Impact of vector richness on the risk of vector-borne disease: The role of vector competence.

A central goal of disease ecology is to identify the factors that drive the spread of infectious diseases. Changes in vector richness can have complex effects on disease risk, but little is known about the role of vector competence in the relationship between vector richness and disease risk. In this study, we firstly investigated the combined effects of vector competence, interspecific competition, and feeding interference on disease risk through a two-vector, one-host SIR-SI model, and obtained threshold conditions for the occurrence of dilution and amplification effects. Secondly, we extended the above model to the case of N vectors and assumed that all vectors were homogeneous to obtain analytic expressions for disease risk. It was found that in the two-vector model, disease risk declined more rapidly as interspecific competition of the high-competence vector increased. When vector richness increases, the positive effects of adding a high-competence vector species on disease transmission may outweigh the negative effects of feeding interference due to increased vector richness, making an amplification effect more likely to occur. While the addition of a highly competitive vector species may exacerbate the negative effects of feeding interference, making a dilution effect more likely to occur. In the N-vector model, the effect of increased vector richness on disease risk was fully driven by the strength of feeding interference and interspecific competition, and changes in vector competence only quantitatively but not qualitatively altered the vector richness-disease risk relationship. This work clarifies the role of vector competence in the relationship between vector richness and disease risk and provides a new perspective for studying the diversity-disease relationship. It also provides theoretical guidance for vector management and disease prevention strategies.

Multiple ossified intracranial and spinal meningiomas: a rare case report and literature review.

Ossified intracranial meningiomas (OIM) and ossified spinal meningiomas (OSM) are rare neoplasms of mesenchymal origin that predominantly manifest in the spinal cord and infrequently in the cranial region, accounting for ~0. 7-5.5% of all meningiomas. It is extremely rare to have multiple intracranial and spinal lesions accompanied by ossification. Herein, we report this rare case for the first time. A 34-year-old woman presented with paresthesia and limb weakness in the right lower limb and gradually worsened. Approximately half a year later, she could only walk with crutches. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and spinal cord showed multiple meningiomas, and histopathological examination confirmed multiple OIM and OSM (WHO grade 1). Multiple OIM and OSM are extremely rare with diverse imaging features, and it is easily confused with other tumors. Histopathological examination is the final diagnostic method.

Boxwood phyllosphere fungal and bacterial communities and their differential responses to film-forming anti-desiccants.

BACKGROUND: Anti-desiccant is a class of agrochemicals widely used to protect plants from water stresses, rapid temperature variations, heat and sunburn, frost and freeze damages, transplant shock, and pathogen and pest attack. Although anti-desiccants are generally considered non-toxic to organisms, it is unclear whether they may impact the phyllosphere microbial communities. In this study, three film-forming anti-desiccant products, TransFilm, Vapor Gard, and Wilt-Pruf were applied to the canopy of two boxwood cultivars 'Vardar Valley' and 'Justin Brouwers' on April 13 and August 26, 2021. Shoot samples were collected from boxwood plants treated with each of the three products, as well as nontreated control on June 16, August 26 (before the second treatment), and October 18. Microbial and plant genomic DNA was isolated together and 16S rRNA gene and the extended internal transcribed spacer regions were amplified with PCR and sequenced on a Nanopore MinION platform for bacterial and fungal identification. RESULTS: Bacterial communities were more diverse than fungal communities. At the phylum level, the boxwood phyllosphere was dominated by Proteobacteria and Ascomycota; at the genus level, Methylobacterium and Shiraia were the most abundant bacteria and fungi, respectively. Among the three film-forming anti-desiccants, Vapor Gard and Wilt-Pruf had more impact than TransFilm on the microbial communities. Specifically, broader impacts were observed on fungal than bacterial community composition and structure, with most affected fungi being suppressed while bacteria promoted. CONCLUSION: This study addressed several major knowledge gaps regarding boxwood phyllosphere microbiota and the impact of anti-desiccants on plant microbiome. We identified diverse microbial communities of boxwood, a major evergreen woody crop and an iconic landscape plant. We also found differential effects of three film-forming anti-desiccants on the composition and structure of bacterial and fungal communities. These findings advanced our understanding of the associated microbiome of this landmark plant, enabling growers to fully utilize the potentials of microbiome and three anti-desiccants in improving boxwood health and productivity.

