[Correlation Analysis between Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte Ratio 
and the Risk of Malnutrition in Stage IV Primary Lung Cancer].

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition is commonly associated with poor prognosis in patients with malignant tumors. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is an indicator of inflammation in the body and predicts the risk of malnutrition in a variety of diseases; however, its association with malnutrition in lung cancer patients is unclear. The aim of this study is to clarify the association between NLR and nutritional status in stage IV primary lung cancer and to further determine the optimal NLR cut-off that best predicts the risk of malnutrition. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 209 patients admitted to the Department of Medical Oncology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital with a primary diagnosis of stage IV lung cancer from May 2019 to February 2021 was performed, and the nutritional risk screening 2002 (NRS 2002) was used to examine their nutritional status. Patient demographic information, pathology, Karnofsky performance status (KPS) score, body mass index (BMI), comorbidities and clinical biochemical indicators were also included. The correlation between NLR and NRS 2002 was investigated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine the best NLR cut-off predi cting malnutrition risk. Multivariable Logistic regression was used to assess the association between NLR and malnutrition risk. RESULTS: The rate of patients with stage IV primary lung cancer at nutritional risk was 36.36% (76/209). A significant positive correlation was observed between NLR values and NRS 2002 risk score (r=0.765, P<0.001). The ROC curve analysis indicated that an NLR of 3.94 was the optimal cut-off for predicting malnutrition risk (area under the curve=0.747, 95%CI: 0.678-0.815, P<0.001), which showed a sensitivity of 55%, a specificity of 86%, a positive predictive value of 68%, and a negative predictive value of 77%. Patients in the NLR>3.94 group had a significantly higher risk of malnutrition compared to those in the NLR≤3.94 group (69.49% vs 23.33%, P<0.001). Furthermore, NLR was identified as a risk factor for malnutrition in stage IV primary lung cancer patients. CONCLUSIONS: NLR is associated with the risk of malnutrition in stage IV primary lung cancer, and NLR can be used as one of the indicators for screening nutritional risk in patients with stage IV primary lung cancer.

Fully automated high-throughput immuno-µPlaque assay for live-attenuated tetravalent dengue vaccine development.

Dengue fever has remained a continuing global medical threat that impacts half of the world's population. Developing a highly effective dengue vaccine, with live-attenuated tetravalent vaccines as leading candidates, remains essential in preventing this disease. For the development of live virus vaccines (LVVs), potency measurements play a vital role in quantifying the active components of vaccine drug substance as well as drug product during various stages of research, development, and post-licensure evaluations. Traditional plaque-based assays are one of the most common potency test methods, but they generally take up to weeks to complete. Less labor and time-intensive potency assays are thus called for to aid in the acceleration of vaccine development, especially for multivalent LVVs. Here, we introduce a fully automated, 96-well format µPlaque assay that has been optimized as a high-throughput tool to evaluate process and formulation development of a live-attenuated tetravalent dengue vaccine. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a miniaturized viral plaque method for dengue with full automation via an integrated robotic system. Compared to the traditional manual plaque assay, this newly developed method substantially reduces testing time by approximately half and allows for the evaluation of over ten times more samples per run. The fully automated workflow, from cell culture to plaque counting, significantly minimizes analyst hands-on time and improves assay repeatability. The study presents a pioneering solution for the rapid measurement of LVV viral titers, offering promising prospects for advancing vaccine development through high-throughput analytics.

3D hotspot engineering and analytes strategy enabled ultrasensitive SERS platform for biosensing of depression biomarker.

Nowadays, the diagnose of depression mainly relies on clinical examination while impossible to accurately evaluate the occurrence of depression. Chemical approaches are captivating to analyze stress biomarkers for feedbacking body's endocrine response to stress stimuli. However, it remains challenging in exploring accurate, reliable and sensitive approaches. Herein, we rationally design a newly SERS platform with integrated hotspots engineering and analyte strategy to achieve highly sensitive analysis for estrogen, a typical depression biomarker in adolescent female. On the one hand, the 3D micro/nano plasmonic substrate containing Au-Ag Alloy Nanourchins (AAA-NUs) and arrays-based monolayer films of Au nanoparticles (Au NSs) was constructed to achieve high density and availability of hotspots. On the other hand, the analyte strategy was designed via rapid azotizing reaction to further enhance the scattering cross-section of estrogen in the form of azido compounds. With the synergism of them, the proposed SERS platform displayed high sensitivity for estrogen with a limit of detection down to 10-11 mg/mL. More importantly, the blood estrogen levels of depressed patients were evaluated via the proposed SERS platform and presented high consistence with clinical diagnostic results. This integrated SERS platform paves the way for universal and ultrasensitive biosensing and possess great potential for applying in multi-target detection and disease prediction.

