.5 cm in diameter) was identified as an independent risk factor of survival. Considering the value of hazard ratio and convenience to use, when ETV was at 23,000 mm3, it was regarded as the optimal volumetric cut-off value in differentiating survival risk. CONCLUSION: The volumetric measurement outperforms linear measurement on tumor burden evaluation for survival stratification in patients at BCLC 0 and A stages HCC after RFA.

Reducing crosstalk of a multi-plane holographic display by the time-multiplexing stochastic gradient descent.

Multi-plane reconstruction is essential for realizing a holographic three-dimensional (3D) display. One fundamental issue in conventional multi-plane Gerchberg-Saxton (GS) algorithm is the inter-plane crosstalk, mainly caused by the neglect of other planes' interference in the process of amplitude replacement at each object plane. In this paper, we proposed the time-multiplexing stochastic gradient descent (TM-SGD) optimization algorithm to reduce the multi-plane reconstruction crosstalk. First, the global optimization feature of stochastic gradient descent (SGD) was utilized to reduce the inter-plane crosstalk. However, the crosstalk optimization effect would degrade as the number of object planes increases, due to the imbalance between input and output information. Thus, we further introduced the time-multiplexing strategy into both the iteration and reconstruction process of multi-plane SGD to increase input information. In TM-SGD, multiple sub-holograms are obtained through multi-loop iteration and then sequentially refreshed on spatial light modulator (SLM). The optimization condition between the holograms and the object planes converts from one-to-many to many-to-many, improving the optimization of inter-plane crosstalk. During the persistence of vision, multiple sub-hologram jointly reconstruct the crosstalk-free multi-plane images. Through simulation and experiment, we confirmed that TM-SGD could effectively reduce the inter-plane crosstalk and improve image quality.The proposed TM-SGD-based holographic display has wide applications in tomographic 3D visualization for biology, medical science, and engineering design, which need to reconstruct multiple independent tomographic images without inter-plane crosstalk.

Nitric oxide promotes adventitious root formation in cucumber under cadmium stress through improving antioxidant system, regulating glycolysis pathway and polyamine homeostasis.

Cadmium (Cd) as a potentially toxic heavy metal that not only pollutes the environment but also interferes with plant growth. Nitric oxide (NO) regulates plant growth and development as well as abiotic stress response. However, the mechanism underpinning NO-induced adventitious root development under Cd stress remains unclear. In this study, cucumber (Cucumis sativus 'Xinchun No. 4') was used as the experimental material to investigate the effect of NO on the development of adventitious roots in cucumber under Cd stress. Our results revealed that, as compared to Cd stress, 10 µM SNP (a NO donor) could considerably increase the number and length of adventitious roots by 127.9% and 289.3%, respectively. Simultaneously, exogenous SNP significantly increased the level of endogenous NO in cucumber explants under Cd stress. Our results revealed that supplementation of Cd with SNP significantly increased endogenous NO content by 65.6% compared with Cd treatment at 48 h. Furthermore, our study indicated that SNP treatment could improve the antioxidant capacity of cucumber explants under Cd stress by up-regulating the gene expression level of antioxidant enzymes, as well as reducing the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and superoxide anion (  O 2    · - ) to alleviate oxidative damage and membrane lipid peroxidation. Application of NO resulted in a decrease of the  O 2    · - , MDA, and H2O2 level by 39.6%, 31.4% and 60.8% as compared to Cd-alone treatment, respectively. Besides that, SNP treatment significantly increased the expression level of related genes involved in glycolysis processes and polyamine homeostasis. However, application of NO scavenger 2-(4-carboxy -2-phenyl)-4, 4, 5, 5-tetramethy limidazoline -1-oxyl -3-oxide (cPTIO) and the inhibitor tungstate significantly reversed the positive role of NO in promoting the adventitious root formation under Cd stress. These results suggest that exogenous NO can increase the level of endogenous NO, improve antioxidation ability, promote glycolysis pathway and polyamine homeostasis to enhance the occurrence of adventitious roots in cucumber under Cd stress. In summary, NO can effectively alleviate the damage of Cd stress and significantly promote the development of adventitious root of cucumber under Cd stress.

Comparative effects of five polymethoxyflavones purified from Citrus tangerina on inflammation and cancer.

Although the Citrus tangerina cultivar "Dahongpao" (CTD) has been established as a rich source of polymethoxyflavones (PMFs) with anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties, their individual effects on cellular signaling remain to be elucidated. In this study, five major PMFs from the peel of CTD were isolated, including sinensetin, tetramethyl-O-scutellarin (5,6,7,4'-tetramethoxyflavone), nobiletin (5,6,7,8,3', 4'-hexamethoxyflavone), tangeretin (5,6,7,8,4'-pentamethoxyflavone), and 5-demethylnobiletin (5-OH-6,7,8,3',4'-pentamethoxyflavone). These PMFs were found to significantly (p < 0.05) inhibit the production of NO and biomarkers of chronic inflammation (TNF-α and IL-6). Additionally, they effectively suppressed mRNA biomarkers of acute inflammation (Cox-2 and iNOS), and to varying degrees promoted the activation of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4, IL-13, TNF-ß, and IL-10). Among the five PMFs, tangeretin was found to have a considerable anti-proliferative effect on tumor cell lines (PC-3 and DU145) and synergistically enhanced the cytotoxicity of mitoxantrone, partially via activation of the PTEN/AKT pathway. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into the activity of different PMF monomers and advance the understanding of the roles of PMFs in promoting apoptotic and anti-cancer effects.

