Regulation of Root Exudation in Wheat Plants in Response to Alkali Stress.

Soil alkalization is an important environmental factor limiting crop production. Despite the importance of root secretion in the response of plants to alkali stress, the regulatory mechanism is unclear. In this study, we applied a widely targeted metabolomics approach using a local MS/MS data library constructed with authentic standards to identify and quantify root exudates of wheat under salt and alkali stresses. The regulatory mechanism of root secretion in alkali-stressed wheat plants was analyzed by determining transcriptional and metabolic responses. Our primary focus was alkali stress-induced secreted metabolites (AISMs) that showed a higher secretion rate in alkali-stressed plants than in control and salt-stressed plants. This secretion was mainly induced by high-pH stress. We discovered 55 AISMs containing -COOH groups, including 23 fatty acids, 4 amino acids, 1 amino acid derivative, 7 dipeptides, 5 organic acids, 9 phenolic acids, and 6 others. In the roots, we also discovered 29 metabolites with higher levels under alkali stress than under control and salt stress conditions, including 2 fatty acids, 3 amino acid derivatives, 1 dipeptide, 2 organic acids, and 11 phenolic acids. These alkali stress-induced accumulated carboxylic acids may support continuous root secretion during the response of wheat plants to alkali stress. In the roots, RNAseq analysis indicated that 5 6-phosphofructokinase (glycolysis rate-limiting enzyme) genes, 16 key fatty acid synthesis genes, and 122 phenolic acid synthesis genes have higher expression levels under alkali stress than under control and salt stress conditions. We propose that the secretion of multiple types of metabolites with a -COOH group is an important pH regulation strategy for alkali-stressed wheat plants. Enhanced glycolysis, fatty acid synthesis, and phenolic acid synthesis will provide more energy and substrates for root secretion during the response of wheat to alkali stress.

Behaviors and influencing factors of Chinese oncology nurses towards hospice care: a cross-sectional study based on social cognitive theory in 2022.

BACKGROUND: Although there is growing demand for hospice care in China due to its aging population and increasing cancer rates, the sector remains slow to expand. Oncology nurses are the primary providers of hospice care, but little is known about their behaviors towards hospice care and related factors. METHODS: This cross-sectional study conveniently sampled 933 oncology nurses from six grade A tertiary hospitals in Hubei Province between January to March 2022. The questionnaire was composed of seven parts: general information (including sociodemographic and work-related information), hospice care behaviors, hospice care knowledge, hospice care attitudes, hospice care self-efficacy, hospice care outcome expectancy, and hospice care environment. Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, independent sample t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation, multiple linear regression, random forest regression, and BP neural network model analysis. RESULTS: A total of 852 questionnaires were valid. The mean score of hospice care behaviors was 50.47 ± 10.56, with a mean item score of 3.61 ± 0.75. The three highest scoring behaviors were "pain assessment of patients (4.21 ± 0.91)", "satisfying the physical and mental needs of dying patients (4.04 ± 0.92)", and "creating good relationships between the medical staff and family members (4.02 ± 0.87)". The two lowest-scoring behaviors were "proactively recommending medical institutions for hospice care to terminally ill patients and their families (2.55 ± 1.10)" and "proactively talking to patients and families about death-related topics for patients who are critically ill and cannot be reversed (2.87 ± 1.03)." Multiple linear regression, random forest regression, and BP neural network models all showed that the frequency of sharing hospice care experiences with colleagues, hospice care attitudes, hospice care self-efficacy, and hospice care environments were positively associated with hospice care behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of hospice care behaviors among Chinese oncology nurses is generally at a moderate to high level. The results provide a basis for promoting hospice care behaviors among oncology nurses in order to improve the quality of life for terminally ill cancer patients.

Significant Enhanced Mechanical Properties of Suspended Graphene Film by Stacking Multilayer CVD Graphene Films.

Suspended graphene film is of great significance for building high-performance electrical devices. However, fabricating large-area suspended graphene film with good mechanical properties is still a challenge, especially for the chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-grown graphene films. In this work, the mechanical properties of suspended CVD-grown graphene film are investigated systematically for the first time. It is found that monolayer graphene film is hard to maintain on circular holes with a diameter of tens of micrometers, which can be improved greatly by increasing the layer of graphene films. The mechanical properties of CVD-grown multilayer graphene films suspended on a circular hole with a diameter of 70 µm can be increased by 20%, and multilayer graphene films prepared by layer-layer stacking process can be increased by up to 400% for the same size. The corresponding mechanism was also discussed in detail, which might pave the way for building high-performance electrical devices based on high-strength suspended graphene film.

