Comparison of mothers' perceptions of hunger cues in 3-month-old infant under different feeding methods.

BACKGROUND: Mothers' perception of infant hunger cues is a critical content of responsive feeding, which is central to the promotion of early childhood development. However, only a few studies have examined responsive feeding in China, especially lacking the studies on perceptions of infant hunger cues. Consider the cultural differences, the aim of this study was to describe the perceptions of infant hunger cues of Chinese mothers for infants aged 3 months, and explore the relationship between maternal perceptions of infant hunger cues and different feeding methods. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 326 mothers of healthy 3-month-old infants, including 188 exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) mothers and 138 formula feeding (FF) mothers. It was implemented in four provincial and municipal maternal and child health hospitals. The mothers' perceptions of infant hunger cues were surveyed by self-reporting questionnaires. Chi-square tests and logistic analysis were applied to analyze the differences in maternal perceptions of infant hunger cues, including the number of hunger cues and the specific cues, between EBF group and FF group by controlling sociodemographic variables and the daily nursing indicators. RESULTS: We found that a higher proportion of EBF mothers could perceive multiple hunger cues (≥ 2) than FF mothers (66.5% vs.55.1%). For specific cues, the EBF mothers had higher perceptions of infant's "hand sucking" (67.6% vs. 53.6%) and "moving head frantically from side to side" (34.6% vs. 23.9%), all p < 0.05. Regression analysis revealed that EBF might support mothers to perceive infant hunger cues than FF mothers, with the number of infant hunger cues (OR = 1.70, 95% CI: 1.01-2.85), "hand sucking" (OR = 1.72, 95% CI: 1.04-2.87), "moving head frantically from side to side" (OR = 2.07, 95% CI: 1.19-3.62). The number of infant hunger cues perceived by mothers was also associated with their educational level and family structure. CONCLUSION: EBF mothers of 3-month-old infants may be more likely to perceive infant hunger cues than FF mothers in China. It is necessary to increase the health education about infant hunger and satiety cues to caregivers in China, especially among mothers with lower education levels, mothers living in nuclear families, and FF mothers.

4D printed orbital stent for the treatment of enophthalmic invagination.

Currently, the implants used for enophthalmic invagination have the disadvantages of precise filling difficulty, weak filling ability, large surgical wounds, and lack of CT development. Here, a CT-developable orbital stent was manufactured via 4D printing of a shape memory polyurethane composite for enophthalmos treatment. The composite was endowed with good CT development properties via incorporation of gold nanoparticles and nano-hydroxyapatite. Based on the bionic idea and CT reconstruction technique, a 4D printed orbital stent with a bionic honeycomb pore structure and an outer contour matching the orbital coloboma was designed to support the orbital tissue more accurately and stably. CT images of rabbits before and after the 4D printed orbital stent implantation showed better volume-filling capacity compared with the two types of the commercial orbital implants. The three-month follow-up showed the good postoperative result, which demonstrated the excellent performance of the composite in the precise minimally invasive treatment of enophthalmos compared with traditional orbital implants.

Inoculation of wheat with Bacillus sp. wp-6 altered amino acid and flavonoid metabolism and promoted plant growth.

KEY MESSAGE: Inoculation of wheat seedling with Bacillus sp. wp-6 changed amino acid metabolism and flavonoid synthesis and promoted plant growth. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), which can reduce the use of agrochemicals, is vital for the development of sustainable agriculture. In this study, proteomics and metabolomics analyses were performed to investigate the effects of inoculation with a PGPR, Bacillus sp. wp-6, on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seedling growth. The results showed that inoculation with Bacillus sp. wp-6 increased shoot and root fresh weights by 19% and 18%, respectively, after 40 days. The expression levels of alpha-linolenic acid metabolism-related proteins and metabolites (lipoxygenase 2, allene oxide synthase 2, jasmonic acid, 17-hydroxylinolenic acid) and flavonoid biosynthesis-related proteins and metabolites (chalcone synthase 2 and PHC 4'-O-glucoside) were up-regulated. In addition, the expression levels of amino acid metabolism-related proteins (NADH-dependent glutamate synthase, bifunctional aspartokinase/homoserine, anthranilate synthase alpha subunit 1, and 3-phosphoshikimate 1-carboxyvinyltransferase) and metabolites (L-aspartate, L-arginine, and S-glutathionyl-L-cysteine) were also significantly up-regulated. Among them, NADH-dependent glutamate synthase and bifunctional aspartokinase/homoserine could act as regulators of nitrogen metabolism. Overall, inoculation of wheat with Bacillus sp. wp-6 altered alpha-linolenic acid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and flavonoid synthesis and promoted wheat seedling growth. This study will deepen our understanding of the mechanism by which Bacillus sp. wp-6 promotes wheat growth using proteomics and metabolomics.