Exploration of effective biomarkers and infiltrating Immune cells in Osteoarthritis based on bioinformatics analysis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a multi-factorial chronic joint disease mainly identified by synovial inflammation, cartilage damage, and degeneration. Our study applied bioinformatics analysis to uncover the immunity in OA and tried to explore the underlying immune-related molecular mechanism. First, OA-related gene-expression profiling data were retrieved from GEO database. Then, we analysed a series of datadata with using the xCell algorithm, GEO2R, enrichment analysis of SangerBox website, CytoHubba, ROC logistic regression and correlation analysis. Finally, Nine infiltrating immune cells with differential abundance between OA and normal samples were obtained. There were 42 IODEGs in OA, and their functions were associated with immune cells and corresponding biological processes. Moreover, 5 hub genes, including GREM1, NRP1, VEGFA, FYN and IL6R, were identified. Correlation analysis demonstrated that NRP1 was negatively associated with NKT cells, NRP1 and GREM1 were positively associated with aDC, VEGFA was positively associated with CD8+ naïve T cells, while VEGFA, FYN and IL6R were negatively associated with Macrophages M1. The 5 hub genes could be employed as effective diagnostic biomarkers for OA. In addition, they may participate in OA pathogenesis via interactions with infiltrating immune cells.

Field plus lab experiments help identify freezing tolerance and associated genes in subtropical evergreen broadleaf trees: A case study of Camellia oleifera.

The molecular mechanisms of freezing tolerance are unresolved in the perennial trees that can survive under much lower freezing temperatures than annual herbs. Since natural conditions involve many factors and temperature usually cannot be controlled, field experiments alone cannot directly identify the effects of freezing stress. Lab experiments are insufficient for trees to complete cold acclimation and cannot reflect natural freezing-stress responses. In this study, a new method was proposed using field plus lab experiments to identify freezing tolerance and associated genes in subtropical evergreen broadleaf trees using Camellia oleifera as a case. Cultivated C. oleifera is the dominant woody oil crop in China. Wild C. oleifera at the high-elevation site in Lu Mountain could survive below -30°C, providing a valuable genetic resource for the breeding of freezing tolerance. In the field experiment, air temperature was monitored from autumn to winter on wild C. oleifera at the high-elevation site in Lu Mountain. Leave samples were taken from wild C. oleifera before cold acclimation, during cold acclimation and under freezing temperature. Leaf transcriptome analyses indicated that the gene functions and expression patterns were very different during cold acclimation and under freezing temperature. In the lab experiments, leaves samples from wild C. oleifera after cold acclimation were placed under -10°C in climate chambers. A cultivated C. oleifera variety "Ganwu 1" was used as a control. According to relative conductivity changes of leaves, wild C. oleifera showed more freezing-tolerant than cultivated C. oleifera. Leaf transcriptome analyses showed that the gene expression patterns were very different between wild and cultivated C. oleifera in the lab experiment. Combing transcriptome results in both of the field and lab experiments, the common genes associated with freezing-stress responses were identified. Key genes of the flg22, Ca2+ and gibberellin signal transduction pathways and the lignin biosynthesis pathway may be involved in the freezing-stress responses. Most of the genes had the highest expression levels under freezing temperature in the field experiment and showed higher expression in wild C. oleifera with stronger freezing tolerance in the lab experiment. Our study may help identify freezing tolerance and underlying molecular mechanisms in trees.

Differential Adaptation Has Resulted in Aggressiveness Variation of Calonectria pseudonaviculata on Hosts Buxus, Pachysandra, and Sarcococca.