Pressure and strain engineering of the structural and electronic transitions in ReS2.

The distinctive crystal structure and anisotropic electrical characteristics of rhenium disulfide (ReS2) have garnered growing interest. Pressure and strain engineering has been used to modulate structural and electronic transition. Here, we present a comprehensive study on the high-pressure phase transition and strain tunable electronic properties of ReS2. There occurs a structural transition from distorted-1T to distorted-1T' at 7.5 GPa. In addition, ReS2has opposite piezoresistive effects along the two principle axes in the plane. This study shows that pressure and strain may be used to tune the characteristics of ReS2for future optoelectronic applications.

Extensive secretion of phenolic acids and fatty acids facilitates rhizosphere pH regulation in halophyte Puccinellia tenuiflora under alkali stress.

Puccinellia tenuiflora is a forage grass with high nutritional value that is an extreme alkali-tolerant halophyte: it can survive at pH 10-11. Root secretion is perceived as a major plant alkali tolerance mechanism. In the present study, we applied a widely targeted metabolomic approach to identify and quantify the root exudates of P. tenuiflora under alkali stress. We also surveyed the transcriptional and metabolic profiling of P. tenuiflora roots under salt (96-mM Na+ , pH 6.8) and alkali (96-mM Na+ , pH 9.6) stresses to reveal the biological processes mediating root secretion. In P. tenuiflora plants, 493 root exudates were detected under control conditions, 544 root exudates under salt stress conditions, and 607 root exudates under alkali stress conditions. Salt-stressed plants and alkali-stressed plants shared 64 root exudates, and 60 root exudates were unique to alkali-stressed plants. The secretion rate of 56 phenolic acids, 43 fatty acids, and 9 organic acids was faster in alkali-stressed roots than in control and salt-stressed roots. In P. tenuiflora roots, alkali stress enhanced the accumulation of 23 phenolic acids, five organic acids, and only one fatty acid. In addition, transcriptomic analysis revealed that alkali stress upregulated glycolysis and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathways in P. tenuiflora roots. Taken together, extensive secretion of phenolic acids and fatty acids promotes rhizosphere pH regulation of P. tenuiflora under alkali stress, which contributes to its strong alkali tolerance. The root secretion of P. tenuiflora upon alkali stress is highly organized. Enhanced glycolysis, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and organic acid synthesis in the roots provide more reducing power and carbon source for the root secretion process of alkali-stressed P. tenuiflora.

Highly Efficient Red Quantum Dot Light-Emitting Diodes by Balancing Charge Injection and Transport.

Quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) have promising commercial value and application prospects in the fields of displays and lighting. However, a charge-transfer imbalance always exists in the devices. In this work, the high-efficiency red QLEDs were obtained via employing the mixtures of poly[(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl)-alt-(4,4'-(N-(4-butylphenyl) (TFB) and 4,4'-bis(carbazole-9-yl)-1,1'-biphenyl (CBP) as hole-transport layers (HTLs) by solution processing. The optimized mixing concentration of CBP is 20 wt %. The corresponding red QLED exhibited a maximum luminance of 963 433 cd m-2, a maximum current efficiency of 38.7 cd A-1, an external quantum efficiency of 30.0%, a central wavelength of 628 nm with a narrow full width at half-maximum (fwhm) of 24 nm, and a 5-fold T50 lifetime enhancement at an extremely high luminance of 200 000 cd m-2. The characteristics of carrier-only devices with QD emissive layers (QD EMLs) and impedance characteristics of QLEDs demonstrate that these advances are chiefly ascribed to the more balanced charge transport and efficient hole-electron recombination in EML. We anticipate that our results could offer a low-cost and simple solution-processed method for preparing high-performance QLEDs.

Salinity Tolerance in a Synthetic Allotetraploid Wheat (SlSlAA) Is Similar to Its Higher Tolerant Parent Aegilops longissima (SlSl) and Linked to Flavonoids Metabolism.

Allotetraploidization between A and S (closely related to B) genome species led to the speciation of allotetraploid wheat (genome BBAA). However, the immediate metabolic outcomes and adaptive changes caused by the allotetraploidization event are poorly understood. Here, we investigated how allotetraploidization affected salinity tolerance using a synthetic allotetraploid wheat line (genome SlSlAA, labeled as 4x), its Aegilops longissima (genome SlSl, labeled as SlSl) and Triticum urartu (AA genome, labeled as AA) parents. We found that the degree of salinity tolerance of 4x was similar to its SlSl parent, and both were substantially more tolerant to salinity stress than AA. This suggests that the SlSl subgenome exerts a dominant effect for this trait in 4x. Compared with SlSl and 4x, the salinity-stressed AA plants did not accumulate a higher concentration of Na+ in leaves, but showed severe membrane peroxidation and accumulated a higher concentration of ROS (H2O2 and O2 ⋅⁣-) and a lesser concentration of flavonoids, indicating that ROS metabolism plays a key role in saline sensitivity. Exogenous flavonoid application to roots of AA plants significantly relieved salinity-caused injury. Our results suggest that the higher accumulation of flavonoids in SlSl may contribute to ROS scavenging and salinity tolerance, and these physiological properties were stably inherited by the nascent allotetraploid SlSlAA.

