Reproductive resilience of growth and nitrogen uptake underpins yield improvement in winter wheat with forced delay of sowing.

Winter wheat production is influenced by climate extremes worldwide. Heavy precipitation induced delay of sowing generates limited photothermal resources for wheat early growth. However, how wheat build resilience from stunted seedling growth has not been fully explored. Here, a twelve-year farmers' survey of wheat yield was recorded and four-year field experiments of wheat grown in normal and late-sowing were performed under zero nitrogen (N0) and optimum nitrogen (Opt.N) supply. Wheat growth and N uptake were measured at both vegetative and reproductive stages alongside photothermal resource-use efficiency. Farmers' survey showed 10.4 % yield losses due to delayed sowing compared to the normal. However, four-year field trials revealed that the combination of increasing seeding rates and Opt.N application recovered grain yield of sowing-delayed wheat and even increased by 13.2 % compared to plants in the normal seasons. Although delayed sowing substantially suppressed seedling growth and tillering before winter dormancy, the Opt.N application increased spring tillers by 2.4-fold which were productive at maturity. Further, plant growth and N uptake from jointing to anthesis of sowing-delayed wheat were accelerated by Opt.N, but not by N0 treatment. Delayed sowing significantly shortened the duration of lag phase of grain filling by 3.5 days and by 183 growing degree days compared with the normal, which initiated the linear and fast filling earlier. Increased leaf photosynthesis by 27.4 % during grain filling further supported the fast recovery of grain filling in the sowing-delayed wheat. Concomitantly, the physiological N-use efficiency increased by 46.7 % during grain filling and by 41.5 % at maturity by enhancing N availability and seeding rates, and photothermal resource-use efficiency increased by 1.3- to 1.7-fold for wheat with delayed vs. normal sowing. Overall, these findings highlight the integrated management of nutrient and cultivation to mitigate the impacts of climate extremes on crop productivity through building plant reproductive resilience.

[Clinical phenotypic and genetic analysis of syndrome families with EYA1 gene variants].

Objective:To investigate the clinical phenotype of a family with branchio-oto syndrome （BOS） and to explore the genetic etiology of the syndrome in this family. Methods:Clinical data were collected from a child diagnosed with BOS and his family members. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood of the proband and his family members. Whole-exome sequencing was performed, and the mutation sites were verified and analyzed by Sanger sequencing. Results:The family consists of two generations with four members, three of whom exhibit the phenotype. Two members have hearing loss and bilateral preauricular fistulas and bilateral branchial cleft fistulas. One member has bilateral preauricular fistulas and bilateral branchial cleft fistulas. All of which were in line with the clinical diagnosis of gill ear syndrome, the inheritance mode of the family was autosomal dominant inheritance, genetic testing showed that all members of the family had c. 1744delC（p. L592Cfs*47） mutation in the EYA1 gene, while unaffected members have the wild-type allele at this locus. This mutation is a frameshift mutation, which results in the early appearance of the stop codon, and has not been reported so far. According to ACMG guidelines, the variant was preliminarily determined to be suspected pathogenic. Conclusion:The newly discovered EYA1c. 1744delC（p. L592Cfs*47） mutation in this family is the pathogenic mutant gene of the patients in this family, which further expands the mutation spectrum of EYA1 gene, gives us a new understanding of the disease, and provides an important reference for clinical diagnosis and genetic counseling.

[Anti-inflammatory effect and its mechanism of Saracae Cortex based on zebrafish model and network pharmacology].