Analysis of influencing factors of shear wave elastography of the superficial tissue: A phantom study.

Shear wave elastography (SWE) is widely used in clinical work. But there is no standard protocol and operation specification for SWE acquisition methods, which impacts the diagnosis and clinical staging. This study aimed to investigate the influence factors of diameter, depth, and stiffness on SWE using different probes at superficial depths and discuss SWE differences with two machines at superficial depths. We performed SWE on two elastic phantoms that each phantom contained six subjects with two stiffness (41.06 ± 4.62 kpa and 57.30 ± 4.31 kpa), three diameters (10, 15, and 18 mm), and two depths (15 and 25 mm). A total of 240 measurements were obtained by using two ultrasound machines (SuperSonic Imagine Aixplorer and Mindray Resona 7) and 4 probes (SL15-4 and SL10-2, L11-3, and L14-5). The measurements were compared among 4 probes, 3 diameters, and 2 depths. There was no significant difference in SWE measurements among the probes from the same machine. The SWE measurements were affected by diameter, and the degree of influence was related to the stiffness. The SWE measurements were unaffected at a 15-25 mm depth range.

Transcriptomic Analysis and the Effect of Maturity Stage on Fruit Quality Reveal the Importance of the L-Galactose Pathway in the Ascorbate Biosynthesis of Hardy Kiwifruit (Actinidia arguta).

Hardy kiwifruit (Actinidia arguta) has recently become popular in fresh markets due to its edible skin and rich nutritional value. In the present study, different harvest stages of two A. arguta cultivars, 'Issai' and 'Ananasnaya' ("Ana"), were chosen for investigating the effects of maturity on the quality of the fruit. Interestingly, Issai contained 3.34 folds higher ascorbic acid (AsA) content than Ana. The HPLC method was used to determine the AsA content of the two varieties and revealed that Issai had the higher content of AsA and DHA. Moreover, RNA sequencing (RNAseq) of the transcriptome-based expression analysis showed that 30 differential genes for ascorbate metabolic pathways were screened in Issai compared to Ana, which had 16 genes down-regulated and 14 genes up-regulated, while compared to the up-regulation of 8 transcripts encoding the key enzymes involved in the L-galactose biosynthesis pathway. Our results suggested that AsA was synthesized mainly through the L-galactose pathway in hardy kiwifruit.

Tangeretin prevents obesity by modulating systemic inflammation, fat browning, and gut microbiota in high-fat diet-induced obese C57BL/6 mice.

Obesity and associated comorbidities are closely linked to gut microbiota dysbiosis, energy balance, and chronic inflammation. Tangeretin, a key citrus polymethoxylated flavone (PMF), is abundant in citrus fruits and has preventative and therapeutic effects for numerous diseases. The current study investigated the effects and possible mechanisms of tangeretin supplementation in preventing obesity in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. Treatment of HFD-fed mice with tangeretin potently ameliorated HFD-induced body weight, liver steatosis, glucose intolerance, and insulin resistance. Tangeretin mitigated systemic chronic inflammation by reducing metabolic endotoxemia and inflammation-related gene expression in HFD-fed mice. An increased number of small brown adipocytes possessing multilocular and cytoplasmic lipid droplets and upregulation of thermogenic gene expression were observed after tangeretin treatment. 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing indicated that tangeretin markedly altered the gut microbiota composition (richness and diversity) and reversed 16 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) back to levels seen in mice consuming a normal chow diet (NCD). Notably, tangeretin decreased the ratio of Firmicutes-to-Bacteroidetes and greatly enriched Bacteroides and Lactobacillus. Overall, our results suggest that long-term supplementation with citrus tangeretin ameliorates the phenotype of obesity by improving adipose thermogenesis and reducing systemic inflammation and gut microbiota dysbiosis, which provides a good basis for studying the mechanism of tangeretin's beneficial effects.

Comparative transcriptome and physiological analyses reveal key factors in the tolerance of peach rootstocks to iron deficiency chlorosis.

Iron (Fe) deficiency chlorosis (IDC) is a major nutritional disorder in fruit trees grown on calcareous soils. As a peach rootstock, 'GF677' (Prunus dulcis Miller × P. persica (L.) Batsch) has great tolerance to Fe deficiency, but the molecular mechanisms of 'GF677' that support the process of iron deficiency chlorosis tolerance are still unknown. In this study, the key factors for differential iron deficiency chlorosis tolerance in two contrasting rootstocks (IDC-tolerant: 'GF677', IDC-susceptible: 'Maotao' (P. persica)) were investigated. 'GF677' exhibited greater Fe transfer and accumulation capacities when compared with 'Maotao', and the analysis of photosynthetic pigments, related precursors, and antioxidative enzyme activities further demonstrated that 'GF677' was more tolerant to IDC when compared with 'Maotao'. Furthermore, comparative transcriptome analysis revealed differential expression in many genes involved in iron transport and storage, and in photosynthesis recovery. These results suggest that the greater IDC tolerance of 'GF677' can be attributed to the greater expression of key genes related to specific Fe transporters, defense systems, photosynthetic recovery, and/or special proteins. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-021-03046-6.