Double synergic chitosan-coated poly (lactic-co-glycolic) acid nanospheres loaded with nucleic acids as an intranasally administered vaccine delivery system to control the infection of foot-and-mouth disease virus.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The spread of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) through aerosol droplets among cloven-hoofed ungulates in close contact is a major obstacle for successful animal husbandry. Therefore, the development of suitable mucosal vaccines, especially nasal vaccines, to block the virus at the initial site of infection is crucial. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Here, we constructed eukaryotic expression plasmids containing the T and B-cell epitopes (pTB) of FMDV in tandem with the molecular mucosal adjuvant Fms-like tyrosine kinase receptor 3 ligand (Flt3 ligand, FL) (pTB-FL). Then, the constructed plasmid was electrostatically attached to mannose-modified chitosan-coated poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) nanospheres (MCS-PLGA-NPs) to obtain an active nasal vaccine targeting the mannose-receptor on the surface of antigen-presenting cells (APCs). RESULTS: The MCS-PLGA-NPs loaded with pTB-FL not only induced a local mucosal immune response, but also induced a systemic immune response in mice. More importantly, the nasal vaccine afforded an 80% protection rate against a highly virulent FMDV strain (AF72) when it was subcutaneously injected into the soles of the feet of guinea pigs. CONCLUSIONS: The nasal vaccine prepared in this study can effectively induce a cross-protective immune response against the challenge with FMDV of same serotype in animals and is promising as a potential FMDV vaccine.

Genetic Landscape and Its Prognostic Impact in Children With Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis.

CONTEXT.­: Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare myeloid neoplasm that predominantly affects young children. OBJECTIVE.­: To investigate genetic alterations and their correlation with clinical characteristics and prognosis in pediatric LCH. DESIGN.­: We performed targeted sequencing to detect mutations in LCH lesions from pediatric patients. RESULTS.­: A total of 30 genomic alterations in 5 genes of the MAPK pathway were identified in 187 of 223 patients (83.9%). BRAF V600E (B-Raf proto-oncogene, serine/threonine kinase) was the most common mutation (51.6%), followed by MAP2K1 (mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1) alterations (17.0%) and other BRAF mutations (13.0%). ARAF (A-Raf proto-oncogene, serine/threonine kinase) and KRAS (KRAS proto-oncogene, GTPase) mutations were relatively rare (2.2% and 0.9%, respectively). Additionally, FNBP1 (formin-binding protein 1)::BRAF fusion and MAP3K10 (mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 10) mutations A17T and R823C were identified in 1 case each, with possible constitutive activation of ERK1/2 phosphorylation. BRAF V600E was more frequent in patients with risk organ involvement, while MAP2K1 mutation was more prevalent in patients with single-system LCH (P = .001). BRAF V600E was associated with craniofacial bone, skin, liver, spleen, and ear involvement (all P < .05). Patients with other BRAF mutations had a higher proportion of spinal column involvement (P = .006). Univariate analysis showed a significant difference in progression-free survival among the 4 molecular subgroups for patients treated with first-line therapy (P = .02). According to multivariate analysis, risk organ involvement was the strongest independent adverse prognostic factor (hazard ratio, 8.854; P < .001); BRAF or MAP2K1 mutation was not an independent prognostic factor. CONCLUSIONS.­: Most pediatric patients with LCH carry somatic mutations involving the MAPK pathway, correlating with clinical characteristics and outcomes for first-line chemotherapy.

High Engraftment and Metastatic Rates in Orthotopic Xenograft Models of Gastric Cancer via Direct Implantation of Tumor Cell Suspensions.

Although the implantation of intact tumor fragments is a common practice to generate orthotopic xenografts to study tumor invasion and metastasis, the direct implantation of tumor cell suspensions is necessary when prior manipulations of tumor cells are required. However, the establishment of orthotopic xenografts using tumor cell suspensions is not mature, and a comparative study directly comparing their engraftment and metastatic capabilities is lacking. It is unclear whether tumor fragments are superior to cell suspensions for successful engraftment and metastasis. In this study, we employed three GC cell lines with varying metastatic capacities to stably express firefly luciferase for monitoring tumor progression in real time. We successfully minimized the risk of cell leakage during the orthotopic injection of tumor cell suspensions without Corning Matrigel by systematically optimizing the surgical procedure, injection volume, and needle size options. Comparable high engraftment and metastatic rates between these two methods were demonstrated using MKN-45 cells with a strong metastatic ability. Importantly, our approach can adjust the rate of tumor progression flexibly and cuts the experimental timeline from 10-12 weeks (for tumor fragments) to 4-5 weeks. Collectively, we provided a highly reproducible procedure with a shortened experimental timeline and low cost for establishing orthotopic GC xenografts via the direct implantation of tumor cell suspensions.