Calonectria pseudonaviculata (Cps) infects Buxus (boxwood), Pachysandra (pachysandra), and Sarcococca spp. (sweet box); yet, how it adapts to its hosts has been unclear. Here, we performed serial passage experiments with the three hosts and measured Cps changes in three aggressiveness components: infectibility, lesion size, and conidial production. The detached leaves of individual hosts were inoculated with isolates (P0) from the originating host, followed by nine serial inoculations of new leaves of the same host with conidia from the infected leaves of the previous inoculation. All boxwood isolates maintained their capability of infection and lesion expansion through the 10 passages, whereas most non-boxwood isolates lost these abilities during the passages. Isolates from plants of origin (*-P0) and their descendants isolated from passages 5 (*-P5) and 10 (*-P10) were used to evaluate aggressiveness changes on all three hosts with cross-inoculation. While post-passage boxwood isolates gave enlarged lesions on pachysandra, sweet box P5 and pachysandra P10 isolates showed reduced aggressiveness on all hosts. Cps appears to be most adapted to boxwood and less adapted to sweet box and pachysandra. These results suggest speciation of Cps, with its coevolutionary pace with the hosts the fastest with boxwood, intermediate with sweet box, and the slowest with pachysandra.

Characterization of Boxwood Shoot Bacterial Communities and Potential Impact from Fungicide Treatments.

Phyllosphere bacterial communities play important roles in plant fitness and growth. The objective of this study was to characterize the epiphytic and endophytic bacterial communities of boxwood shoots and determine how they may respond to commonly used fungicides. In early summer and early fall, shoot samples were collected immediately before and 1, 7, and 14 days after three fungicides containing chlorothalonil and/or propiconazole were applied to the canopy. Total genomic DNA from shoot surface washings and surface-sterilized shoot tissues was used as the template for 16S rRNA metabarcoding, and the amplicons were sequenced on a Nanopore MinION sequencer to characterize the epiphytic and endophytic communities. The bacterial communities were phylogenetically more diverse on the boxwood shoot surface than in the internal tissue, although the two communities shared 12.7% of the total 1,649 identified genera. The most abundant epiphytes were Methylobacterium and Pantoea, while Stenotrophomonas and Brevundimonas were the dominant endophytes. Fungicide treatments had strong impacts on epiphytic bacterial community structure and composition. Analysis of compositions of microbiomes with bias correction (ANCOM-BC) and analysis of variance (ANOVA)-like differential expression (ALDEx2) together identified 312 and 1,362 epiphytes changed in abundance due to fungicide treatments in early summer and early fall, respectively, and over 50% of these epiphytes were negatively impacted by fungicide. The two chlorothalonil-based contact fungicides demonstrated more marked effects than the propiconazole-based systemic fungicide. These results are foundational for exploring and utilizing the full potential of the microbiome and fungicide applications and developing a systems approach to boxwood health and production. IMPORTANCE Agrochemicals are important tools for safeguarding plants from invasive pathogens, insects, mites, and weeds. How they may affect the plant microbiome, a critical component of crop health and production, was poorly understood. Here, we used boxwood, an iconic low-maintenance landscape plant, to characterize shoot epiphytic and endophytic bacterial communities and their responses to contact and systemic fungicides. This study expanded our understanding of the above-ground microbiome in ornamental plants and is foundational for utilizing the full benefits of the microbiome in concert with different fungicide chemistries to improve boxwood health. This study also sets an example for a more thorough evaluation of these and other agrochemicals for their effects on boxwood microbiomes during production and offers an expanded systems approach that could be used with other crops for enhanced integrated pest management.

Multi-Year Field Plantings Evaluating Boxwood Cultivars for Susceptibility to the Blight Pathogens (Calonectria spp.) in Northern Germany.

