Multi-Omics Analysis Reveals the Distinct Features of Metabolism Pathways Supporting the Fruit Size and Color Variation of Giant Pumpkin.

Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) is an important vegetable crop of the Cucurbitaceae plant family. The fruits of pumpkin are often used as directly edible food or raw material for a number of processed foods. In nature, mature pumpkin fruits differ in size, shape, and color. The Atlantic Giant (AG) cultivar has the world's largest fruits and is described as the giant pumpkin. AG is well-known for its large and bright-colored fruits with high ornamental and economic value. At present, there are insufficient studies that have focused on the formation factors of the AG cultivar. To address these knowledge gaps, we performed comparative transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome analysis of fruits from the AG cultivar and a pumpkin with relatively small fruit (Hubbard). The results indicate that up-regulation of gene-encoded expansins contributed to fruit cell expansion, and the increased presence of photoassimilates (stachyose and D-glucose) and jasmonic acid (JA) accumulation worked together in terms of the formation of large fruit in the AG cultivar. Notably, perhaps due to the rapid transport of photoassimilates, abundant stachyose that was not converted into glucose in time was detected in giant pumpkin fruits, implying that a unique mode of assimilate unloading is in existence in the AG cultivar. The potential molecular regulatory network of photoassimilate metabolism closely related to pumpkin fruit expansion was also investigated, finding that three MYB transcription factors, namely CmaCh02G015900, CmaCh01G018100, and CmaCh06G011110, may be involved in metabolic regulation. In addition, neoxanthin (a type of carotenoid) exhibited decreased accumulation that was attributed to the down-regulation of carotenoid biosynthesis genes in AG fruits, which may lead to pigmentation differences between the two pumpkin cultivars. Our current work will provide new insights into the potential formation factors of giant pumpkins for further systematic elucidation.

The changes in psychological symptoms of COVID-19 patients after "re-positive".

Background: Previous studies have showed that individuals infected with COVID-19 were more likely to report psychological symptoms. However, little is known about the changes from testing positive to negative to positive again. Methods: This survey was conducted through the questionnaires including the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), as well as the Self-Rating Scale of Sleep (SRSS) to explore the psychological status of COVID-19 and re-positive cases.″re-positive″ is defined as a positive RT-PCR test at any time during the recovery period after testing negative. Results: A total of 94 COVID-19 patients presented the prevalence rates of anxiety, depression, insomnia, and any of the three psychological symptoms being 26.6, 8.6, 12.8, and 31.9%, respectively. Among these, 32 cases were re-tested positive during the recovery period, with the prevalence rates of anxiety, depression, insomnia, and any of the three psychological symptoms being 21.9, 18.7, 31.2, and 37.5%, respectively. The psychological status after re-positive showed a significant decrease in anxiety (P = 0.023), an increase in depression, and a significant rise in insomnia (P = 0.035). For those with no psychological symptoms during initial-positive, after re-positive, 5.88% reported anxiety, 5.88% reported depression, and 11.76% reported insomnia. For those who experienced only anxiety symptoms during initial-positive, after re-positive, 33.3% reported depression, and 33.3% reported insomnia. Conclusions: Our findings encompassed the urgent concern for anxiety in initial-positive COVID-19 patients, depression in re-positive COVID-19 patients, and insomnia in both initial and re-positive patients, hence enabling targeted interventions for appeasing the psychological burden of COVID-19 patients.

Anxiety and depression symptoms of medical staff under COVID-19 epidemic in China.

BACKGROUND: It is well known that unexpected pandemic has led to an increase in mental health problems among a variety of populations. METHODS: In this study, an online non-probability sample survey was used to anonymously investigate the anxiety and depression symptoms among medical staff under the COVID-19 outbreak. The questionnaire included Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Factors associated with anxiety and depression symptoms were estimated by logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: A total of 1090 medical staff were investigated in this study. The estimated self-reported rates of anxiety symptoms, depression symptoms and both of the two were 13.3%, 18.4% and 23.9% respectively. Factors associated with self-reported anxiety symptoms include married status (OR=2.3, 95%CI: 1.2, 4.4), not living alone (OR=0.4, 95%CI: 0.2, 0.7), never confiding their troubles to others (OR=2.2, 95%CI: 1.4, 3.5) and higher stress (OR=14.4, 95%CI: 7.8, 26.4). Factors associated with self-reported depression symptoms include not living alone (OR=0.4, 95%CI: 0.3, 0.7), sometimes/often getting care from neighbours (OR=0.6, 95%CI: 0.4, 0.9), never confiding their troubles to others (OR=2.0, 95%CI: 1.3, 3.0) and higher stress (OR=9.7, 95%CI: 6.2, 15.2). LIMITATIONS: The study was a non-probability sample survey. Besides, scales used in this study can only identify mental health states. CONCLUSIONS: Under outbreak of COVID-19, self-reported rates of anxiety symptoms and depression symptoms were high in investigated medical staff. Psychological interventions for those at high risk with common mental problems should be integrated into the work plan to fight against the epidemic.

Targeting the D1-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor complex reduces L-dopa-induced dyskinesia in 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned Parkinson's rats.

L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-dopa) remains the most effective therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD), but its long-term administration is associated with the development of debilitating motor complications known as L-dopa-induced dyskinesia (LID). Enhanced function of dopamine D1 receptor (D1R) and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) is believed to participate in the pathogenesis of LID. Given the existence of physical and functional interactions between D1R and NMDAR, we explored the effects of uncoupling D1R and NMDA GluN1 (GluN1) interaction on LID by using the Tat-conjugated interfering peptide (Tat-D1-t2). In this study, we demonstrated in 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-lesioned PD rat model that intrastriatal injection of Tat-D1-t2 alleviated dyskinetic behaviors and downregulated the phosphorylation of DARPP-32 at Thr34 induced by levodopa. Moreover, we also showed intrastriatal administration of Tat-D1-t2 elicited alterations in membranous GluN1 and D1R expression. These findings indicate that D1R/GluN1 complexes may be a molecular target with therapeutic potential for the treatment of dyskinesia in Parkinson's patients.