Transformation to small cell lung cancer is irrespective of EGFR and accelerated by SMAD4-mediated ASCL1 transcription independently of RB1 in non-small cell lung cancer.

OBJECTIVES: Histological transformation to small cell lung cancer (SCLC) has been identified as a mechanism of TKIs resistance in EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We aim to explore the prevalence of transformation in EGFR-wildtype NSCLC and the mechanism of SCLC transformation, which are rarely understood. METHODS: We reviewed 1474 NSCLC patients to investigate the NSCLC-to-SCLC transformed cases and the basic clinical characteristics, driver gene status and disease course of them. To explore the potential functional genes in SCLC transformation, we obtained pre- and post-transformation specimens and subjected them to a multigene NGS panel involving 416 cancer-related genes. To validate the putative gene function, we established knocked-out models by CRISPR-Cas 9 in HCC827 and A549-TP53-/- cells and investigated the effects on tumor growth, drug sensitivity and neuroendocrine phenotype in vitro and in vivo. We also detected the expression level of protein and mRNA to explore the molecular mechanism involved. RESULTS: We firstly reported an incidence rate of 9.73% (11/113) of SCLC transformation in EGFR-wildtype NSCLC and demonstrated that SCLC transformation is irrespective of EGFR mutation status (P = 0.16). We sequenced 8 paired tumors and identified a series of mutant genes specially in transformed SCLC such as SMAD4, RICTOR and RET. We firstly demonstrated that SMAD4 deficiency can accelerate SCLC transition by inducing neuroendocrine phenotype regardless of RB1 status in TP53-deficient NSCLC cells. Further mechanical experiments identified the SMAD4 can regulate ASCL1 transcription competitively with Myc in NSCLC cells and Myc inhibitor acts as a potential subsequent treatment agent. CONCLUSIONS: Transformation to SCLC is irrespective of EFGR status and can be accelerated by SMAD4 in non-small cell lung cancer. Myc inhibitor acts as a potential therapeutic drug for SMAD4-mediated resistant lung cancer. Video Abstract.

Technology-assisted cardiac rehabilitation for coronary heart disease patients with central obesity: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Limited empirical evidence is available regarding the effect of technology-assisted cardiac rehabilitation (TACR) among coronary heart disease (CHD) patients with central obesity. AIM: To determine the effects of 12-week TACR on health outcomes of patients with CHD. DESIGN: Two-arm randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Cardiovascular department of a regional hospital. POPULATION: Coronary heart disease patients with central obesity. METHODS: The study randomized 78 hospitalized CHD patients to receive either the 12-week TACR intervention or usual care. Guided by social cognitive theory, the intervention began with an in-person assessment and orientation session to assess and identify individual risks and familiarize with the e-platform/device before discharge. After discharge, patients were encouraged to visit the interactive CR website for knowledge and skills acquisition, data uploading, use the pedometer for daily step tracking, and interact with peers and professionals via social media for problem-solving and mutual support. Data were collected at baseline (T0), six-week (T1), and 12-week (T2). RESULTS: Participants in the intervention group showed significant improvement in daily steps at six weeks but not 12 weeks (T1: ß=2713.48, P=0.03; T2:ß=2450.70, P=0.08), weekly sitting minutes (T1: ß=-665.17, P=0.002; T2: ß=-722.29, P=0.02), and total (vigorous, moderate, and walking) exercise at 12-week (ß=-2445.99, P=0.008). Improvement in health-promoting lifestyle profile (T1: ß=24.9, P<0.001; T2: ß=15.50, P<0.001), smoking cessation (T2: ß=-2.28, P<0.04), self-efficacy (T2: ß=0.63, P=0.02), body mass index (T1:ß =-0.97, P=0.03; T2: ß=-0.73, P=0.04) and waist circumferences (T1: ß =-1.97, P=0.003; T2: ß =-3.14, P=0.002) were identified. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicated the effectiveness of the TACR intervention in improving healthy behaviors and anthropometric parameters for CHD patients with central obesity. Individual assessment, collaborative action planning, and ongoing obesity management support should be highlighted in TACR programs for CHD patients. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: Central obesity should be assessed and highlighted in TACR intervention as an independent risk factor that requires corresponding behavior change and body fat management.