Two multiyear field trials were conducted to evaluate boxwood cultivars for their susceptibility to the blight pathogens Calonectria pseudonaviculata and C. henricotiae in northern Germany. Fifteen cultivars were included in the first trial from 2007 to 2012, and 46 cultivars were included in the second trial from 2014 to 2017. Both trials were done in a naturally infested field that was supplemented with infected plant tissue added to the soil before planting. Each cultivar had three replicate hedge sections with 10 plants per section, and they were assessed annually for blight severity expressed as proportion of leaves blighted and fallen. Blight severity varied significantly among years (P < 0.0001) and cultivars (P < 0.05) within each trial. In the first trial, mean severity ranged from 0.03 to 0.11 for the most resistant cultivars and 0.35 to 0.96 for the most susceptible ones. Similarly, in the second trial, mean severity ranged from 0.06 to 0.27 and 0.71 to 0.97 for the most resistant and susceptible cultivars, respectively. 'Suffruticosa' was consistently the most susceptible cultivar, followed by 'Marianne', 'Myosotidifolia', 'Raket', and 'Morris Midget'. 'Herrenhausen' was the most resistant cultivar, followed by B. microphylla var. japonica, B. microphylla var. koreana, 'Green Mound', 'Faulkner', and 'Winter Beauty'. This study provides field data showing the performance of boxwood cultivars under different levels of disease pressure in an area where C. henricotiae was dominant. This knowledge will help boxwood growers and gardeners to choose less susceptible cultivars and help plant breeders to select for disease resistance.

Characterization of the Soil Bacterial Community from Selected Boxwood Gardens across the United States.

In a recent study, we observed a rapid decline of the boxwood blight pathogen Calonectria pseudonaviculata (Cps) soil population in all surveyed gardens across the United States, and we speculated that these garden soils might be suppressive to Cps. This study aimed to characterize the soil bacterial community in these boxwood gardens. Soil samples were taken from one garden in California, Illinois, South Carolina, and Virginia and two in New York in early summer and late fall of 2017 and 2018. Soil DNA was extracted and its 16S rRNA amplicons were sequenced using the Nanopore MinION® platform. These garden soils were consistently dominated by Rhizobiales and Burkholderiales, regardless of garden location and sampling time. These two orders contain many species or strains capable of pathogen suppression and plant fitness improvement. Overall, 66 bacterial taxa were identified in this study that are known to have strains with biological control activity (BCA) against plant pathogens. Among the most abundant were Pseudomonas spp. and Bacillus spp., which may have contributed to the Cps decline in these garden soils. This study highlights the importance of soil microorganisms in plant health and provides a new perspective on garden disease management using the soil microbiome.

Relapsed boyhood tibia polymicrobial osteomyelitis linked to dermatophytosis: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Relapsed childhood polymicrobial osteomyelitis associated with dermatophytosis has not been reported in the literature. CASE PRESENTATION: Here we report on a case of a 45-year-old man who had left tibial osteomyelitis for 29 years, accompanied by skin fungal infection of the ipsilateral heel for 20 years, and underwent a second operation due to recurrence of polymicrobial infection 6 years ago. The patient had a history of injury from a rusty object, which penetrated the anterior skin of the left tibia middle segment causing subsequent bone infection, but was asymptomatic after receiving treatments in 1983. The patient was physically normal until dermatophytosis occurred on the ipsilateral heel skin in 1998. The patient complained that the dermatophytosis was gradually getting worse, and the tibial wound site became itchy, red, and swollen. The left tibial infection resurged in May 2012, leading to the patient receiving debridement and antibiotic treatment. H&E and Gram-stained histology was performed on biopsy specimens of sequestrum and surrounding inflammatory tissue. Tissue culture and microbiology examination confirmed polymicrobial infection with Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Corynebacterium and a fungus. Additionally, the patient also received potassium permanganate for dermatophytosis when he was admitted into the hospital. CONCLUSIONS: Together with longitudinal follow-up of medical history, surgical findings, histopathological and microbiology culture evidence, we conclude that boyhood tibia polymicrobial osteomyelitis with S. aureus and Corynebacterium occurred in this patient, and the fungal activation of dermatophytosis may have led to osteomyelitis relapse.

Rapid Decline of Calonectria pseudonaviculata Soil Population in Selected Gardens Across the United States.