This paper aims to explore the anti-inflammatory mechanism of Saracae Cortex by using network pharmacology and molecular docking methods and verify it through the inflammation model of zebrafish. The effective components, potential core targets, and signaling pathways of Saracae Cortex were obtained by using network pharmacology. A lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced inflammation model of zebrafish was established to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of aqueous extract and 70% ethanol extract of Saracae Cortex with cell apoptosis rate and reactive oxygen species(ROS) production rate as indicators. q PCR was performed to verify the main targets predicted by network pharmacology. The prediction found that there were 121 potential anti-inflammatory targets in Saracae Cortex. Protein-protein interaction(PPI) analysis showed that Saracae Cortex mainly acted on signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(STAT3), vascular endothelial growth factor A( VEGFA), epidermal growth factor( EGF), tumor necrosis factor( TNF),tumor protein p53(TP53), matrix metalloprotein 9(MMP9), c-fos proto-oncogene protein(FOS), estrogen receptor 1(ESR1), cx-c motif chemokine ligand 8(CXCL8), cluster of differentiation 8(CD8), and other targets. Gene Ontology(GO) analysis showed the biological process mainly acted on the inhibition of apoptosis, the positive regulation of gene expression, and the positive regulation of cell proliferation. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) analysis showed that the mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK) signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, and hypoxia-inducible factor 1(HIF-1) signaling pathway may play a key role in anti-inflammation of Saracae Cortex. Molecular docking verified that five key compounds had a strong binding force with their corresponding core target. Zebrafish animal experiments showed that Saracae Cortex could significantly inhibit ROS formation and reduce cell apoptosis in juvenile fish caused by inflammation and inhibit the further enhancement of inflammatory response in tissue. In addition, compared with the blank group, the transcription levels of nuclear factor kappa-B(NF-κB), TP53, FOS, adaptor protein complex-1(AP-1), and mitogen-activated protein kinases P38(P38) were significantly up-regulated in the model group. Compared with the model group, the m RNA expression of NF-κB, TP53, FOS, AP-1, and P38 was significantly down-regulated in zebrafish tissue treated with aqueous extract and 70% ethanol extract of Saracae Cortex. Saracae Cortex plays an anti-inflammatory role through multiple components and targets, and its anti-inflammatory effect may be related to the inhibition of the MAPK signaling pathway.

Impaired immune responses in the airways are associated with poor outcome in critically ill COVID-19 patients.

Introduction: Mounting evidence indicates that an individual's humoral adaptive immune response plays a critical role in the setting of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and that the efficiency of the response correlates with disease severity. The relationship between the adaptive immune dynamics in the lower airways with those in the systemic circulation, and how these relate to an individual's clinical response to SARS-CoV-2 infection, are less understood and are the focus of this study. Material and methods: We investigated the adaptive immune response to SARS-CoV-2 in paired samples from the lower airways and blood from 27 critically ill patients during the first wave of the pandemic (median time from symptom onset to intubation 11 days). Measurements included clinical outcomes (mortality), bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and blood specimen antibody levels, and BALF viral load. Results: While there was heterogeneity in the levels of the SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies, we unexpectedly found that some BALF specimens displayed higher levels than the paired concurrent plasma samples, despite the known dilutional effects common in BALF samples. We found that survivors had higher levels of anti-spike, anti-spike-N-terminal domain and anti-spike-receptor-binding domain IgG antibodies in their BALF (p<0.05), while there was no such association with antibody levels in the systemic circulation. Discussion: Our data highlight the critical role of local adaptive immunity in the airways as a key defence mechanism against primary SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Identification of PRODH as a mitochondria- and angiogenesis-related biomarker for lung adenocarcinoma.

Background: Proline dehydrogenase (PRODH) encodes a mitochondrial protein that catalyzes the first step of proline degradation and is related to angiogenesis. Angiogenesis is a critical process in the development and progression of tumors, including lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), as tumor growth and metastasis are dependent on angiogenesis. The mitochondria and their associated genes thus play a vital role in tumor therapy. However, the specific mechanism of action of PRODH in LUAD is not yet clear. The aim of this study was thus to clarify the specific mechanism of PRODH as a mitochondrial gene in LUAD. Methods: This study identified genes related to mitochondria and angiogenesis in LUAD. Based on the high and low expression of the genes in LUAD, we grouped them and conducted relevant bioinformatics analysis on the differentially expressed genes. Results: We screened genes related to mitochondria and angiogenesis in the differential genes of LUAD, and identified PRODH as a gene of interest. The expression of PRODH was associated with the survival outcome of patients with LUAD. Additionally, PRODH was found to be associated with immune cell infiltration and tumor mutations. Conclusions: Mitochondrial metabolism and angiogenesis may have significant therapeutic ramifications for patients with LUAD. We identified PRODH, a gene exerts a dual role in cancer. PRODH may be a prospective therapeutic target in LUAD and a possible diagnostic and prognostic biomarker associated with immune infiltration and tumor mutational burden.

Numerical simulation and theoretical study on the impact of wind-sand flow of high-speed trains in long tunnel space.