The Clinical Significance and Prognostic Value of ALDH1 Expression in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The results of the association between aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) expression and prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are contradictory. We conducted this meta-analysis to investigate the clinical significance and prognostic value of ALDH1 in NSCLC. METHODS: The databases PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, Wanfang, and CNKI were systematically queried to identify eligible studies. The retrieval time was from database establishment to August 2023. We evaluated the correlation between ALDH1 expression and clinical features of NSCLC by employing odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). In addition, we used hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs to evaluate the role of ALDH1 expression in the prognosis of NSCLC. RESULTS: Our study included 21 literatures involving 2721 patients. The expression of ALDH1 in NSCLC was higher than that in normal tissues (OR = 6.04, 95% CI: 1.25-29.27, P = 0.026). The expression of ALDH1 was related to TNM stage (OR = 1.81, 95% CI: 1.06-3.09, P = 0.029), tumor grade (OR = 0.29, 95% CI: 0.17-0.48, P < 0.0001), lymph node metastasis (OR = 2.60, 95% CI: 1.52-4.45, P = 0001) and histological subtype (OR = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.52-0.86, P = 0.002). In patients with NSCLC, we found that the over-expression of ALDH1 was significantly associated with poor overall survival (OS) (HR = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.15-1.81, P = 0.002) and disease-free survival (DFS) (HR = 1.74, 95% CI: 1.45-2.10, P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The expression of ALDH1 is closely associated with the clinicopathologic characteristics and prognosis of NSCLC. ALDH1 may serve as a valuable clinical assessment tool and prognostic predictor in NSCLC.

Characteristics and risk assessment of chilling injury on Morchella esculenta in Western Sichuan Plateau, China.

The development of precise climate risk zoning for chilling injury of Morchella esculenta can provide scientific basis for agricultural cultivation planning, dynamic assessment of chilling injury, and disaster prevention strategies. Based on meteorological data from 17 counties (cities) that located below the altitude of 3000 m in the Western Sichuan Plateau from 2011 to 2020, we analyzed the critical meteorological conditions for M. esculenta disasters in typical years. With the average yearly cold accumulation and cold injury frequency during the first day when the temperature remained stable between 5 ℃ and 10 ℃ during mushroom emergence as zoning indicators, we established a geographical spatial distribution model of the cold injury index, and then divided the risk level of M. esculenta cold injury in the Western Sichuan Plateau, evaluated the risk of cold injury. The results showed that the temperature index for chilling injury risk of M. esculenta in the study area was the daily minimum temperature ≤2.0 ℃. The daily average temperature <6.0 ℃ would cause slow growth or the cessation of growth, which was set as a warning indicator for chilling injury risk. Along the Dadu River and Minjiang River basins, the frequency of chilling injury on M. esculenta increased from south to north. Wenchuan, Maoxian, and Lixian had the fewest overall chilling injuries during the study period, whereas Jiulong, Yajiang, and Batang had the most. The duration for cold injury was mainly 1-3 d, followed by 4-5 d, and rarely for >5 d. The frequency of chilling injury lasting for more than 5 d in Xiangcheng, Batang, Jiulong, Yajiang, and Xiaojin was more than that lasting for 4-5 d. The annual average days of chilling injury of was 3.0-27.4 d, the daily average minimum temperature was -0.84-1.36 ℃, the extreme lowest temperature was -5.8-0.1 ℃, and the average accumulated cold was 0.16-9.64 ℃·d during the period of chilling injury. With the increases of elevation and latitude, the average days of chilling injury and the average accumulated cold increased. The largest duration of chilling injury was 3-20 d, the maximum accumulated cold was 0.44-13.34 ℃·d. The risk of chilling injury to M. esculenta increased from south to north and from low elevation to high elevation. The suitable planting areas were distributed in strips and branches along the direction of mountains and rivers, mainly in the flat areas of low mountains and valleys below the altitude of 2200 m, including Kangding, Luding, Danba, Wenchuan, Lixian, Maoxian, Jiuzhaigou, and Songpan.