Calonectria pseudonaviculata (Cps) poses a serious threat to boxwood, an iconic landscape plant in American and European gardens. Under the mild climatic conditions of the United Kingdom, Cps remained recoverable in infected leaf debris after being left on the soil surface or buried for 5 years. The primary objective of this study was to determine how this fungus may be affected by the warmer summers and colder winters in the United States by sampling and baiting soil with boxwood cuttings and by on-site testing with sentinel plants. Soil sampling started in a Virginia garden in January 2016 and was extended to California, Illinois, New York, and South Carolina in early summer of 2017 through late fall of 2018. The Cps soil population as measured by the percentage of infected bait leaves declined sharply within the first year of blighted boxwood removal and fell to an almost undetectable level at the end of this study. To validate these baiting results, the Virginia garden was tested on site four times with container-grown boxwood plants while the South Carolina garden and three New York gardens were tested once. Each test began with sentinel plants set out for field exposure, followed by evaluation on site and then in the laboratory after plants were retrieved from these gardens and incubated under conducive environments for 2 weeks. Cps was not observed on any sentinel boxwood plant on site or in the laboratory with one exception. These observations indicate that Cps did not survive in the United States garden soil over time as well as it did in the United Kingdom. These results have important practical implications while challenging the notion that fungi producing microsclerotia will always survive in the soil for many years.

cDNA Transcriptome of Arabidopsis Reveals Various Defense Priming Induced by a Broad-Spectrum Biocontrol Agent Burkholderia sp. SSG.

Burkholderia sp. SSG is a potent biological control agent. Even though its survival on the leaf surface declined rapidly, SSG provided extended, moderate plant protection from a broad spectrum of pathogens. This study used Arabidopsis Col-0 and its mutants, eds16-1, npr1-1, and pad4-1 as model plants and compared treated plants with non-treated controls to elucidate whether SSG triggers plant defense priming. Only eds16-1 leaves with SSG became purplish, suggesting the involvement of salicylic acid (SA) in SSG-induced priming. cDNA sequencing of Col-0 plants and differential gene expression analysis identified 120 and 119 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) at 6- and 24-h post-treatment (hpt) with SSG, respectively. Most of these DEGs encoded responses to biotic and abiotic stimuli or stresses; four DEGs had more than two isoforms. A total of 23 DEGs were shared at 6 and 24 hpt, showing four regulation patterns. Functional categorization of these shared DEGs, and 44 very significantly upregulated DEGs revealed that SSG triggered various defense priming mechanisms, including responses to phosphate or iron deficiency, modulation of defense-linked SA, jasmonic acid, ethylene, and abscisic acid pathways, defense-related gene regulation, and chromatin modification. These data support that SSG is an induced systemic resistance (ISR) trigger conferring plant protection upon pathogen encounter.

Litchi chinensis seed prevents obesity and modulates the gut microbiota and mycobiota compositions in high-fat diet-induced obese zebrafish.

Obesity continues to be a global public health challenge. Litchi chinensis seed is rich in bioactive ingredients with pharmacological effects, such as hypoglycemic activity and anti-oxidation. This study aimed to assess the potential anti-obesity effects of L. chinensis seed and the changes of gut microbiota and mycobiota compositions in obese zebrafish induced by a high-fat diet. The anti-obesity effects were supplemented and validated in high-fat diet-induced obese mice. In this study, various chemical components of L. chinensis seed water and ethanol extracts were detected using UHPLC-QE-MS, and both extracts showed strong in vitro antioxidant activities. Network pharmacology analysis showed the potential of the extracts to improve obesity. Litchi chinensis seed powder, water and ethanol extracts decreased the weight of obese zebrafish, improved lipid accumulation and lipid metabolism, regulated appetite, and inhibited cell apoptosis and inflammation of the liver and intestine. They showed similar effects in obese mice, and also reduced the weight of fat tissues, regulated insulin resistance and glucose metabolism, and improved the intestinal barrier. Additionally, L. chinensis seed modulated the compositions of gut microbiota and mycobiota in zebrafish, with the regulation of the proportion of bacteria that produce short-chain fatty acids or affect intestine health, including Cetobacterium, Trichococcus, Aeromonas, Staphylococcus, and Micrococcaceae, and the proportion of fungi that produce mycotoxins or have special metabolic capacities, including Penicillium, Candida, Rhodotorula, and Trichoderma. Spearman's correlation analysis revealed the potential link between zebrafish obesity parameters, gut bacteria and fungi. Overall, these findings indicated that L. chinensis seed effectively improved obesity.