Functional Peroral Infectivity Complex of White Spot Syndrome Virus of Shrimp.

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is a major cause of disease in shrimp cultures worldwide. The infection process of this large circular double-stranded DNA virus has been well studied, but its entry mechanism remains controversial. The major virion envelope protein VP28 has been implicated in oral and systemic viral infection in shrimp. However, genetic analysis of viral DNA has shown the presence of a few genes related to proteins of per os infectivity factor (PIF) complex in baculoviruses. This complex is essential for the entry of baculoviruses, large terrestrial circular DNA viruses, into the midgut epithelial cells of insect larvae. In this study, we aimed to determine whether a PIF complex exists in WSSV, the components of this complex, whether it functions as an oral infectivity complex in shrimp, and the biochemical properties that contribute to its function in a marine environment. The results revealed a WSSV PIF complex (~720 kDa) comprising at least eight proteins, four of which were not identified as PIF homologs: WSV134, VP124 (WSV216), WSSV021, and WSV136. WSV134 is suggested to be a PIF4 homolog due to predicted structural similarity and amino acid sequence identity. The WSSV PIF complex is resistant to alkali, proteolysis, and high salt, properties that are important for maintaining infectivity in aquatic environments. Oral infection can be neutralized by PIF-specific antibodies but not by VP28-specific antibodies. These results indicate that the WSSV PIF complex is critical for WSSV entry into shrimp; the complex's evolutionary significance is also discussed. IMPORTANCE White spot disease, caused by the white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), is a major scourge in cultured shrimp production facilities worldwide. This disease is only effectively controlled by sanitation. Intervention strategies are urgently needed but are limited by a lack of appropriate targets. Our identification of a per os infectivity factor (PIF) complex, which is pivotal for the entry of WSSV into shrimp, could provide new targets for antibody- or dsRNA-based intervention strategies. In addition, the presence of a PIF complex with at least eight components in WSSV, which is ancestrally related to the PIF complex of invertebrate baculoviruses, suggests that this complex is structurally and functionally conserved in disparate virus taxa.

Mechanism of interventional effect and targets of Zhuyu pill in regulating and suppressing colitis and cholestasis.

Zhuyu pill (ZYP) is a traditional Chinese medicine prescription composed of two drugs, Coptis chinensis Franch. and Tetradium ruticarpum (A. Jussieu) T. G. Hartley, and is commonly used in the clinical treatment of diseases of the digestive system. However, the mechanism underlying the effect of ZYP on colitis remains unclear. In this study, a colitis rat model was induced with 2,4,6-trinitro-benzenesulfonic acid (TNBS, 100 mg/kg) and treated with ZYP (low dose: 0.6 g/kg, high dose: 1.2 g/kg). Disease activity index, colonic weight index, and weight change ratio were used to evaluate the model and efficacy. LC-MS and 16S rRNA gene sequencing were used to measure differences in fecal metabolism and microorganism population among the control, model, low-dose ZYP, and high-dose ZYP groups. To elucidate the mechanism of interventional effect of ZYP, Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between fecal metabolism and fecal microbial number. High-dose and low-dose ZYP both exhibited significant interventional effects on colitis rat models, and high-dose ZYP produced a better interventional effect compared with low-dose ZYP. Based on a metabolomics test of fecal samples, significantly altered metabolites in the model and high-dose ZYP treatment groups were identified. In total, 492 metabolites were differentially expressed. Additionally, sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene in fecal samples revealed that the high-dose ZYP could improve TNBS-induced fecal microbiota dysbiosis. Ultimately, changes in tryptophan metabolism and Firmicutes and Gammaproteobacteria populations were detected after ZYP treatment in both colitis and cholestasis. Therefore, we conclude that tryptophan metabolism and Firmicutes and Gammaproteobacteria populations are the core targets of the anti-inflammatory effect of ZYP. These findings provide a scientific basis for further investigation of the anti-inflammatory mechanism of ZYP in the future.

