Genome-wide identification and investigation of monosaccharide transporter gene family based on their evolution and expression analysis under abiotic stress and hormone treatments in maize (Zea mays L.).

BACKGROUND: Monosaccharide transporter (MST) family, as a carrier for monosaccharide transport, plays an important role in carbon partitioning and widely involves in plant growth and development, stress response, and signaling transduction. However, little information on the MST family genes is reported in maize (Zea mays), especially in response to abiotic stresses. In this study, the genome-wide identification of MST family genes was performed in maize. RESULT: A total of sixty-six putative members of MST gene family were identified and divided into seven subfamilies (including SPT, PMT, VGT, INT, pGlcT, TMT, and ERD) using bioinformatics approaches, and gene information, phylogenetic tree, chromosomal location, gene structure, motif composition, and cis-acting elements were investigated. Eight tandem and twelve segmental duplication events were identified, which played an important role in the expansion of the ZmMST family. Synteny analysis revealed the evolutionary features of MST genes in three gramineous crop species. The expression analysis indicated that most of the PMT, VGT, and ERD subfamilies members responded to osmotic and cadmium stresses, and some of them were regulated by ABA signaling, while only a few members of other subfamilies responded to stresses. In addition, only five genes were induced by NaCl stress in MST family. CONCLUSION: These results serve to understand the evolutionary relationships of the ZmMST family genes and supply some insight into the processes of monosaccharide transport and carbon partitioning on the balance between plant growth and development and stress response in maize.

The conservation of allelic DNA methylation and its relationship with imprinting in maize.

Genomic imprinting refers to allele-specific expression of genes depending on parental origin, and it is regulated by epigenetic modifications. Intraspecific allelic variation for imprinting has been detected; however, the intraspecific genome-wide allelic epigenetic variation in maize and its correlation with imprinting variants remain unclear. Here, three reciprocal hybrids were generated by crossing Zea mays inbred lines CAU5, B73, and Mo17 in order to examine the intraspecific conservation of the imprinted genes in the kernel. The majority of imprinted genes exhibited intraspecific conservation, and these genes also exhibited interspecific conservation (rice, sorghum, and Arabidopsis) and were enriched in some specific pathways. By comparing intraspecific allelic DNA methylation in the endosperm, we found that nearly 15% of DNA methylation existed as allelic variants. The intraspecific whole-genome correlation between DNA methylation and imprinted genes indicated that DNA methylation variants play an important role in imprinting variants. Disruption of two conserved imprinted genes using CRISPR/Cas9 editing resulted in a smaller kernel phenotype. Our results shed light on the intraspecific correlation of DNA methylation variants and variation for imprinting in maize, and show that imprinted genes play an important role in kernel development.

Mixed effects of ambient air pollutants on oocyte-related outcomes: A novel insight from women undergoing assisted reproductive technology.

Air pollution is widely acknowledged as a significant risk factor for human health, especially reproductive health. Nevertheless, many studies have disregarded the potentially mixed effects of air pollutants on reproductive outcomes. We performed a retrospective cohort study involving 8048 women with 9445 cycles undergoing In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) in China, from 2017 to 2021. A land-use random forest model was applied to estimate daily residential exposure to air pollutants, including sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), and fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Individual and joint associations between air pollutants and oocyte-related outcomes of ART were evaluated. In 90 days prior to oocyte pick-up to oocyte pick-up (period A), NO2, O3 and CO was negatively associated with total oocyte yield. In the 90 days prior to oocyte pick-up to start of gonadotropin medication (Gn start, period B), there was a negative dose-dependent association of exposure to five air pollutants with total oocyte yield and mature oocyte yield. In Qgcomp analysis, increasing the multiple air pollutants mixtures by one quartile was related to reducing the number of oocyte pick-ups by -2.00 % (95 %CI: -2.78 %, -1.22 %) in period A, -2.62 % (95 %CI: -3.40 %, -1.84 %) in period B, and -0.98 % (95 %CI: -1.75 %, -0.21 %) in period C. During period B, a 1-unit increase in the WQS index of multiple air pollutants exposure was associated with fewer number of total oocyte (-1.27 %, 95 %CI: -2.16 %, -0.36 %) and mature oocyte (-1.42 %, 95 %CI: -2.41 %, -0.43 %). O3 and NO2 were major contributors with adverse effects on the mixed associations. Additionally, period B appears to be the susceptible window. Our study implies that exposure to air pollution adversely affects oocyte-related outcomes, which raises concerns about the potential adverse impact of air pollution on women's reproductive health.