Plasmonic Multi-Layered Built-in Hotspots Nanogaps for Effectively Activating Analytes.

Multi-layered plasmonic nanostructures are able to highly promote the near-field confinement and effectively activate analytes, which are of predominate significance but are extremely challenging. Herein, the semi-open Au core@carved AuAg multi-shell superstructure nanoparticles (multi-Au@Ag-Au NPs, multi = mono, bi, tri, tetra, and penta) are reported with a high designability on electromagnetic field and capability of effectively capturing analytes. By controlling synthetic parameters such as the number of galvanic exchange and Ag growth, multi-Au@Ag-Au NPs are successfully obtained, with tunable layer numbers and asymmetric nanoholes. Due to collective plasmon oscillations of multi-layered built-in nanogaps, the electromagnetic field strength of a single penta-Au@Ag-Au entity reach 48841. More importantly, the penta-Au@Ag-Au NPs show a remarkable light-harvesting capability, which is adaptive to different Raman lasers, supporting high-diversity detection. Additionally, the structural specificity allows analytes to be sufficiently captured into interior hotspots, and further achieve highly sensitive detection with limit of detection down to 3.22 × 10-12  M. This study not only provides an effective pathway for integrating abundant hotspots and activating target molecules in single plasmonic superstructure, but stimulates advancements in SERS substrates for various applications.

Machine learning-coupled tactile recognition with high spatiotemporal resolution based on cross-striped nanocarbon piezoresistive sensor array.

Flexible pressure sensor arrays have been playing important roles in various applications of human-machine interface, including robotic tactile sensing, electronic skin, prosthetics, and human-machine interaction. However, it remains challenging to simultaneously achieve high spatial and temporal resolution in developing pressure sensor arrays for tactile sensing with robust function to achieve precise signal recognition. This work presents the development of a flexible high spatiotemporal piezoresistive sensor array (PRSA) by coupling with machine learning algorithms to enhance tactile recognition. The sensor employs cross-striped nanocarbon-polymer composite as an active layer, though screen printing manufacture processes. A miniaturized signal readout circuit and transmission board is developed to achieve high-speed acquisition of distributed pressure signals from the PRSA. Test results indicate that the developed PRSA platform simultaneously possesses the characteristics of high spatial resolution up to 1.5 mm, fast temporal resolution of about 5 ms, and long-term durability with a variation of less than 2%. The PRSA platform also exhibits excellent performance in real-time visualization of multi-point touch, mapping embossed shapes, and tracking motion trajectory. To test the performance of PRSA in recognizing different shapes, we acquired pressure images by pressing the finger-type device coated with PRSA film on different embossed shapes and implementing the T-distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding model to visualize the distinction between images of different shapes. Then we adopted a one-layer neural network to quantify the discernibility between images of different shapes. The analysis results show that the PRSA could capture the embossed shapes clearly by one contact with high discernibility up to 98.9%. Collectively, the PRSA as a promising platform demonstrates its promising potential for robotic tactile sensing.

Mixed-Linkage Donor-Acceptor Covalent Organic Framework as a Turn-On Fluorescent Sensor for Aliphatic Amines.

Amine determination is crucial to our daily life, including the prevention of pollution, the treatment of certain disorders, and the evaluation of food quality. Herein, a mixed-linkage donor-acceptor covalent organic framework (named DSE-COF) was first constructed by the polymerization between 2,4-dihydroxybenzene-1,3,5-tricarbaldehyde (DTA) and 4,4'-(benzo[c][1,2,5]selenadiazole-4,7-diyl)dianiline (SEZ). DSE-COF displayed superior turn-on fluorescent responses to primary, secondary, and tertiary aliphatic amines, such as cadaverine, isopropylamine, sec-butylamine, cyclohexylamine, hexamethylenediamine, di-n-butylamine, and triethylamine in absolute acetonitrile than other organic species. Further experiments and theoretical calculations demonstrated that the combination of intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) and photoinduced electron transfer (PET) effects between the DSE-COF and aliphatic amines resulted in enhanced fluorescence. Credibly, DSE-COF can quantitatively detect cadaverine content in actual pork samples with satisfactory results. In addition, DSE-COF-based test papers could rapidly monitor cadaverine from real pork samples, manifesting the potential application of COFs in food quality inspection.