A Metal Coordination-Based Supramolecular Elastomer with Shape Memory-Assisted Self-Healing Effect.

Rubber materials are widely used in aerospace, automotive, smart devices and artificial skin. It is significant to address the aging susceptibility of conventional vulcanized rubber and to impart it rapid self-healing performance for destructive crack damage. Herein, a novel supramolecular rubber elastomer is prepared by introducing metal coordination between carboxyl-terminated polybutadiene and polystyrene-vinylpyridine copolymer. Based on the metal coordination interaction, the elastomer exhibits shape memory and self-healing properties. Moreover, a rapid closure-repair process of destructive cracks is achieved by presetting temporary shapes. This shape memory-assisted self-repair model is shown to be an effective means for rapid repair of severe cracks. An approach to enhance the mechanical and self-healing properties of elastomer was demonstrated by adding appropriate amounts of oxidized carbon nano-onions (O-CNO) into the system. The tensile strength of the elastomer with an O-CNOs content of 0.5 wt% was restored to 83 ± 10% of the original sample after being repaired at 85 °C for 6 h. This study confirms that metal coordination interaction is an effective method for designing shape memory self-healing rubber elastomer. The shape memory-assisted self-healing effect provides a reference for the rapid self-repairing of severe cracks.

Programmable 4D Printing of Photoactive Shape Memory Composite Structures.

4D printing is an advanced manufacturing technology combining additive manufacturing with smart materials. Based on light-active shape memory composites, smart medical structures with remote control capability, therapeutic function, and biocompatibility are hopefully fabricated by 4D printing. Here, a multifunctional composite with good mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and light-active shape memory performance is prepared by incorporating gold nanoparticles into a shape memory polyurethane matrix. The composites demonstrate a rapid and stable light-thermal effect, which can achieve localized and controlled breast tumor ablation, providing an approach to hyperthermia treatment for cancer cells. By directly bioprinting the composite melt, a series of 4D-printed structures are manufactured accurately in a convenient, clean, and safe way, which show a fast autonomous light-driven shape recovery process. The examples of a 4D-printed soft tissue scaffold and intraluminal scaffold can expand from a conveniently insertional shape to an expanded shape under light exposure. The proposed strategies provide great inspiration for customized multifunctional light-thermal therapeutic structures for minimally invasive treatment.

Clinical Diagnosis, Treatment, and Laboratory Detection of 50 Cases of Pulmonary Cryptococcosis.

Objective: This study retrospectively analyzed the clinical diagnosis, treatment process, and laboratory test data of patients with pulmonary cryptococcosis to improve the understanding and diagnosis and treatment ability of the disease. Methods: Patients with pulmonary cryptococcosis diagnosed in the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University from October 2003 to July 2021 were selected, and their medical records were consulted. The general data, clinical manifestations, laboratory examinations, imaging characteristics, diagnosis, and treatment methods were studied. The software SPSS 22 was used for statistical analysis. Results: A total of 50 patients with pulmonary cryptococcosis were included in the study. The ratio of male to female was 1 : 1. The average age was 53.56 ± 11.99 years with a range of 27-82 years. Grouping the patients by age, with 10 years as an age group, we found that 40-60 years was the high-incidence age group. Two patients (4%) had a history of bird contact, and 18 patients (36%) had at least one underlying conditions. Hypertension and cough were the most common underlying condition and clinical manifestation, respectively. The main admission diagnoses were lung shadow (19/50, 38%) and chest/lung mass (15/50, 30%). In the imaging findings, the most common type of lesions was nodule/nodule shadow (29/69, 42.03%). Lesion distribution in the lower lobe, single lobe, and right lung was more frequent than that in the upper lobe, multilobes, and left lung, respectively. Burr sign (12/43, 27.91%) was the most common concomitant sign. Pulmonary ventilatory defect was found in 7 cases. Laboratory test results were largely nonspecific. The pathological examination showed granuloma, with 47 cases (94%) confirmed by postoperative biopsy. Two cases (4%) were confirmed by serology. One case (2%) was diagnosed with Cryptococcus smear. 43 cases (86%) were treated with simple surgical resection, 6 cases (12%) were treated with antifungal drugs, and 1 case (2%) was transferred to another hospital for suspicion of pulmonary tuberculosis. Conclusions: Pulmonary cryptococcosis is more common in the middle-aged and elderly, and the clinical specificity is low. It can occur in people with normal or impaired immune function. The main clinical and imaging manifestation is cough and pulmonary nodules, which are very easy 5to be misdiagnosed. Surgical resection is the primary treatment.