Continuous renal replacement therapy with oXiris® in patients with hematologically malignant septic shock: A retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: The mortality rate from septic shock in patients with hematological malignancies (HMs) remains significantly higher than that in patients without HMs. A longer resuscitation time would definitely be harmful because of the irreversibly immunocompromised status of the patients. Shortening the resuscitation time through continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) with oXiris® would be an attractive strategy in managing such patients. AIM: To explore the effects of CRRT and oXiris® in shortening the resuscitation time and modifying the host response by reducing inflammation mediator levels. METHODS: Forty-five patients with HM were diagnosed with septic shock and underwent CRRT between 2018 and 2022. Patients were divided into two groups based on the hemofilter used for CRRT (oXiris® group, n = 26; M150 group, n = 19). We compared the number of days of negative and total fluid balance after 7 d of CRRT between the groups. The heart rate, norepinephrine dose, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, and blood lactic acid levels at different time points in the two groups were also compared. Blood levels of inflammatory mediators in the 26 patients in the oXiris® group were measured to further infer the possible mechanism. RESULTS: The average total fluid balance after 7 d of CRRT in the oXiris® group was significantly lower than that of patients in the M150 hemofilter group. The SOFA scores of patients after CRRT with oXiris® therapy were significantly lower than those before treatment on day 1 (d1), d3 and d7 after CRRT; these parameters were also significantly lower than those of the control group on d7. The lac level after oXiris® therapy was significantly lower than that before treatment on d3 and d7 after CRRT. There were no significant differences in the above parameters between the two groups at the other time points. In the oXiris® group, procalcitonin levels decreased on d7, whereas interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor levels decreased significantly on d3 and d7 after treatment. CONCLUSION: CRRT with oXiris® hemofilter may improve hemodynamics by reducing inflammatory mediators and playing a role in shortening the resuscitation period and decreasing total fluid balance in the resuscitation phases.

Robust, Flame-Retardant, and Anti-Corrosive Waterborne Polyurethane Enabled by a PN Synergistic Flame-Retardant Containing Benzimidazole and Phosphinate Groups.

Waterborne polyurethanes (WPUs) have attracted great interest owing to their environmentally friendly properties, and are wildly applied in production and daily life. However, waterborne polyurethanes are flammable. Up to now, the challenge remains to prepare WPUs with excellent flame resistance, high emulsion stability, and outstanding mechanical properties. Herein, a novel flame-retardant additive, 2-hydroxyethan-1-aminium (2-(1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl)ethyl)(phenyl)phosphinate (BIEP-ETA) has been synthesized and applied to improve the flame resistance of WPUs, which has both phosphorus nitrogen synergistic effect and the ability to form hydrogen bonds with WPUs. The WPU blends (WPU/FRs) exhibited a positive fire-retardant effect in both the vapor and condensed phases, with significantly improved self-extinguishing performance and reduced heat release value. Interestingly, thanks to the good compatibility between BIEP-ETA and WPUs, WPU/FRs not only have higher emulsion stability, but also have better mechanical properties with synchronously improved tensile strength and toughness. Moreover, WPU/FRs also exhibit excellent potential as a corrosion-resistant coating.

Pyroptotic MAITs link microbial translocation with severity of alcohol-associated liver disease.