Study of Dietary Emodin on Immune Defense in Megalobrama amblycephala against Aeromonas hydrophila.

This experiment aimed to investigate the effects of emodin on the total bacterial count and immune response in various tissues of Wuchang bream infected with A. hydrophila. The experimental diets were made by supplementing emodin at 0, 30, 100, and 150 mg kg-1 to basal (control) diet, respectively, and fed to fish with an initial weight of 50.4 ± 2.35 g. All fish were divided into five experimental groups: uninfected fish fed with basal control diet (negative control, NC), infected fish fed with the diet supplemented with 0 (positive control group, PC), 30 (30), 100 (100), and 150 mg/kg (150) of emodin. The fish were reared for 14 days and sampled at different time points. The results showed that the total bacterial count in the kidney, blood, and liver tissues of Wuchang bream infected with A. hydrophila was significantly affected by the supplementation and feeding time of emodin. At the beginning of the experiment, the difference in total bacterial count among the groups was not significant. On day 1, the total bacterial count in all groups was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that in the negative control group. On day 4, the total bacterial count in all the emodin groups was significantly reduced, and the best bactericidal effect was observed in the 100 mg kg-1 group. In addition, emodin had a significant effect on the immune response of Wuchang bream after infection with A. hydrophila (p < 0.05). Compared with the other groups, the respiratory burst activity, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1 (IL-1) content, and white blood cell count (WBC) in the 100 and 150 mg kg-1 groups could be restored to normal levels in the shortest time (p < 0.05). Furthermore, this study also measured the complement alternative pathway activity (ACH50), plasma superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and malondialdehyde (MDA) content of the fish. The results showed that supplying 100 mg kg-1 emodin to the diet could significantly (p < 0.05) increase the ACH50 activity of the fish. Compared with the positive control (PC) group, the addition of emodin to the diet can inhibit the decrease in SOD activity and the increase in MDA content in the plasma of infected Wuchang bream. In conclusion, supplying 100 mg kg-1 emodin to the diet can enhance the ability of Wuchang bream to resist A. hydrophila infection by reducing the total bacterial count in tissues, increasing the activity of related immune enzymes, and promoting the secretion of cytokines. This provides a theoretical basis for production practice.

Thiophene-Containing Covalent Organic Frameworks for Overall Photocatalytic H2 O2 Synthesis in Water and Seawater.

H2 O2 is a significant chemical widely utilized in the environmental and industrial fields, with growing global demand. Without sacrificial agents, simultaneous photocatalyzed H2 O2 synthesis through the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and water oxidation reaction (WOR) dual channels from seawater is green and sustainable but still challenging. Herein, two novel thiophene-containing covalent organic frameworks (TD-COF and TT-COF) were first constructed and served as catalysts for H2 O2 synthesis via indirect 2e- ORR and direct 2e- WOR channels. The photocatalytic H2 O2 production performance can be regulated by adjusting the N-heterocycle modules (pyridine and triazine) in COFs. Notably, with no sacrificial agents, just using air and water as raw materials, TD-COF exhibited high H2 O2 production yields of 4060 µmol h-1 g-1 and 3364 µmol h-1 g-1 in deionized water and natural seawater, respectively. Further computational mechanism studies revealed that the thiophene was the primary photoreduction unit for ORR, while the benzene ring (linked to the thiophene by the imine bond) was the central photooxidation unit for WOR. The current work exploits thiophene-containing COFs for overall photocatalytic H2 O2 synthesis via ORR and WOR dual channels and provides fresh insight into creating innovative catalysts for photocatalyzing H2 O2 synthesis.

Ultra-broad Near-Infrared Emitting Phosphor LiInF4: Cr3+ with Extremely Weak Crystal Field.

Recent decades have witnessed a major development in broadband near-infrared (NIR)-emitting phosphors because of their potential applications in real-time nondestructive examination. These applications require the emission spectra of phosphors to be as broad as possible for efficient performance. Therefore, a blue-light excited LiInF4: Cr3+ phosphor with a NIR emission covering 700-1400 nm is successfully synthesized. Under 470 nm excitation, it shows broadband emission peaked at 980 nm with the full-width at half maximum of 210 nm. The structure and crystal field environment are investigated in detail, and the LiInF4: Cr3+ possesses a weak crystal field strength and strong electron-phonon coupling. An efficient NIR phosphor-converted light-emitting diode (pc-LED) is fabricated by the prepared LiInF4: Cr3+ phosphor and commercial blue diode chip, generating a NIR radiant flux of 5.54 mW at 150 mA drive current. Finally, the NIR pc-LED is successfully applied to identify the blood vessel distribution of the hand. This work suggests the potential of LiInF4: Cr3+ phosphor in applications.