When high-speed trains (HST) run in enclosed spaces such as long tunnels, the thermal accumulation of their suspension devices is continuous and cannot be effectively dissipated. In addition, previous experiments or simulations for the heat dissipation of HST in tunnel spaces did not consider the impact of sand. To clarify the impact of HWS-LT on the heat accumulation of HST equipment cabin, this study used the CFD method to numerically simulate the impact of different wind-sand flow concentrations or no-sand wind on the cooling of equipment in the long tunnel space. Firstly, the sand particles in the wind-sand flow gather at the tunnel entrance and enter the equipment cabin with the train as it enters the tunnel. This boundary condition is more in line with actual engineering situations. Secondly, both flows show asymmetric intrusion into the cabin due to the asymmetrical tunnel arrangement, but the sand particles in the wind-sand flow are affected by the vortices and tunnel walls, resulting in more asymmetric flow and some particles being trapped in the grids or filters, leading to outflow ρQ < inflow ρQ. Under the wind-sand flow condition, the temperature of some equipment surfaces shows more significant increases than under the no-sand wind. Finally, contrary to popular perception, the wind-sand flow carrying sand particles can dissipate heat more effectively than no-sand wind, and the higher the volume fraction φ within a certain concentration range, the better the heat dissipation effect. This is because the wind-sand flow has a higher specific heat capacity, which can remove some heat from the contact point between the sand particles and the equipment wall upon contact. The higher sand particle concentration increases the contact frequency and contact area between the sand particles and the equipment wall, and the heat transfer pathway and heat dissipation efficiency are improved.

Identification of PP2Cs in six rosaceae species highlights RcPP2C24 as a negative regulator in rose drought tolerance.

Drought is a major environmental stress that limits plant growth, so it's important to identify drought-responsive genes to understand the mechanism of drought response and breed drought-tolerant roses. Protein phosphatase 2C (PP2C) plays a crucial role in plant abiotic stress response. In this study, we identified 412 putative PP2Cs from six Rosaceae species. These genes were divided into twelve clades, with clade A containing the largest number of PP2Cs (14.1%). Clade A PP2Cs are known for their important role in ABA-mediated drought stress response; therefore, the analysis focused on these specific genes. Conserved motif analysis revealed that clade A PP2Cs in these six Rosaceae species shared conserved C-terminal catalytic domains. Collinearity analysis indicated that segmental duplication events played a significant role in the evolution of clade A PP2Cs in Rosaceae. Analysis of the expression of 11 clade A RcPP2Cs showed that approximately 60% of these genes responded to drought, high temperature, and salt stress. Among them, RcPP2C24 exhibited the highest responsiveness to both drought and ABA. Furthermore, overexpression of RcPP2C24 significantly reduced drought tolerance in transgenic tobacco by increasing stomatal aperture after exposure to drought stress. The transient overexpression of RcPP2C24 weakened the dehydration tolerance of rose petal discs, while its silencing increased their dehydration tolerance. In summary, our study identified PP2Cs in six Rosaceae species and highlighted the negative role of RcPP2C24 on rose's drought tolerance by inhibiting stomatal closure. Our findings provide valuable insights into understanding the mechanism behind rose's response to drought.

[Research on Construction of Test Environment for Assessment of RF-Induced Heating Effects of Implants].

In magnetic resonance examination, the interaction between implants and the radio frequency (RF) fields induces heating in human tissue and may cause tissue damage. To assess the RF-induced heating of implants, three steps should be executed, including electromagnetic model construction, electromagnetic model validation, and virtual human body simulations. The crucial step of assessing RF-induced heating involves the construction of a test environment for electromagnetic model validation. In this study, a hardware environment, comprised of a RF generation system, electromagnetic field measurement system, and a robotic arm positioning system, was established. Furthermore, an automated control software environment was developed using a Python-based software development platform to enable the creation of a high-precision automated integrated test environment. The results indicate that the electric field generated in this test environment aligns well with the simulated electric field, making it suitable for assessing the RF-induced heating effects of implants.

Research on rolling bearing fault diagnosis method based on simulation and experiment fusion drive.

Aiming at the problem that the rolling bearing fault data are difficult to obtain and that the traditional fault diagnosis method does not consider the signal uncertainty characteristics and the low accuracy of models in the process of rolling bearing fault, a fault diagnosis method based on simulation and experiment fusion drive is proposed. First, the dynamics simulation model of rolling bearings under different fault conditions is established to obtain the bearing fault simulation signals. Second, a sequence generative adversarial network is used to fuse the simulation and experimental data. Bearing vibration signals are often very uncertain, so considering the probability characteristics of fault signals, the probability box model under different fault states is constructed by the direct probability box modeling method, and its characteristic vectors are extracted. Finally, an extreme gradient boosting Tree model for fault diagnosis classification is constructed to compare and evaluate the classification and diagnosis effects of bearing states before and after data fusion. The results show that the proposed method has a good diagnostic effect and is suitable for solving the fault diagnosis problem under the condition of insufficient data.