BACKGROUND: Mucosal-associated invariant T cells (MAITs) are markedly reduced in patients with alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD); however, the potential mechanism underlying MAITs' loss remains elusive. Hence, we aimed to explore what induced MAITs' loss and its clinical significance. METHODS: The characteristics of pyroptotic MAITs were evaluated in a cohort of patients with ALD, including 41 patients with alcohol-associated liver cirrhosis (ALC) and 21 patients with ALC complicated with severe alcoholic hepatitis (ALC + SAH). RESULTS: In patients with ALD, blood MAITs were significantly decreased, hyperactivated, and displayed enhanced cell death through pyroptosis. The frequencies of pyroptotic MAITs increased with disease severity in patients with ALC and patients with ALC + SAH. These frequencies were negatively associated with the frequencies of MAITs and positively correlated with the levels of MAITs' activation, plasma levels of intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (a marker of intestinal enterocyte damage), soluble CD14, lipopolysaccharide-binding protein, and peptidoglycan recognition proteins (surrogate markers of microbial translocation). Pyroptotic MAITs were also found in the liver of patients with ALD. Interestingly, MAITs underwent further activation and pyroptosis in vitro under stimulation by Escherichia coli or direct bilirubin. Notably, blocking IL-18 signaling reduced the activation and frequencies of pyroptotic MAITs. CONCLUSIONS: The loss of MAITs in patients with ALD is, at least in part, due to cell death from pyroptosis and is associated with the severity of ALD. Such increased pyroptosis may be affected by dysregulated inflammatory responses to intestinal microbial translocation or direct bilirubin.

(S)-N-Benzyl-1-phenyl-3,4-dihydroisoqunoline-2(1H)-carboxamide Derivatives, Multi-Target Inhibitors of Monoamine Oxidase and Cholinesterase: Design, Synthesis, and Biological Activity.

A series of (S)-1-phenyl-3,4-dihydroisoquinoline-2(1H)-carboxamide derivatives was synthesized and evaluated for inhibitory activity against monoamine oxidase (MAO)-A and-B, acetylcholine esterase (AChE), and butyrylcholine esterase (BChE). Four compounds (2i, 2p, 2t, and 2v) showed good inhibitory activity against both MAO-A and MAO-B, and two compounds (2d and 2j) showed selective inhibitory activity against MAO-A, with IC50 values of 1.38 and 2.48 µM, respectively. None of the compounds showed inhibitory activity against AChE; however, 12 compounds showed inhibitory activity against BChE. None of the active compounds showed cytotoxicity against L929cells. Molecular docking revealed several important interactions between the active analogs and amino acid residues of the protein receptors. This research paves the way for further study aimed at designing MAO and ChE inhibitors for the treatment of depression and neurodegenerative disorders.

Arabidopsis AGAMOUS-LIKE16 and SUPPRESSOR OF CONSTANS1 regulate the genome-wide expression and flowering time.

Flowering transition is tightly coordinated by complex gene regulatory networks, in which AGAMOUS-LIKE 16 (AGL16) plays important roles. Here, we identified the molecular function and binding properties of AGL16 and demonstrated its partial dependency on the SUPPRESSOR OF CONSTANS 1 (SOC1) function in regulating flowering. AGL16 bound to promoters of more than 2,000 genes via CArG-box motifs with high similarity to that of SOC1 in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Approximately 70 flowering genes involved in multiple pathways were potential targets of AGL16. AGL16 formed a protein complex with SOC1 and shared a common set of targets. Intriguingly, only a limited number of genes were differentially expressed in the agl16-1 loss-of-function mutant. However, in the soc1-2 knockout background, AGL16 repressed and activated the expression of 375 and 182 genes, respectively, with more than a quarter bound by AGL16. Corroborating these findings, AGL16 repressed the flowering time more strongly in soc1-2 than in the Col-0 background. These data identify a partial inter-dependency between AGL16 and SOC1 in regulating genome-wide gene expression and flowering time, while AGL16 provides a feedback regulation on SOC1 expression. Our study sheds light on the complex background dependency of AGL16 in flowering regulation, thus providing additional insights into the molecular coordination of development and environmental adaptation.