Chiral Ionic Covalent Organic Framework as an Enantioselective Fluorescent Sensor for Phenylalaninol Determination.

Phenylalaninol (PAL) is a significant chemical intermediate widely utilized in drug development and chiral synthesis, for instance, as a reactant for bicyclic lactams and oxazoloisoindolinones. Since the absolute stereochemical configuration significantly impacts biological action, it is crucial to evaluate the concentration and enantiomeric content of PAL in a quick and convenient manner. Herein, an effective PAL enantiomer recognition method was reported based on a chiral ionic covalent organic framework (COF) fluorescent sensor, which was fabricated via one-step postquaternization modification of an achiral COF by (1R, 2S, 5R)-2-isopropyl-5-methylcyclohexyl-carbonochloridate (L-MTE). The formed chiral L-TB-COF can be applied as a chiral fluorescent sensor to recognize the stereochemical configuration of PAL, which displayed a turn-on fluorescent response for R-PAL over that of S-PAL with an enantioselectivity factor of 16.96. Nonetheless, the single L-MTE molecule had no chiral recognition ability for PAL. Moreover, the ee value of PAL can be identified by L-TB-COF. Furthermore, density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrated that the chiral selectivity came from the stronger binding affinity between L-TB-COF and R-PAL in comparison to that with S-PAL. L-TB-COF is the first chiral ionic COF employed to identify chiral isomers by fluorescence. The current work expands the range of applications for ionic COFs and offers fresh suggestions for creating novel chiral fluorescent sensors.

Efficient production of cordycepin by engineered Yarrowia lipolytica from agro-industrial residues.

Cordycepin, a nucleoside compound with a variety of biological activities, has been extensively applied in the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries. The advancement of microbial cell factories using agro-industrial residues provides a sustainable pathway for cordycepin biosynthesis. Herein, the cordycepin production was enhanced by the modification of glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathway in engineered Yarrowia lipolytica. Then, cordycepin production based on economical and renewable substrates (sugarcane molasses, waste spent yeast, and diammonium hydrogen phosphate) was analyzed. Furthermore, the effects of C/N molar ratio and initial pH on cordycepin production were evaluated. Results indicated that the maximum cordycepin productivity of 656.27 mg/L/d (72 h) and cordycepin titer was 2286.04 mg/L (120 h) by engineered Y. lipolytica in the optimized medium, respectively. The cordycepin productivity in the optimized medium was increased by 28.81% compared with the original medium. This research establishes a promising way for efficient cordycepin production from agro-industrial residues.

Increased Cordycepin Production in Yarrowia lipolytica Using Combinatorial Metabolic Engineering Strategies.

As the first nucleoside antibiotic discovered in fungi, cordycepin, with its various biological activities, has wide applications. At present, cordycepin is mainly obtained from the natural fruiting bodies of Cordyceps militaris. However, due to long production periods, low yields, and low extraction efficiency, harvesting cordycepin from natural C. militaris is not ideal, making it difficult to meet market demands. In this study, an engineered Yarrowia lipolytica YlCor-18 strain, constructed by combining metabolic engineering strategies, achieved efficient de novo cordycepin production from glucose. First, the cordycepin biosynthetic pathway derived from C. militaris was introduced into Y. lipolytica. Furthermore, metabolic engineering strategies including promoter, protein, adenosine triphosphate, and precursor engineering were combined to enhance the synthetic ability of engineered strains of cordycepin. Fermentation conditions were also optimized, after which, the production titer and yields of cordycepin in the engineered strain YlCor-18 under fed-batch fermentation were improved to 4362.54 mg/L and 213.85 mg/g, respectively, after 168 h. This study demonstrates the potential of Y. lipolytica as a cell factory for cordycepin synthesis, which will serve as the model for the green biomanufacturing of other nucleoside antibiotics using artificial cell factories.