Differential Tolerance to Calonectria pseudonaviculata of English Boxwood Plants Associated with the Complexity of Culturable Fungal and Bacterial Endophyte Communities.

Isolated boxwood endophytes have been demonstrated to effectively protect boxwood plants from infection by Calonectria pseudonaviculata (Cps). However, the roles of endophytes as communities in plant defense are not clear. Here, we demonstrated differential tolerance to Cps of English boxwood (Buxus sempervirens 'Suffruticosa'), an iconic landscape plant and generally regarded as highly susceptible, and its link to endophyte complexity. Fifteen boxwood twig samples were collected in triplicates from three historic gardens-Colonial Williamsburg, George Washington's Mount Vernon and River Farm, and Virginia Tech's research farm in Virginia Beach in the summer and fall of 2019. A portion of individual samples was inoculated with Cps under controlled conditions. Significant differences in disease severity were observed among samples but not between the two seasons. Examining the endophyte cultures of the summer samples revealed that bacterial and fungal abundance was negatively and positively correlated with the disease severity. Nanopore metagenomics analysis on genomic DNA of the tolerant and susceptible group representatives confirmed the associations. Specifically, tolerant English boxwood plants had an endophyte community dominated by Bacilli and Betaproteobacteria, while susceptible ones had a distinct endophyte community dominated by Gammaproteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and diverse fungi. These findings may lead to boxwood health management innovations-devising and utilizing cultural practices to manipulate and increase the abundance and performance of beneficial endophytes for enhanced boxwood resistance to Cps.

Practice in Information Technology Support for Fangcang Shelter Hospital during COVID-19 Epidemic in Wuhan, China.

In confronting the sudden epidemic of COVID-19, China and other countries have been under great deal of pressure to block virus transmission and reduce death cases. Fangcang shelter hospital, which is converted from large-scale public venue, is proposed and proven to be an effective way for administering medical care and social isolation. This paper presents the practice in information technology support for a Fangcang shelter hospital in Wuhan, China. The experiences include the deployment strategy of IT infrastructure, the redesign of function modules in the hospital information system (HIS), equipment maintenance and medical staff training. The deployment strategy and HIS modules have ensured smoothness and efficiency of clinical work. The team established a quick response mechanism and adhered to the principle of nosocomial infection control. Deployment of network and modification of HIS was finished in the 48 hours before patient admittance. A repair hotline and remote support for equipment and software were available whenever medical workers met with any questions. No engineer ever entered the contaminated areas and no one was infected by the coronavirus during the hospital operation. Up to now, Fangcang shelter hospital is adopted by many regions around the world facing the collapse of their medical systems. This valuable experience in informatization construction and service in Wuhan may help participators involving in Fangcang shelter hospital get better information technology support, and find more practical interventions to fight the epidemic.

Gut microbiome-related effects of berberine and probiotics on type 2 diabetes (the PREMOTE study).