Latent Tuberculosis Infection Is Associated with an Enrichment of Short-Chain Fatty Acid-Producing Bacteria in the Stool of Women Living with HIV.

Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is common in people living with HIV (PLHIV) in high-TB-burden settings. Active TB is associated with specific stool taxa; however, little is known about the stool microbiota and LTBI in PLHIV. We characterised the stool microbiota of PLHIV with [interferon-γ release assay (IGRA)- and tuberculin skin test (TST)-positive] or without (IGRA- and TST-negative) LTBI (n = 25 per group). The 16S rRNA DNA sequences were analysed using QIIME2, Dirichlet-Multinomial Mixtures, DESeq2, and PICRUSt2. No α- or ß-diversity differences occurred by LTBI status; however, LTBI-positive people were Faecalibacterium-, Blautia-, Gemmiger-, and Bacteroides-enriched and Moryella-, Atopobium-, Corynebacterium-, and Streptococcus-depleted. Inferred metagenome data showed that LTBI-negative-enriched pathways included several metabolite degradation pathways. Stool from LTBI-positive people demonstrated differential taxa abundance based on a quantitative response to antigen stimulation. In LTBI-positive people, older people had different ß-diversities than younger people, whereas in LTBI-negative people, no differences occurred across age groups. Amongst female PLHIV, those with LTBI were, vs. those without LTBI, Faecalibacterium-, Blautia-, Gemmiger-, and Bacteriodes-enriched, which are producers of short-chain fatty acids. Taxonomic differences amongst people with LTBI occurred according to quantitative response to antigen stimulation and age. These data enhance our understanding of the microbiome's potential role in LTBI.

Long-term risks of cardiovascular death among older patients with major hematological malignancies: a population-based cohort study from SEER database.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to identify the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related death in older patients with major hematological malignancies (HM). METHODS: This study included 103,102 older patients diagnosed with 7 major types of HM between 1975 and 2018 (median follow-up: 2.7 years) from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Result (SEER) database. The proportion of deaths, Fine-Gray sub-distribution hazards regression model, standardized mortality ratios (SMR) and absolute excess risk (AER) were used to evaluate the risk of CVD-related death. RESULTS: For older patients with HM, CVD-related death ranked as the second leading cause of death, surpassed only by primary malignancy. Compared to the general older population, older patients with HM had higher SMR and AER of CVD-related deaths (SMR: 1.16-1.81; AER: 41.24-308.99), heart disease-related deaths (SMR: 1.19-1.90; AER: 39.23-274.69), and cerebrovascular dis-ease-related deaths (SMR: 0.99-1.66; AER: -0.35 -24.15). The proportion of deaths and cumulative mortality increased with the passage of survival time, especially in Hodgkin lymphoma patients with stage I/II and those aged ≥85 years with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, surpassing primary malignancy. The risk of CVD-related death varied among different HM types. CONCLUSIONS: For older patients with HM, long-term cardiovascular risk management needs to be focused on while addressing the primary malignancy. IMPACT: Our results emphasize the need to manage long-term cardiovascular risk in older patients with HM, especially in those identified as high-risk cases.

A preclinical animal study to evaluate the operability and safety of domestic one-way endobronchial valves.

Purpose: To evaluate the operability and safety of bronchoscopic domestic one-way endobronchial valves (EBV) on animals. Methods: Nine pigs were randomly assigned (2:1) to receive domestic one-way EBV (the experimental group, n = 6) and Zephyr® EBV (the control group, n = 3). Routine blood tests, arterial blood gases, and CT scans of the lungs were performed 1 day pre-procedure in addition to 1 week and 1 month post-procedure to assess changes in blood markers and lung volumes. At 1 month post-procedure, the animals were sacrificed, followed by removal of all valves via bronchoscopy. Pathological examinations of critical organs were subsequently performed. Results: A total of 15 valves were placed in the experimental group and 6 valves were placed in the control group, without serious complications. Routine blood tests and arterial blood gas examinations at 1 day pre-procedure, 1 week post-procedure, and 1 month post-procedure did not differ significantly in both groups. No EBV displacement was noted under bronchoscopy, and the valve was smoothly removable by bronchoscope at 1 month post-procedure. At 1 week post-procedure, varying degrees of target lung lobe volume reduction were observed on lung CT in both groups. Lung volume reduction was achieved at 1 month post-procedure in both groups, without significant statistical difference. Although 3 cases in the experimental group and 1 case in the control group developed varying degrees of pneumonia, the inflammatory response did not increase over time during the experimental period. Pathological examination revealed no significant abnormal changes in the critical organs for both groups. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that domestic EBV is safe and reliable for endobronchial application in general-grade laboratory white pigs. The safety of domestic EBV is similar to that of Zephyr® EBV, with good ease of use and operability. This kind of domestic EBV can meet the safety evaluation requirements for animal testing.