HIV Prevalence and Risk Factors Among Young Men Who Have Sex With Men in Southwest China: Cross-sectional Questionnaire Study.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies showed an increase in HIV prevalence among young men who have sex with men aged 25 years or younger in China. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess HIV prevalence and associated factors among young men who have sex with men in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. METHODS: This study was conducted in 4 cities (Guilin, Liuzhou, Beihai, and Nanning) in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region between June 2014 and May 2016. Participants were reached through web-based and site recruitment approaches. Laboratory tests were performed to detect HIV and syphilis infections. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 632 eligible young men who have sex with men. RESULTS: The prevalence of HIV and syphilis was 9.3% (59/632) and 11.4% (72/632), respectively. Multivariable logistic analysis showed that ethnic minority (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] for Han Chinese vs other minorities 0.28, 95% CI 0.11-0.71, P=.007), receptive sexual positioning in the past 6 months (AOR 2.94, 95% CI 1.32-6.53, P=.008), current syphilis infection (AOR for individuals without vs those with infection 0.38, 95% CI 0.19-0.75, P=.005), inconsistent condom use in the past 6 months (AOR 1.91, 95% CI 1.06-3.45, P=.03), and psychotropic drug use before last anal intercourse (AOR 16.70, 95% CI 2.34-119.18, P=.005) were independently associated with HIV infection. CONCLUSIONS: There is an urgent need to scale up HIV and syphilis interventions in young men who have sex with men. Some subgroups might need specific attention for HIV prevention, including ethnic minority men, individuals with a history of sexually transmitted infections, and individuals who have been engaging in receptive anal sex.

Fluorescence/Colorimetry/Smartphone Triple-Mode Sensing of Dopamine by a COF-Based Peroxidase-Mimic Platform.

Simple and accurate monitoring of urinary dopamine (DA) concentration is significant, which is helpful for the assessment or exclusion of catecholamine-producing tumors, such as pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma. Herein, a fluorescence/colorimetry/smartphone triple-mode sensing platform for DA determination was constructed using copper ion (Cu2+)-modified hydrazone-linked covalent organic frameworks (Cu-BTA-COF). Cu-BTA-COF with 21.67 wt % copper content exhibited peroxidase-mimic activity. After adding H2O2 and 1,3-dihydroxynaphthalene, the Cu-BTA-COF platform can sensitively and selectively detect DA in three modes with consistent results. In fluorescence/colorimetry/smartphone modes, the linear ranges of DA were 1-10, 0.2-40, and 1-10 µM, with related detection limits of 7.2, 8.6, and 23 nM, respectively. Moreover, the Cu-BTA-COF platform can be explored for DA determination in human urine samples with satisfactory recoveries (97.6-100.4%) in all the three modes, suggesting the potential practical application of the Cu-BTA-COF platform for DA detection in urine.

Alterations of serine racemase expression determine proliferation and differentiation of neuroblastoma cells.

Although the role of serine racemase (SR) in neuropsychiatric disorders has been extensively studied, its role in cell proliferation and differentiation remains unclear. Deletion of Srr, the encoding gene for SR, has been shown to reduce dendritic arborization and dendritic spine density in the brains of adult mice, whereas increased SR levels have been associated with differentiation in cell cultures. Previously, we demonstrated that valproic acid induces differentiation in the N2A neuroblastoma cell line, and that this differentiation is associated with increased SR expression. These observations suggest that SR may have a role in cell proliferation and differentiation. We herein found that both valproic acid and all-trans retinoic acid induced N2A differentiation. In contrast, knockdown of SR reduced levels of differentiation, increased N2A proliferation, promoted cell cycle entry, and modulated expression of cell cycle-related proteins. To further evaluate the effects of SR expression on cell proliferation and differentiation, we used an in vivo model of neuroblastoma in nude mice. N2A cells stably expressing scramble shRNA (Srrwt -N2A) or specific Srr shRNA (Srrkd -N2A) were subcutaneously injected into nude mice. The weights and volumes of Srrwt -N2A-derived tumors were lower than Srrkd -N2A-derived tumors. Furthermore, Srrwt -N2A-derived tumors were significantly mitigated by intraperitoneal injection of valproic acid, whereas Srrkd -N2A-derived tumors were unaffected. Taken together, our findings demonstrate for the first time that alterations in SR expression determine the transition between proliferation and differentiation in neural progenitor cells. Thus, in addition to its well-established roles in neuropsychiatric disorders, our study has highlighted a novel role for SR in cell proliferation and differentiation.

High-level de novo biosynthesis of cordycepin by systems metabolic engineering in Yarrowia lipolytica.