Disrupted Structural Brain Network Organization Behind Depressive Symptoms in Major Depressive Disorder.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a severe and devastating condition. However, the anatomical basis behind the affective symptoms, cognitive symptoms, and somatic-vegetative symptoms of MDD is still unknown. To explore the mechanism behind the depressive symptoms in MDD, we used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)-based structural brain connectivity analysis to investigate the network difference between MDD patients and healthy controls (CN), and to explore the association between network metrics and patients' clinical symptoms. Twenty-six patients with MDD and 25 CN were included. A baseline 24-item Hamilton rating scale for depression (HAMD-24) score ≥ 21 and seven factors (anxiety/somatization, weight loss, cognitive disturbance, diurnal variation, retardation, sleep disturbance, hopelessness) scores were assessed. When compared with healthy subjects, significantly higher characteristic path length and clustering coefficient as well as significantly lower network efficiencies were observed in patients with MDD. Furthermore, MDD patients demonstrated significantly lower nodal degree and nodal efficiency in multiple brain regions including superior frontal gyrus (SFG), supplementary motor area (SMA), calcarine fissure, middle temporal gyrus (MTG), and inferior temporal gyrus (ITG). We also found that the characteristic path length of MDD patients was associated with weight loss. Moreover, significantly lower global efficiency of MDD patients was correlated with higher total HAMD score, anxiety somatization, and cognitive disturbance. The nodal degree in SFG was also found to be negatively associated with disease duration. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that MDD patients had impaired structural network features compared to CN, and disruption of optimal network architecture might be the mechanism behind the depressive symptoms and emotion disturbance in MDD patients.

Successful treatment of pyopneumothorax secondary to Streptococcus constellatus infection with linezolid: a case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Pyopneumothorax secondary to Streptococcus constellatus infection is a clinically rare event, and few cases have been reported. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the case of a 55-year-old Han Chinese man with underlying diabetes who presented with fever of 17 days duration. A pulmonary computed tomography scan revealed right-sided massive pyopneumothorax. A culture of the pleural effusion and blood grew S. constellatus. A drug sensitivity test showed that the isolate was sensitive to linezolid, penicillin G, cefotaxime, vancomycin, and cefuroxime. Our patient was treated with linezolid for a total of 6 weeks. Subsequently, his chest computed tomography scan showed improved lung condition. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of pyopneumothorax secondary to S. constellatus to be treated with linezolid. Pyopneumothorax may be caused by streptococcal infection, and linezolid is another good choice for treatment.

Adaptive strategy of allohexaploid wheat to long-term salinity stress.

BACKGROUND: Most studies of crop salinity tolerance are conducted under short-term stress condition within one growth stage. Understanding of the mechanisms of crop response to long-term salinity stress (LSS) is valuable for achieving the improvement of crop salinity tolerance. In the current study, we exposed allohexaploid wheat seeds to LSS conditions from germination stage to young seedling stage for 30 days. To elucidate the adaptive strategy of allohexaploid wheat to LSS, we analyzed chloroplast ultrastructure, leaf anatomy, transcriptomic profiling and concentrations of plant hormones and organic compatible solutes, comparing stressed and control plants. RESULTS: Transcriptomic profiling and biochemical analysis showed that energy partitioning between general metabolism maintenance and stress response may be crucial for survival of allohexaploid wheat under LSS. Under LSS, wheat appeared to shift energy from general maintenance to stress response through stimulating the abscisic acid (ABA) pathway and suppressing gibberellin and jasmonic acid pathways in the leaf. We further distinguished the expression status of the A, B, and D homeologs of any gene triad, and also surveyed the effects of LSS on homeolog expression bias for salinity-tolerant triads. We found that LSS had similar effects on expression of the three homeologs for most salinity-tolerant triads. However, in some of these triads, LSS induced different effects on the expression of the three homeologs. CONCLUSIONS: The shift of the energy from general maintenance to stress response may be important for wheat LSS tolerance. LSS influences homeolog expression bias of salinity-tolerant triads.