Effect of concomitant tricuspid annuloplasty on postoperative wound complications in heart failure patients undergoing mitral valve repair.

Tricuspid valve repair (TVR) combined with mitral valve surgery (MVS) has been a controversial issue. It is not clear whether the combined surgery has any influence on the occurrence of postoperative complications. The aim of this study was to compare the occurrence of complications including wound infection, wound bleeding, and mortality after MVS combined with or without TVR. By meta-analysis, a total of 1576 papers were collected from 3 databases, and 7 of them were included. We provided the necessary data of 7 included studies such as the authors, publication date, country, surgical approach and case number, patient age, and so on. Statistical analysis was carried out with RevMan 5.3 software. We found that patients with heart failure accepting MVS combined with or without TVR, performed no statistically significant difference in postoperative wound infection (OR: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.29, 2.62; P = 0.81), wound bleeding (OR: 0.74; 95% CI: 0.3, 1.48; P = 0.39), and mortality (OR: 1.05; 95% CI: 0.42, 2.61; P = 0.92). In conclusion, current evidence indicated that the combined surgery had no additional risk of postoperative complications, and might be an effective alternative surgical approach to mitral valve diseases accompany with tricuspid regurgitation. However, for the limited case size, it was required to support the findings with a large number of cases in further studies.

Bad company? The pericardium microbiome in people investigated for tuberculosis pericarditis in an HIV-prevalent setting.

Background: The microbiome likely plays a role in tuberculosis (TB) pathogenesis. We evaluated the site-of-disease microbiome and predicted metagenome in people with presumptive tuberculous pericarditis, a major cause of mortality, and explored for the first time, the interaction between its association with C-reactive protein (CRP), a potential diagnostic biomarker and the site-of-disease microbiome in extrapulmonary TB. Methods: People with effusions requiring diagnostic pericardiocentesis (n=139) provided background sampling controls and pericardial fluid (PF) for 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysed using QIIME2 and PICRUSt2. Blood was collected to measure CRP. Results: PF from people with definite (dTB, n=91), probable (pTB, n=25), and non- (nTB, n=23) tuberculous pericarditis differed in ß-diversity. dTBs were, vs. nTBs, Mycobacterium-, Lacticigenium-, and Kocuria- enriched. Within dTBs, HIV-positives were Mycobacterium-, Bifidobacterium- , Methylobacterium- , and Leptothrix -enriched vs. HIV-negatives and HIV-positive dTBs on ART were Mycobacterium - and Bifidobacterium -depleted vs. those not on ART. Compared to nTBs, dTBs exhibited short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) and mycobacterial metabolism microbial pathway enrichment. People with additional non-pericardial involvement had differentially PF taxa (e.g., Mycobacterium -enrichment and Streptococcus -depletion associated with pulmonary infiltrates). Mycobacterium reads were in 34% (31/91), 8% (2/25) and 17% (4/23) of dTBs, pTBs, and nTBs, respectively. ß-diversity differed between patients with CRP above vs. below the median value ( Pseudomonas -depleted). There was no correlation between enriched taxa in dTBs and CRP. Conclusions: PF is compositionally distinct based on TB status, HIV (and ART) status and dTBs are enriched in SCFA-associated taxa. The clinical significance of these findings, including mycobacterial reads in nTBs and pTBs, requires evaluation.

Railway wagon bearing fault diagnosis method based on improved sparrow search algorithm optimizing variational mode decomposition and multi-level convolutional neural network.