Human gut microbiome is a promising target for managing type 2 diabetes (T2D). Measures altering gut microbiota like oral intake of probiotics or berberine (BBR), a bacteriostatic agent, merit metabolic homoeostasis. We hence conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with newly diagnosed T2D patients from 20 centres in China. Four-hundred-nine eligible participants were enroled, randomly assigned (1:1:1:1) and completed a 12-week treatment of either BBR-alone, probiotics+BBR, probiotics-alone, or placebo, after a one-week run-in of gentamycin pretreatment. The changes in glycated haemoglobin, as the primary outcome, in the probiotics+BBR (least-squares mean [95% CI], -1.04[-1.19, -0.89]%) and BBR-alone group (-0.99[-1.16, -0.83]%) were significantly greater than that in the placebo and probiotics-alone groups (-0.59[-0.75, -0.44]%, -0.53[-0.68, -0.37]%, P < 0.001). BBR treatment induced more gastrointestinal side effects. Further metagenomics and metabolomic studies found that the hypoglycaemic effect of BBR is mediated by the inhibition of DCA biotransformation by Ruminococcus bromii. Therefore, our study reports a human microbial related mechanism underlying the antidiabetic effect of BBR on T2D. (Clinicaltrial.gov Identifier: NCT02861261).

Endophytic Burkholderia sp. SSG as a potential biofertilizer promoting boxwood growth.

BACKGROUND: Burkholderia sp. SSG is a bacterial endophyte isolated from boxwood leaves showing a resistant response to infection by the boxwood blight pathogen Calonectria pseudonaviculata. SSG acted as a protective and curative biocontrol agent for boxwood blight and as a bio-sanitizer of disease inoculum in the field. Many gene clusters involved in antibiotic production and plant growth promotion (PGP) were found in the genome, giving this endophyte great application potential as a treatment for plant protection. However, the PGP features have not been documented. This study investigated the plant growth promotion activity of SSG in boxwood. METHODS: To determine whether SSG is a plant growth promoting bacterium, four PGP traits, auxin and siderophore production, nitrogen fixation and phosphate solubilization, were examined in the laboratory with colorimetric or agar plate assays. The plant growth promoting activity of SSG was tested on three boxwood varieties characterized by slow, intermediate and fast growth rates, namely Justin Brouwers, Buddy and Winter Gem, respectively. These plants were drenched with an SSG cell suspension or water and washed plant weight was compared before and after treatment to determine growth changes after 10 months. RESULTS: The SSG culture was sustainable on nitrogen free media, suggesting that SSG may fix atmospheric nitrogen. It was also a strong phosphate solubilizer and a potent siderophore and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) producer. Significant growth promotion was observed on boxwood cultivars Justin Brouwers, Buddy and Winter Gem 10 months after plant roots were drenched with SSG cells. The growth rate of treated plants was 76.1, 58.3, and 37.3% higher than that of the control, respectively. The degree of growth promotion was significantly different among plant varieties, notably more pronounced with the slow and intermediate growers. This study demonstrates that the SSG bacterium has multiple PGP traits and is a prospective plant biofertilizer.

Identification of protein complexes and functional modules in E. coli PPI networks.

BACKGROUND: Escherichia coli always plays an important role in microbial research, and it has been a benchmark model for the study of molecular mechanisms of microorganisms. Molecular complexes, operons, and functional modules are valuable molecular functional domains of E. coli. The identification of protein complexes and functional modules of E. coli is essential to reveal the principles of cell organization, process, and function. At present, many studies focus on the detection of E. coli protein complexes based on experimental methods. However, based on the large-scale proteomics data set of E. coli, the simultaneous prediction of protein complexes and functional modules, especially the comparative analysis of them is relatively less. RESULTS: In this study, the Edge Label Propagate Algorithm (ELPA) of the complex biological network was used to predict the protein complexes and functional modules of two high-quality PPI networks of E. coli, respectively. According to the gold standard protein complexes and function annotations provided by EcoCyc dataset, most protein modules predicted in the two datasets matched highly with real protein complexes, cellular processes, and biological functions. Some novel and significant protein complexes and functional modules were revealed based on ELPA. Moreover, through a comparative analysis of predicted complexes with corresponding functional modules, we found the protein complexes were significantly overlapped with corresponding functional modules, and almost all predicted protein complexes were completely covered by one or more functional modules. Finally, on the same PPI network of E. coli, ELPA was compared with a well-known protein module detection method (MCL) and we found that the performance of ELPA and MCL is comparable in predicting protein complexes. CONCLUSIONS: In this paper, a link clustering method was used to predict protein complexes and functional modules in PPI networks of E. coli, and the correlation between them was compared, which could help us to understand the molecular functional units of E. coli better.