Effect of various types of photodynamic therapy on inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesions in patients with acne: A network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have demonstrated that photodynamic therapy (PDT) is safe and effective in treating acne vulgaris. The present study aimed to evaluate various PDTs on inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesions in patients with acne by a network meta-analysis (NMA) of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). METHODS: The researchers of this paper searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) databases from inception to March 2022 to identify suitable RCTs. The included studies were evaluated for methodological quality using the Cochrane bias risk assessment tool. Twenty-one RCTs were included, with a total sample size of 898 participants. RESULTS: Network meta-analysis (NMA) revealed that indocyanine green (ICG) + near-infrared (NIR) diode laser, ICG+830 nm light-emitting diode (LED), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) + 520 nm LED, and 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) + sunlight demonstrated obvious curative effects in patients with acne vulgaris. Importantly, ICG+NIR diode laser provided the greatest improvement in both inflammatory and non-inflammatory acne lesions (surface under the cumulative ranking curve [SUCRA]: 84.4% and 93.5%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Based on the NWM and SUCRA ranking, ICG + NIR diode laser can be considered more effective in treating acne than the other PDTs of the RCTs. However, this conclusion should be interpreted with caution due to the limitations of the present study.

Characteristics of antibiotic resistance gene distribution in rainfall runoff and combined sewer overflow.

Rainfall runoff and combined sewer overflow (CSO) converge with organic waste, nutrients, and microbes from the ground and wastewater. These pollutants promote the spread and transformation of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). In this study, four rainfall runoff and one CSO outfall were chosen, and samples were collected to explore the occurrence and distribution of ARGs. The ARGs were extracted from suspended solids and analyzed using metagenomic sequencing. A total of 888 ARG subtypes, belonging to 17 ARG types, were detected in all samples. Eleven ARG types were shared by all the samples. Multidrug resistance genes had the highest relative abundance. Their total relative abundance reached 1.07 ratio (ARG copy number/16S rRNA gene copy number) and comprised 46.6% of all the ARGs. In all samples, the CSO outfall had the highest total relative abundance (8.25 × 10-1 ratio) of ARGs, with a ratio ranging ND (not detected)-3.78 × 10-1 ratio. Furthermore, the relationship between ARG types and environmental factors was determined using redundancy analysis. The results showed that chemical organic demand (COD) and bacterial abundance were positively correlated with most ARG types, including multidrug, bacitracin, aminoglycoside, ß-lactam, tetracycline, and sulfonamide. NH3-N, TN, and TP were positively correlated with rifamycin, fosmidomycin, and vancomycin resistance genes. The relationship among the ARG subtypes was investigated using network analyses. The multidrug resistance gene subtypes had the highest frequency of co-occurrence. This study provides insights into the occurrence and distribution of ARGs under non-point source pollution and may contribute to the control of ARGs.

[Effect of electroacupuncture on visceral sensitivity and colonic NGF, TrkA, TRPV1 expression in IBS-D rats].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at "Tianshu" (ST 25) and "Shangjuxu" (ST 37) on mental state, visceral sensitivity and protein expression of nerve growth factor (NGF), tyrosine kinase receptor A (TrkA) and transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) of colonic tissue in diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) rats, and to explore its possible mechanism on treating IBS-D. METHODS: A total of 36 male SD rats of SPF grade were randomized into a blank group, a model group, an EA group and a western medication group, 9 rats in each group. In the model group, the EA group and the western medication group, IBS-D model was established by enema of dinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (DNBS) combined with chronic restraint stress method. In the EA group, EA was applied at "Tianshu" (ST 25) and "Shangjuxu" (ST 37), with disperse-dense wave, in frequency of 2 Hz/100 Hz, 20 min each time, once a day for 7 days. In the western medication group, pinaverium bromide suspension was given by gavage (15 mg•kg-1•d-1) for 7 days. Before and after model establishment, and after intervention, the body mass, 24 h food intake and fecal water content were observed, the visceral sensitivity was detected by abdominal withdrawal reflex (AWR); after intervention, the mental state was evaluated by elevated plus maze (EPM) test, the protein expression of NGF, TrkA and TRPV1 was detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blot in the 4 groups. RESULTS: After model establishment, compared with the blank group, the body mass and 24 h food intake were decreased (P<0.05), first systolic latency of AWR was shortened and number of contraction wave of AWR was increased (P<0.05), and fecal water content was increased (P<0.05) in the model group, the EA group and the western medication group. After intervention, compared with the blank group, open arm residence time ratio (OT%) of EPM was decreased (P<0.05) and protein expression of NGF, TrkA, TRPV1 in colonic tissue was increased in the model group (P<0.05); compared with the model group, the body mass and 24 h food intake were increased (P<0.05), first systolic latency of AWR was lengthened and number of contraction wave of AWR was decreased (P<0.05), the fecal water content was decreased (P<0.05), OT% of EPM was increased (P<0.05), and protein expression of NGF, TrkA, TRPV1 in colonic tissue was decreased (P<0.05) in the EA group and the western medication group. CONCLUSION: Electroacupuncture at "Tianshu" (ST 25) and "Shangjuxu" (ST 37) can relieve the anxiety and depression-like behaviors in IBS-D rats, down-regulate the protein expression of NGF, TrkA, TRPV1 in colonic tissue, so as to reduce the visceral sensitivity and relieve symptoms.