Ensuring the safe operation of trains hinges on precise bearing condition monitoring, given the pivotal role bearings play in railway wagons. The status and maintenance of wagon bearings are of paramount concern, necessitating a shift from traditional maintenance approaches reliant on schedules and experience, which often lack real-time precision and efficiency. To address this challenge, our research focuses on enhancing the sparrow search algorithm by incorporating logistic chaos mapping and the levy flight strategy. This enhanced algorithm optimizes variational mode decomposition parameters, utilizing intrinsic mode components' average dispersion entropy as the fitness function. This optimization is integrated with a multi-level convolutional neural network for bearing fault diagnosis. Our findings demonstrate the improved algorithm's enhanced spatial search capabilities and reduced modal aliasing in the frequency components. Experimental validation on public datasets and the group's experimental platform for railway wagons shows that multi-level convolutional neural networks have higher diagnostic accuracy and faster convergence speeds than traditional models such as LeNet-5, AlexNet, and convolutional neural network. Our research introduces a highly accurate and widely applicable methodology for mechanical equipment fault diagnosis, aligning with the requirements of the "smart" era.

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa HG28-5 improves salt tolerance by regulating Na+/K+ homeostasis and ABA signaling pathway in tomato.

Salinity stress badly restricts the growth, yield and quality of vegetable crops. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) is a friendly and effective mean to enhance plant growth and salt tolerance. However, information on the regulatory mechanism of PGPR on vegetable crops in response to salt stress is still incomplete. Here, we screened a novel salt-tolerant PGPR strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa HG28-5 by evaluating the tomatoes growth performance, chlorophyll fluorescence index, and relative electrolyte leakage (REL) under normal and salinity conditions. Results showed that HG28-5 colonization improved seedling growth parameters by increasing the plant height (23.7%), stem diameter (14.6%), fresh and dry weight in the shoot (60.3%, 91.1%) and root (70.1%, 92.5%), compared to salt-stressed plants without colonization. Likewise, HG28-5 increased levels of maximum photochemical efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm) (99.3%), the antioxidant enzyme activities as superoxide dismutase (SOD, 85.5%), peroxidase (POD, 35.2%), catalase (CAT, 20.6%), and reduced the REL (48.2%), MDA content (41.3%) and ROS accumulation in leaves of WT tomatoes under salt stress in comparison with the plants treated with NaCl alone. Importantly, Na+ content of HG28-5 colonized salt-stressed WT plants were decreased by15.5% in the leaves and 26.6% in the roots in the corresponding non-colonized salt-stressed plants, which may be attributed to the higher K+ concentration and SOS1, SOS2, HKT1;2, NHX1 transcript levels in leaves of colonized plants under saline condition. Interestingly, increased abscisic acid (ABA) content and upregulation of ABA pathway genes (ABA synthesis-related genes NCED1, NCED2, NCED4, NECD6 and signal genes ABF4, ABI5, and AREB) were observed in HG28-5 inoculated salt-stressed WT plants. ABA-deficient mutant (not) with NCED1 deficiency abolishes the effect of HG28-5 on alleviating salt stress in tomato, as exhibited by the substantial rise of REL and ROS accumulation and sharp drop of Fv/Fm in the leaves of not mutant plants. Notably, HG28-5 colonization enhances tomatoes fruit yield by 54.9% and 52.4% under normal and saline water irrigation, respectively. Overall, our study shows that HG28-5 colonization can significantly enhance salt tolerance and improved fruit yield by a variety of plant protection mechanism, including reducing oxidative stress, regulating plant growth, Na+/K+ homeostasis and ABA signaling pathways in tomato. The findings not only deepen our understanding of PGPR regulation plant growth and salt tolerance but also allow us to apply HG28-5 as a microbial fertilizer for agricultural production in high-salinity areas.

Radial endobronchial ultrasound - guided bronchoscopy for the diagnosis of peripheral pulmonary lesions: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective trials.