Asymmetric 1,4-functionalization of 1,3-enynes via dual photoredox and chromium catalysis.

The merger of photoredox and transition-metal catalysis has evolved as a robust platform in organic synthesis over the past decade. The stereoselective 1,4-functionalization of 1,3-enynes, a prevalent synthon in synthetic chemistry, could afford valuable chiral allene derivatives. However, tremendous efforts have been focused on the ionic reaction pathway. The radical-involved asymmetric 1,4-functionalization of 1,3-enynes remains a prominent challenge. Herein, we describe the asymmetric three-component 1,4-dialkylation of 1,3-enynes via dual photoredox and chromium catalysis to provide chiral allenols. This method features readily available starting materials, broad substrate scope, good functional group compatibility, high regioselectivity, and simultaneous control of axial and central chiralities. Mechanistic studies suggest that this reaction proceeds through a radical-involved redox-neutral pathway.

The predictive value of circular RNAs in the diagnosis, prognosis and clinicopathological features of thyroid cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: An increasing number of studies have reported circular RNAs (circRNAs) as new potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for thyroid cancer. However, the overall predictive value of circRNAs for thyroid cancer remains unclear. Therefore, we performed a comprehensive meta-analysis to investigate the predictive value of circRNAs in the diagnosis, prognosis and clinicopathological features of thyroid cancer (TC). METHODS: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library and Web of science were searched systematically. The search time limit was from the establishment of the database to October 2021. We used the subject words combined with free words for the search. Furthermore, we used Review Manager 5.3 and Meta-Disc1.4 for relevant data analysis, and Stata 13.1 for sensitivity analysis and publication bias test. The combined sensitivity and specificity were used to evaluate the diagnostic value of circRNAs. The hazard ratio (HR) and its 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were used for statistical analysis of the prognosis of TC. The clinical characteristics were analyzed with Odds Ratio (OR) and its 95% CI. P = 0.05 for all analysis, Q test and I2 analysis were used for heterogeneity evaluation, I2 ≤ 50% and Q test P > 0.1, indicated the lack of heterogeneity. RESULTS: A total of 26 eligible studies including 18 on clinicopathological studies, 7 on prognostic and 6 diagnostic studies were enrolled in our meta-analysis. A total of 1911 patients with TC were included. For the clinicopathological and prognostic value, the results showed that a high expression of circRNAs was correlated with poor clinical parameters, such as the tumor size [OR = 2.79, 95%CI (1.88, 4.13)], extra-glandular metastasis (ETE) [OR = 0.74, 95%CI (0.45, 1.53),P = 0.24], TNM staging [OR = 3.82, 95%CI (2.86, 5.10)], lymph node metastasis (LNM) [OR = 3.88, 95% (2.90, 5.19)], tumor focality [OR = 31.87, 95%CI (1.05, 3.31)] and poor overall survival (OS)[ HR = 1.97, 95%CI (1.37, 2.83)]. For the diagnostic value, the sensitivity, specificity and Area Under Curve (AUC) of the combined group were 0.83 [95%CI (0.77-0.87)], 0.77 [95%CI (0.71-0.82)] and 0.91 respectively. CONCLUSIONS：: CircRNAs have a potential diagnostic value for TC. Meanwhile, an elevated expression of circRNAs has been linked to a poor OS in TC patients, and it also associates with poor prognosis of thyroid cancer patients. The expression of circRNAs is also correlated with certain clinical characteristics, suggesting that it may have important clinical significance.