Diversity in rhizospheric microbial communities in tea varieties at different locations and tapping potential beneficial microorganisms.

Soil microenvironments and plant varieties could largely affect rhizosphere microbial community structure and functions. However, their specific effects on the tea rhizosphere microbial community are yet not clear. Beneficial microorganisms are important groups of microbial communities that hold ecological functionalities by playing critical roles in plant disease resistance, and environmental stress tolerance. Longjing43 and Zhongcha108 are two widely planted tea varieties in China. Although Zhongcha108 shows higher disease resistance than Longjing43, the potential role of beneficial tea rhizosphere microbes in disease resistance is largely unknown. In this study, the structure and function of rhizosphere microbial communities of these two tea varieties were compared by using the Illumina MiSeq sequencing (16S rRNA gene and ITS) technologies. Rhizosphere soil was collected from four independent tea gardens distributed at two locations in Hangzhou and Shengzhou cities in eastern China, Longjing43 and Zhongcha108 are planted at both locations in separate gardens. Significant differences in soil physicochemical properties as demonstrated by ANOVA and PCA, and distinct rhizosphere microbial communities by multiple-biotech analyses (PCoA, LEfSe, Co-occurrence network analyses) between both locations and tea varieties (p < 0.01) were found. Functions of bacteria were annotated by the FAPROTAX database, and a higher abundance of Nitrososphaeraceae relating to soil ecological function was found in rhizosphere soil in Hangzhou. LDA effect size showed that the abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) was higher in Zhongcha108 than that in Longjing43. Field experiments further confirmed that the colonization rate of AMF was higher in Zhongcha108. This finding testified that AMF could be the major beneficial tea rhizosphere microbes that potentially function in enhanced disease resistance. Overall, our results confirmed that locations affected the microbial community greater than that of tea varieties, and fungi might be more sensitive to the change in microenvironments. Furthermore, we found several beneficial microorganisms, which are of great significance in improving the ecological environment of tea gardens and the disease resistance of tea plants. These beneficial microbial communities may also help to further reveal the mechanism of disease resistance in tea and potentially be useful for mitigating climate change-associated challenges to tea gardens in the future.

Accelerating Electron-Transfer Dynamics by TiO2 -Immobilized Reversible Single-Atom Copper for Enhanced Artificial Photosynthesis of Urea.

Photocatalysis as a sustainable technology is expected to provide a novel sight for the green synthesis of urea directly using N2 , CO2 , and H2 O under mild conditions. However, the fundamental issue of inefficient electron transfer in photocatalysis strongly hinders its feasibility, especially for the above multi-electron-demanding urea synthesis. Herein, an effective strategy of accelerating electron-transfer dynamics is reported by TiO2 -immobilized reversible single-atom copper (denoted as Cu SA-TiO2 ) to enhance the performance for photosynthesis of urea from N2 , CO2 , and H2 O. As revealed by a series of quasi-in-situ characterizations (e.g., electron paramagnetic resonance, and wavelength-resolved and femtosecond time-resolved spectroscopies), the expedited dynamics behaviors originating from reversible single-atom copper in as-designed Cu SA-TiO2 (electron extraction rate: over 30 times faster than the reference photocatalysts) allow the assurance of abundant and continual photogenerated electrons for multi-electron-demanding co-photoactivation of N2 and CO2 , resulting in considerable rates of urea production. The strategy above for improving the photoelectron-extraction ability of photocatalysts will offer a high-efficiency and promising route for artificial urea photosynthesis and other multi-electron-demanding photocatalytic reactions.