Background: The diagnostic yield of radial endobronchial ultrasound (r-EBUS) for the diagnosis of peripheral pulmonary lesions (PPLs) varies between studies and is affected by multiple factors. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of r-EBUS, and to explore the factors influencing the diagnostic yield of r-EBUS in patients with PPLs. Methods: The PubMed, Web of Science, and EMBASE databases were searched to identify relevant studies that used r-EBUS for diagnosing PPLs from the date of inception to Dec 2022. Meta-analysis was conducted using Review Manager 5.4 and Stata 15.1. Results: An analysis of 46 studies with a total of 7252 PPLs was performed. The pooled diagnostic yield of r-EBUS was 73.4 % (95 % CI: 69.9%-76.7 %), with significant heterogeneity detected among studies (I2 = 90 %, P < 0.001). Further analysis demonstrated PPLs located in the middle or lower lobe, >2 cm in size, malignant in type, solid in appearance on computerized tomography (CT), present in bronchus sign, the within probe location, and the addition of rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) were associated with increased diagnostic yield, whereas use of a guide sheath (GS), bronchoscopy type, and a multimodality approach failed to influence the outcome. The pooled incidence rates of overall complications, pneumothorax and moderate and severe bleeding were 3.1 % (95 % CI: 2.1%-4.3 %), 0.4 % (95 % CI: 0.1%-0.7 %) and 1.1 % (95 % CI: 0.5%-2.0 %), respectively. Conclusions: r-EBUS has an appreciable diagnostic yield and an excellent safety manifestation when used to deal with PPLs.

Latent tuberculosis infection is associated with an enrichment of short chain fatty acid producing bacteria in the stool of women living with HIV.

Background: Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is common in people living with HIV (PLHIV) in high TB burden settings. Active TB is associated with specific stool taxa; however, little is known about the stool microbiota and LTBI, including in PLHIV. Method: Within a parent study that recruited adult females with HIV from Cape Town, South Africa into predefined age categories (18-25, 35-60 years), we characterised the stool microbiota of those with [interferon-γ release assay (IGRA)- and tuberculin skin test (TST)-positive] or without (IGRA- and TST- negative) LTBI (n=25 per group). 16S rRNA DNA sequences were analysed using QIIME2, Dirichlet Multinomial Mixtures, DESeq2 and PICRUSt2. Results: No α- or ß-diversity differences occurred by LTBI status; however, LTBI-positives were Faecalibacterium-, Blautia-, Gemmiger-, Bacteroides-enriched and Moryella-, Atopobium-, Corynebacterium-, Streptococcus-depleted. Inferred metagenome data showed LTBI-negative-enriched pathways included several involved in methylglyoxal degradation, L-arginine, putrescine, 4-aminobutanoate degradation and L-arginine and ornithine degradation. Stool from LTBI-positives demonstrated differential taxa abundance based on a quantitative response to antigen stimulation (Acidaminococcus-enrichment and Megamonas-, Alistipes-, and Paraprevotella-depletion associated with higher IGRA or TST responses, respectively). In LTBI-positives, older people had different ß-diversities than younger people whereas, in LTBI-negatives, no differences occurred across age groups. Conclusion: Amongst female PLHIV, those with LTBI had, vs. those without LTBI, Faecalibacterium, Blautia, Gemmiger, Bacteriodes-enriched, which are producers of short chain fatty acids. Taxonomic differences amongst people with LTBI occurred according to quantitative response to antigen stimulation and age. These data enhance our understanding of the microbiome's potential role in LTBI.

Reactive Oxygen Species-Responsive Dual Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidative Nanoparticles for Anterior Uveitis.

Anterior uveitis (AU) is an immune-mediated inflammatory disease that results in iritis, cyclitis, glaucoma, cataracts, and even a loss of vision. The frequent and long-term administration of corticosteroid drugs is limited in the clinic owing to the side effects and patient noncompliance with the drugs. Therefore, specifically delivering drugs to inflammatory anterior segment tissues and reducing the topical application dosage of the drug are still a challenge. Here, we developed dual dexamethasone (Dex) and curcumin (Cur)-loaded reactive oxygen species (ROS)-responsive nanoparticles (CPDC NPs) to treat anterior uveitis. The CPDC NPs demonstrated both anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects, owing to their therapeutic characteristics of dexamethasone and curcumin, respectively. The CPDC NPs could effectively release dexamethasone and curcumin in the oxidizing physiological environment of the inflammation tissue. The CPDC NPs can effectively internalize by activated macrophage cells, subsequently suppressing the proinflammatory factor expression. Moreover, the CPDC NPs can inhibit ROS and inflammation via nuclear transcription factor E2-related factor 2/heme oxygenase-1 (Nrf2/HO-1) pathway activation. In an endotoxin-induced uveitis rabbit model, the CPDC NPs show a therapeutic effect that is better than that of either free drugs or commercial eye drops. Importantly, the CPDC NPs with a lower dexamethasone dosage could reduce the side effects significantly. Taken together, we believe that the dual-drug-loaded ROS-responsive NPs could effectively target and inhibit inflammation and have the potential for anterior uveitis treatment in clinical practice.