Functional Droplets Stabilized by Interfacially Self-Assembled Chiral Nanocomposites.

Here, we show that aqueous dispersions of inorganic nanoparticles bearing negative surface charges would trigger the chiral assembly of organic radical cations solubilized in organic solvent at the liquid-liquid interface, which consequently produces stable droplets covered by a layer of inorganic/organic chiral nanocomposites. We demonstrate that chirality transfer across the liquid-liquid interface from the chiral organic monomers to the nanoparticle assemblies is realized. Surprisingly, opposite handedness between molecular assemblies and nanoparticle assemblies is determined from both CD and CPL measurements. Moreover, the functionalities of these "chiral" droplets could be further engineered through either a simple mixing or a droplet merging strategy, which enables to produce fluorescent emissive-tunable, magnetic, as well as magnetofluorescent dual-functional droplets.

Metabonomic analysis of cerebrospinal fluid in epilepsy.

Background: We sought to explore the relationship between epilepsy and cerebrospinal fluid metabolomics and identify biomarkers for the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of epilepsy. Methods: In total, 23 epileptic patients treated at The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University from April 2019 to September 2019 were selected for the disease group and 13 non-epileptic patients were selected for the control group. Cerebrospinal fluid samples were collected from both groups, and the metabolites were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The metabolites differentially expressed in the cerebrospinal fluid samples were identified. A differential metabolite enrichment analysis was performed to determine the metabolic pathways. Results: Using a variable importance in the projection value >1 and a P value <0.05 as the screening criteria, we found that 3 metabolites (i.e., alpha-ketoisocaproic acid 1, xylose 1, and glycine 2) were differentially expressed in the cerebrospinal fluid of the 23 epileptic patients compared to the 13 non-epileptic patients. Alpha-ketoisocaproic acid 1 and xylose 1 were highly expressed in the epileptic cerebrospinal fluid samples, while glycine 2 was lowly expressed in the epileptic cerebrospinal fluid samples. Additionally, the 3 metabolites were significantly enriched in the 5 metabolic pathways of primary bile acid biosynthesis, valine, leucine, and isoleucine degradation, glutathione metabolism, glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism, and glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism. Conclusions: The present study examined the metabolites of the cerebrospinal fluid of epileptic patients and non-epileptic patients. Our findings provide insights that may inform the discovery of therapeutic targets and diagnostic markers for epilepsy.

Shape Memory Epoxy Resin and Its Composites: From Materials to Applications.

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) have historically attracted attention for their unique stimulation-responsive and variable stiffness and have made notable progress in aerospace, civil industry, and other fields. In particular, epoxy resin (EP) has great potential due to its excellent mechanical properties, fatigue resistance, and radiation resistance. Herein, we focus on the molecular design and network construction of shape memory epoxy resins (SMEPs) to provide opportunities for performance and functional regulation. Multifunctional and high-performance SMEPs are introduced in detail, including multiple SMEPs, two-way SMEPs, outstanding toughness, and temperature resistance. Finally, emerging applications of SMEPs and their composites in aerospace, four-dimensional printing, and self-healing are demonstrated. Based on this, we point out the challenges ahead and how SMEPs can integrate performance and versatility to meet the needs of technological development.

Repolarization of Tumor-Infiltrating Myeloid Cells for Augmentation of CAR T Cell Therapies.