Pulmonary nodule detection on chest radiographs using balanced convolutional neural network and classic candidate detection.

Computer-aided detection (CADe) systems play a crucial role in pulmonary nodule detection via chest radiographs (CXRs). A two-stage CADe scheme usually includes nodule candidate detection and false positive reduction. A pure deep learning model, such as faster region convolutional neural network (faster R-CNN), has been successfully applied for nodule candidate detection via computed tomography (CT). The model is yet to achieve a satisfactory performance in CXR, because the size of the CXR is relatively large and the nodule in CXR has been obscured by structures such as ribs. In contrast, the CNN has proved effective for false positive reduction compared to the shallow method. In this paper, we developed a CADe scheme using the balanced CNN with classic candidate detection. First, the scheme applied a multi-segment active shape model to accurately segment pulmonary parenchyma. The grayscale morphological enhancement technique was then used to improve the conspicuity of the nodule structure. Based on the nodule enhancement image, 200 nodule candidates were selected and a region of interest (ROI) was cropped for each. Nodules in CXR exhibit a large variation in density, and rib crossing and vessel tissue usually present similar features to the nodule. Compared to the original ROI image, the nodule enhancement ROI image has potential discriminative features from false positive reduction. In this study, the nodule enhancement ROI image, corresponding segmentation result, and original ROI image were encoded into a red-green-blue (RGB) color image instead of the duplicated original ROI image as input of the CNN (GoogLeNet) for false positive reduction. With the Japanese Society of Radiological Technology database, the CADe scheme achieved high performance of the published literatures (a sensitivity of 91.4 % and 97.1 %, with 2.0 false positives per image (FPs/image) and 5.0 FPs/image, respectively) for nodule cases.

Xihuang pill potentiates the anti-tumor effects of temozolomide in glioblastoma xenografts through the Akt/mTOR-dependent pathway.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Xihuang pill, as a famous traditional Chinese medicine formula, is used for tumor treatment in China. The anti-tumor activities and mechanisms of Xihuang pill still remain unclear. AIM OF THE STUDY: The Akt/mTOR signaling pathway plays an important role in mediating cell proliferation and apoptosis in glioblastoma. This study aimed to investigate whether Xihuang pill could potentiate temozolomide-induced apoptosis of glioblastoma U87 and U251 cells in vivo and its underlying mechanisms related to Akt/mTOR pathway. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Human glioblastoma U87 and U251 xenograft models were established. Immunocytochemistry and Western blot were performed to evaluate the anti-proliferative effect, apoptosis and Akt/mTOR signaling mediators. RESULTS: The results showed that Xihuang pill (0.5, 1 g/kg) or temozolomide (10 mg/kg) treatment alone inhibited tumor growth in glioblastoma U87 and U251 xenografts. When Xihuang pill (1 g/kg) and temozolomide (10 mg/kg) were co-administrated, the activities of antitumor growth were markedly increased. Meanwhile, Xihuang pill (0.5, 1 g/kg) or temozolomide (10 mg/kg) treatment alone decreased the levels of Ki67 and PCNA expression in glioblastoma U87 and U251 xenografts. In combination treatment group, the inhibitory effects on Ki67 and PCNA expression were significantly enhanced in glioblastoma U87 and U251 xenografts compared to temozolomide treatment alone. Examining the apoptotic index by TUNEL assay showed similar results. Furthermore, Xihuang pill markedly down-regulated the Bcl-2/Bax ratio and inhibited the activation of Akt/mTOR pathway in glioblastoma U87 and U251 xenografts. In addition, no significant signs of toxicities were related to Xihuang pill and/or temozolomide treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggested that Xihuang pill might potentiate temozolomide-induced apoptosis of glioblastoma cells in vivo through inhibiting Akt/mTOR-dependent pathway.