An extracted tetraploid wheat harbouring the BBAA component of common wheat shows anomalous shikimate and sucrose metabolism.

BACKGROUND: The BBAA subgenomes of hexaploid common wheat are structurally intact, which makes it possible to extract the BBAA subgenomes to constitute a novel plant type, namely, extracted tetraploid wheat (ETW). ETW displays multiple abnormal phenotypes such as massively reduced biomass and abnormal spike development, compared to extant tetraploid wheat with a BBAA genome. The genetic, biochemical and physiological basis underlying the phenotypic abnormality of ETW remains unknown. RESULTS: To explore the biochemical basis of these phenotypic abnormalities, we analysed the metabolomic and proteomic profiles and quantified 46 physiological traits of ETW in comparison with its common wheat donor (genome BBAADD), and a durum tetraploid wheat cultivar (genome BBAA). Among these three types of wheat, ETW showed a saliently different pattern of nutrient accumulation and seed quality, markedly lower concentrations of many metabolites involved in carbohydrate metabolism, and higher concentrations of many metabolites related to amino acids. Among the metabolites, changes in shikimate and sucrose were the most conspicuous. Higher levels of shikimate and lower levels of sucrose influence many metabolic processes including carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism, which may contribute to the phenotypic abnormalities. Gene expression assay showed downregulation of a shikimate degradation enzyme (5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase) coding gene and upregulation of several genes coding for the sucrose hydrolysis enzyme, which could explain the higher levels of shikimate and lower levels of sucrose, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that significant and irreversible biochemical changes have occurred in the BBAA subgenomes of common wheat during the course of its co-evolution with the DD subgenome at the hexaploid level.

Proteomic profiling sheds light on alkali tolerance of common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

Alkali (high-pH) stress is an important factor limiting agricultural production and has complex effects on plant metabolism. Transcriptomics is widely used in the discovery of stress-response genes, but it provides only a rough estimation for gene expression. Proteomics may be more helpful than transcriptomics for the discovery and identification of stress-response genes. In this study, wheat plants were treated with sodic alkaline stress (50 mM, NaHCO3: Na2CO3 = 1:1; pH 9.7), and then proteomic analysis was carried out on control and stressed plants. We detected 3,104 proteins, including 69 alkaline stress-response proteins. Five superoxide dismutases, three malate dehydrogenases, three dehydrin proteins, and one V-ATPase protein were upregulated in sodic alkaline-stressed wheat roots. We propose that these salinity response proteins may be important for ion homeostasis and osmotic regulation of sodic alkaline-stressed wheat. Additionally, two malic enzymes and many enzymes involved in the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) were downregulated in the roots. The upregulation of malate dehydrogenase and the downregulation of TCA enzymes and malic enzymes may enhance the accumulation of malate in sodic alkaline-stressed wheat roots. Previous studies have demonstrated that the accumulation of malate in roots is a crucial adaptive mechanism of wheat to sodic alkaline stress. Herein, our proteomics results provided molecular insights into this adaptive mechanism.

Use of endobronchial valve insertion to treat relapsing pneumothorax: a case report and literature review.

Backgorund and Aims: Unidirectional endobronchial valves have recently been shown to be beneficial as treatment for persistent air leaks. This report presents a first case of endobronchial valve implantation to treat relapsing pneumothorax in a Chinese patient, and also presents a review of the literature on the use of one-way valve insertion for the treatment of persistent air leaks. METHODS: The patient did undergo a recent but failed chest tube intervention. By bronchoscopy and using Chartis® system measurements, the upper left lobe (including the left apical bronchus) was closed using a catheter. RESULTS: After the expected decrease in airflow following bronchial occlusion, increased air pressure and decreased spilled air were noted; it was concluded that the pneumothorax was located in the left upper lobe. A Zephyr® endobronchial valve was placed in the left upper apical bronchus. The health benefits of the procedure were noticed in the following days. CONCLUSION: Our review suggests that the use of endobronchial valves could be used as an effective, minimally invasive, low-risk intervention for patients with pneumothorax that cannot be treated surgically.