Although CAR T cell therapies have proven to be effective in treating hematopoietic cancers, their abilities to regress solid tumors have been less encouraging. Mechanisms to explain these disparities have focused primarily on differences in cancer cell heterogeneity, barriers to CAR T cell penetration of solid tumors, and immunosuppressive microenvironments. To evaluate the contributions of immunosuppressive tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) on CAR T cell efficacies, we have exploited the ability of a folate-targeted Toll-like receptor 7 agonist (FA-TLR7-1A) to specifically reactivate TAMs and MDSCs from an immunosuppressive to pro-inflammatory phenotype without altering the properties of other immune cells. We report here that FA-TLR7-1A significantly augments standard CAR T cell therapies of 4T1 solid tumors in immune competent mice. We further show that co-administration of the FA-TLR7-1A with the CAR T cell therapy not only repolarizes TAMs and MDSCs from an M2-like anti-inflammatory to M1-like pro-inflammatory phenotype, but also enhances both CAR T cell and endogenous T cell accumulation in solid tumors while concurrently increasing their states of activation. Because analogous myeloid cells in healthy tissues ar not altered by administration of FA-TLR7-1A, no systemic activation of the immune system nor accompanying weight loss is observed. These data argue that immunosuppressive myeloid cells contribute prominently to the failure of CAR T cells to eradicate solid tumors and suggest that methods to reprogram tumor associated myeloid cells to a more inflammatory phenotype could significantly augment the potencies of CAR T cell therapies.

Alkaline Salt Inhibits Seed Germination and Seedling Growth of Canola More Than Neutral Salt.

Salinity is a major constraint to crop growth and productivity, limiting sustainable agriculture production. Planting canola (Brassica napus L.) variety with salinity-alkalinity tolerance as a green manure on the large area of salinity-affected land in Xinjiang could alleviate feed shortage. To investigate the differential effects of neutral and alkaline salt stress on seed germination and seedling growth of canola, we used two salts at varying concentrations, i.e., NaCl (neutral salt at 100, 150, and 200 mM) and Na2CO3 (alkaline salt at 20, 30, and 40 mM). To further explore the effects of Na+ and pH on seed germination, we included combined of NaCl (0, 100, 150, and 200 mM) and pH (7.1, 8.0, 9.0, 10.0, and 11.0). Shoot growth was promoted by low concentrations of NaCl and Na2CO3 but inhibited at high salt concentrations. Given the same Na+ concentration, Na2CO3 inhibited seed germination and seedling growth more than NaCl. The results showed that the main factor affecting seed germination and seedling growth is not pH alone, but the interaction between pH and salt ions. Under NaCl stress, canola increased the absorption of K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ in roots and K+ in leaves. However, under Na2CO3 stress, canola maintained a high K+ concentration and K+/Na+ ratio in leaves and increased Ca2+ and Mg2+ in roots. Our study showed that alkaline salts inhibit canola seed germination and seedling growth more significantly than neutral salts and salt species, salt concentration, and pH significantly affected on seed germination and seedling growth. However, pH affected seed germination and seedling growth mainly through an interaction with salt ions.

Diversifying Nanoparticle Superstructures and Functions Enabled by Translative Templating from Supramolecular Polymerization.

Biology exploits a transcription-translation approach to deliver structural information from DNA to the protein-building machines with high precision. Here, we show how the structural information of small synthetic molecules could be used to guide the assembly of inorganic nanoparticles into diversified yet long-range ordered superstructures, enabling the information transfer across four or five orders of magnitude in length scale. We designed three perylene diimide (PDI) based isomers differing by their site-specific substitutions of the methyl group, which were able to supramolecularly polymerize into diverse structures. Importantly, coassembly of these PDI isomers with nanoparticles (NPs) could produce diverse long-range ordered nanoparticle superstructures, including one-dimensional NPs chains, double helical NPs assemblies and two-dimensional NPs superlattices. Equally important, we demonstrate that the information originated from small molecules could diversify the functions of the self-assembled nanocomposites.

Salt­responsive transcriptome analysis of canola roots reveals candidate genes involved in the key metabolic pathway in response to salt stress.

Salinity is a major constraint on crop growth and productivity, limiting sustainable agriculture in arid regions. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of salt-stress adaptation in canola is important to improve salt tolerance and promote its cultivation in saline lands. In this study, roots of control (no salt) and 200 mM NaCl-stressed canola seedlings were collected for RNA-Seq analysis and qRT-PCR validation. A total of 5385, 4268, and 7105 DEGs at the three time points of salt treatment compared to the control were identified, respectively. Several DEGs enriched in plant signal transduction pathways were highly expressed under salt stress, and these genes play an important role in signaling and scavenging of ROS in response to salt stress. Transcript expression in canola roots differed at different stages of salt stress, with the early-stages (2 h) of salt stress mainly related to oxidative stress response and sugar metabolism, while the late-stages (72 h) of salt stress mainly related to transmembrane movement, amino acid metabolism, glycerol metabolism and structural components of the cell wall. Several families of TFs that may be associated with salt tolerance were identified, including ERF, MYB, NAC, WRKY, and bHLH. These results provide a basis for further studies on the regulatory mechanisms of salt stress adaptation in canola.