Cordycepin is a nucleoside antibiotic with various biological activities, which has wide applications in the area of cosmetic and medicine industries. However, the current production of cordycepin is costly and time-consuming. To construct the promising cell factory for high-level cordycepin production, firstly, the design and construction of cordycepin biosynthetic pathway were performed in Yarrowia lipolytica. Secondly, the adaptivity between cordycepin biosynthetic pathway and Y. lipolytica was enhanced by enzyme fusion and integration site engineering. Then, the production of cordycepin was improved by the enhancement of adenosine supply. Furthermore, through modular engineering, the production of cordycepin was achieved at 3588.59 mg/L from glucose. Finally, 3249.58 mg/L cordycepin with a yield of 76.46 mg/g total sugar was produced by the engineered strain from the mixtures of glucose and molasses. This research is the first report on the de novo high-level production of cordycepin in the engineered Y. lipolytica.

Ratiometric Fluorescent pH Sensor Based on a Tunable Multivariate Covalent Organic Framework.

Ratiometric detection of pH is always significant in environmental regulation, medical diagnosis, synthetic chemistry, and beyond. The construction of practical ratiometric pH sensors with reusability is still challenging. Herein, by exploiting a multivariate strategy, we first synthesized and reported a series of novel three-component covalent organic frameworks (COF-COOHX, X = 33, 50, and 67) through Schiff base reaction between 2-hydroxybenzene-1,3,5-tricarbaldehyde (HTA), 4,4'-diamino-3,3'-biphenyldicarboxylic acid (DBA), and 5,5'-diamino-2,2'-bipyridine (BPY) at various molar ratios (X = [DBA]/([BPY] + [DBA]) × 100 = 33, 50, and 67). COF-COOHX (X = 33, 50, and 67) displayed ratiometric pH sensing performance in acidic conditions with selectivity and repeatability. By tuning the molar ratio of DBA and BPY, the fluorescent properties, linear pH responsive ranges, and pKa values of COF-COOHX (X = 33, 50, and 67) can be regulated. Meanwhile, the two-component COF-COOH0 and COF-COOH100 did not exhibit ratiometric pH detection ability. Moreover, the constructed three ratiometric sensors can be applied to detect pH in drug solutions and carbonated drinks with satisfactory results. This work sheds new light on the design and fabrication of innovative ratiometric fluorescent sensors using COFs.

Metabolic and transcriptome analysis of dark red taproot in radish (Raphanus sativus L.).

The red color in radish taproots is an important quality index and is mainly affected by anthocyanins. However, the metabolite components and gene expression underlying dark red taproot color formation in radish remain elusive. In this study, the metabolites and gene expression patterns affecting anthocyanin biosynthesis were monitored in the dark red taproots. Comparative analysis of anthocyanin metabolites between dark red taproots and white taproots indicated that pelargonin and pelargonidin 3-O-beta-D-glucoside were the most promising dark red pigments responsible for the coloration of the taproots. Transcriptomic analysis of gene expression between dark red taproots and white taproots revealed that most of genes involved in the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway were up-regulated in dark red taproots. In particular, RsCHS and RsDFR were the two most up-regulated genes in the dark red taproots. Moreover, the higher coexpression of two R2R3-Myb transcription factors, RsMYB1 and RsMYB2, may contribute to dark red color formation. Our work documents metabolomic and transcriptomic changes related to the dark red color formation in taproots radish and provides valuable data for anthocyanin-rich radish breeding.

A deep fuzzy model for diagnosis of COVID-19 from CT images.

From early 2020, a novel coronavirus disease pneumonia has shown a global "pandemic" trend at an extremely fast speed. Due to the magnitude of its harm, it has become a major global public health event. In the face of dramatic increase in the number of patients with COVID-19, the need for quick diagnosis of suspected cases has become particularly critical. Therefore, this paper constructs a fuzzy classifier, which aims to detect infected subjects by observing and analyzing the CT images of suspected patients. Firstly, a deep learning algorithm is used to extract the low-level features of CT images in the COVID-CT dataset. Subsequently, we analyze the extracted feature information with attribute reduction algorithm to obtain features with high recognition. Then, some key features are selected as the input for the fuzzy diagnosis model to the training model. Finally, several images in the dataset are used as the test set to test the trained fuzzy classifier. The obtained accuracy rate is 94.2%, and the F1-score is 93.8%. Experimental results show that, compared with the deep learning diagnosis methods widely used in medical image analysis, the proposed fuzzy model improves the accuracy and efficiency of diagnosis, which consequently helps to curb the spread of COVID-19.