The immunogenicity and anti-tumor effects of a lung cancer DNA vaccine harboring a MUC-1 and GM-CSF fusion gene

ABSTRACT DNA vaccines have been shown to be an effective approach to induce antigen-specific cellular and humoral immunity. However, the inability of DNA vaccines to elicit strong immune responses in clinical trials limits the application of DNA vaccines. Here, we developed a new DNA vaccine based on MUC1, which has been suggested as a potential target for lung cancer therapy, and we enhanced the potency of the DNA vaccine by including granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) as an adjuvant. A series of DNA plasmids encoding MUC1, human GM-CSF and their conjugates were constructed and injected into female mice intramuscularly (i.m.). This action was followed by an electric pulse. The humoral and cellular immune responses after immunization were examined by ELISA and ELISPOT, respectively. To evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of the plasmids, a mouse model with a MUC1-expressing tumor was designed. Mice vaccinated with the MUC1-GM-CSF plasmid generated the strongest MUC1-specific humoral and cellular immune responses. Furthermore, these vaccinations inhibited the growth of MUC1-expressing tumors and prolonged mouse survival. These observations emphasize the potential of GM-CSF as an adjuvant for DNA vaccines and of vaccines based on MUC1 and GM-CSF as a promising treatment for lung cancer.

Endobronchial valve to treat large bulla at right middle lobe in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients.

We have used endobronchial valve (EBV) to treat large bulla at right middle lobe (RML) on three chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and presented the clinical datum of three COPD patients with RML bulla. The improvement of lung function was significant on two patients, whose lung parenchyma was preserved well in lobes other than RML. On one patient, whose lung function did not show improvement after EBV treatment, the parenchyma of bilateral lungs was destructed heavily by chronic inflammation of COPD, and the RML bulla did not collapse because right major and/or minor fissures are incomplete. EBV may be used to treat large RML bulla in selected patients, whose parenchyma of other parts of the lung was conserved well and right major and minor fissures are complete.

Treatment of giant emphysamous bulla with endobronchial valves in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a case series.

BACKGROUND: Giant emphysamtous bulla (GEB) can negatively affect the pulmonary functions of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) patients, including decreased forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and increased functional residual capacity (FRC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of endobronchial valve (EBV) to treat bullae and to find efficacy predictors of successful treatment. METHODS: Five COPD patients with giant bulla were treated using EBVs. Before the EBV deployment, collateral ventilation (CV) between the targeted and adjacent lobes was evaluated with Chartis system. RESULTS: In the two patients with negative CV, the mean value of FEV1 increased from 27.1±11.4% of predicted value before EBV treatment to 32.8±12.0% (P>0.05) at 1 month after EBV treatment, than to 31.7±24.5% (P>0.05) at 6 months after EBV treatment. Only one patient, whose bulla occupied the whole right middle lung, displayed sustained improvement of FEV1 at 6 months after EBV treatment. In the three patients with positive CV, the mean value of FEV1 decreased from 28.8±19.0% of predicted value before EBV treatment to 24.8±12.6% (P>0.05) at 1 month after EBV treatment, than to 22.1±10.8% (P>0.05) at 6 months after EBV treatment. CONCLUSIONS: EBV is an effective measure to treat highly selected COPD patients with giant bulla. Although, EBV treatment can achieve transient improvement of lung function at patients with CV negative bulla, long-term benefit was merely observed at the patient with a bulla at right middle lobe (RML).

[Efficacy observation on refractory insomnia treated with the balance needling therapy].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the difference in the clinical efficacy on refractory insomnia between the balance needling therapy and the conventional acupuncture and verify the effectiveness and practicality of the balance needling therapy. METHODS: Sixty cases were randomized into a balance needling therapy group, a conventional acupuncture group and a placebo group, 20 cases in each one. In the balance needling therapy group, Shi-mian (point for insomnia) was selected with quick needling manipulation. After the arrival of qi, the technique of lifting and thrusting was applied till the radiating numbness presented in the middle or index finnger, thus the needle was removed. In the conventional acupuncture group, Sishencong (EX-HN 1), Shenmen (HT 7) and Sanyinjiao (SP 6) were punctured with the conventional technique. The treatment was given once every day, 7 treatments made one session, 2 sessions were required totally. In the placebo group, starch capsules were prescribed for oral administration before sleep every night, continuously for 14 days. The efficacy and scores of Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) beforea and after treatment were observed in three groups. RESULTS: PSQI scores were reduced after treatment in every group (both P < 0.01), the scores in the balance needling therapy group and conventional acupuncture group were reduced apparently as compared with those in the placebo group (both P < 0.01). The total effective rate were 90.0% (18/20), 85.0% (17/20) and 15.0% (3/20) in the balance needling therapy group, conventional acupuncture group and placebo group separately. The efficacy in the balance needling therapy group and the conventional acupuncture group was higher obviously than that in the placebo group (both P < 0.01), and the balance needling therapy group had the same efficacy as conventional acupuncture group (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The balance needling therapy is safe and effective in the treatment of refractory insomnia and achieves the same efficacy as the conventional acupuncture, which has more simple operation and less pain for the patients and much more considerable practicality in clinic.