Chirality Inversion in Self-Assembled Nanocomposites Directed by Curvature-Mediated Interactions.

Nanoscale curvature-dependent interactions are of paramount importance in biological systems. Here, we report that nanoscale curvature plays an important role in regulating the chirality of self-assembled nanocomposites from chiral organic molecules and achiral nanoparticles. Specifically, we show that the supramolecular chirality of the nanocomposites markedly depends on the nanoparticle curvature, where small-sized nanoparticles of high curvature and large-sized nanoparticles of low curvature lead to nanocomposites with opposite chirality. Quantitative kinetic experiments and molecular dynamics simulations reveal that nanoparticle curvature plays a key role in promoting the pre-nucleation oligomerization of chiral molecules, which consequently regulates the supramolecular chirality of the nanocomposites. We anticipate that this study will aid in rational design of an artificial cooperative system giving rise to emergent assembling phenomena that can be surprisingly rich and often cannot be understood by studying the conventional noncooperative systems.

Catalytic Enantioconvergent Allenylation of Aldehydes with Propargyl Halides.

α-Allenol is a versatile synthon in organic synthesis. The catalytic asymmetric synthesis of α-allenols from readily available starting materials remains a prominent challenge, especially when simultaneous control over axial and central chirality is required. Herein, we describe the Cr-catalyzed enantioconvergent allenylation of aldehydes with racemic propargyl halides to rapidly access a wide range of chiral α-allenols with adjacent axial and central chiralities. This method features excellent regio-, diastereo- and enantioselectivity control with broad substrate scope, and provides facile access to all four stereoisomers when allied with a Mitsunobu reaction. Preliminary mechanistic studies support radical-based reaction pathways. The synthetic utility is demonstrated by the application in late-stage functionalization and the formal total synthesis of (+)-varitriol.

Physiological, proteomic, and metabolomic analysis provide insights into Bacillus sp.-mediated salt tolerance in wheat.

KEY MESSAGE: Herein, the inoculation with strain wp-6 promoted the growth of wheat seedlings by improving the energy production and conversion of wheat seedlings and alleviating salt stress. Soil salinization decreases crop productivity due to high toxicity of sodium ions to plants. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) have been demonstrated to alleviate salinity stress. However, the mechanism of PGPR in improving plant salt tolerance remains unclear. In this study, physiological analysis, proteomics, and metabolomics were applied to investigate the changes in wheat seedlings under salt stress (150 mM NaCl), both with and without plant root inoculation with wp-6 (Bacillus sp.). Under salt stress, root inoculation with strain wp-6 increased plant biomass (57%) and root length (25%). The Na+ content was reduced, while the K+ content and K+/Na+ ratio were increased. The content of malondialdehyde was decreased by 31.94% after inoculation of wp-6 under salt stress, while the content of proline, soluble sugar, and soluble protein were increased by 7.48%, 12.34%, and 4.12%, respectively. The peroxidase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase activities were increased after inoculation of wp-6 under salt stress. Galactose metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism, caffeine metabolism, ubiquinone and other terpenoid-quinone biosynthesis, and glutathione metabolism might play an important role in promoting the growth of salt-stressed wheat seedlings after the inoculation with wp-6. Interaction analysis of differentially expressed proteins and metabolites found that energy production and transformation-related proteins and six metabolites (D-arginine, palmitoleic acid, chlorophyllide b, rutin, pheophorbide a, and vanillylamine) were mainly involved in the growth of wheat seedlings after the inoculation with wp-6 under salt stress. Furthermore, correlation analysis found that inoculation with wp-6 promotes the growth of salt-stressed wheat seedlings mainly through regulating amino acid metabolism and porphyrin and chlorophyll metabolism. This study provides an eco-friendly method to increase agricultural productivity and paves a way to sustainable agriculture.