Dynamic transcriptome profiling revealed a key gene ZmJMJ20 and pathways associated with cadmium stress in maize.

Cadmium (Cd) pollution in soil poses a global concern due to its serious impacts on human health and ecological security. In plants, tremendous efforts have been made to identify some key genes and pathways in Cd stress responses. However, studies on the roles of epigenetic factors in response to Cd stress were still limited. In the study, we first gain insight into the gene expression dynamics for maize seedlings under 0 h, 12 h, and 72 h Cd stress. As a result, six distinct groups of genes were identified by hierarchical clustering and principal component analysis. The key pathways associated with 12 h Cd stress were protein modifications including protein ubiquitination, signal transduction by protein phosphorylation, and histone modification. Whereas, under 72 h stress, main pathways were involved in biological processes including phenylalanine metabolism, response to oxygen-containing compounds and metal ions. Then to be noted, one of the most highly expressed genes at 12 h under Cd treatment is annotated as histone demethylases (ZmJMJ20). The evolutionary tree analysis and domain analysis showed that ZmJMJ20 belonged to the JmjC-only subfamily of the Jumonji-C (JmjC) family, and ZmJMJ20 was conserved in rice and Arabidopsis. After 72 h of Cd treatment, the zmjmj20 mutant created by EMS treatment manifested less severe chlorosis/leaf yellowing symptoms compared with wild-type plants, and there was no significant difference in Fv/Fm and φPSII value before and after Cd treatment. Moreover, the expression levels of several photosynthesis-related down-regulated genes in EMS mutant plants were dramatically increased compared with those in wild-type plants at 12 h under Cd treatment. Our results suggested that ZmJMJ20 plays an important role in the Cd tolerance response pathway and will facilitate the development of cultivars with improved Cd stress tolerance.

Transcriptome-wide identification and characterization of genes exhibit allele-specific imprinting in maize embryo and endosperm.

BACKGROUND: Genomic imprinting refers to a subset of genes that are expressed from only one parental allele during seed development in plants. Studies on genomic imprinting have revealed that intraspecific variations in genomic imprinting expression exist in naturally genetic varieties. However, there have been few studies on the functional analysis of allele-specific imprinted genes. RESULTS: Here, we generated three reciprocal crosses among the B73, Mo17 and CAU5 inbred lines. Based on the transcriptome-wide analysis of allele-specific expression using RNA sequencing technology, 305 allele-specific imprinting genes (ASIGs) were identified in embryos, and 655 ASIGs were identified in endosperms from three maize F1 hybrids. Of these ASIGs, most did not show consistent maternal or paternal bias between the same tissue from different hybrids or different tissues from one hybrid cross. By gene ontology (GO) analysis, five and eight categories of GO exhibited significantly higher functional enrichments for ASIGs identified in embryo and endosperm, respectively. These functional categories indicated that ASIGs are involved in intercellular nutrient transport, signaling pathways, and transcriptional regulation of kernel development. Finally, the mutation and overexpression of one ASIG (Zm305) affected the length and width of the kernel. CONCLUSION: In this study, our data will be helpful in gaining further knowledge of genes exhibiting allele-specific imprinting patterns in seeds. The gain- and loss-of-function phenotypes of ASIGs associated with agronomically important seed traits provide compelling evidence for ASIGs as crucial targets to optimize seed traits in crop plants.

Characterization of Genes That Exhibit Genotype-Dependent Allele-Specific Expression and Its Implications for the Development of Maize Kernel.

Heterosis or hybrid vigor refers to the superior phenotypic traits of hybrids relative to their parental inbred lines. An imbalance between the expression levels of two parental alleles in the F1 hybrid has been suggested as a mechanism of heterosis. Here, based on genome-wide allele-specific expression analysis using RNA sequencing technology, 1689 genes exhibiting genotype-dependent allele-specific expression (genotype-dependent ASEGs) were identified in the embryos, and 1390 genotype-dependent ASEGs in the endosperm, of three maize F1 hybrids. Of these ASEGs, most were consistent in different tissues from one hybrid cross, but nearly 50% showed allele-specific expression from some genotypes but not others. These genotype-dependent ASEGs were mostly enriched in metabolic pathways of substances and energy, including the tricarboxylic acid cycle, aerobic respiration, and energy derivation by oxidation of organic compounds and ADP binding. Mutation and overexpression of one ASEG affected kernel size, which indicates that these genotype-dependent ASEGs may make important contributions to kernel development. Finally, the allele-specific methylation pattern on genotype-dependent ASEGs indicated that DNA methylation plays a potential role in the regulation of allelic expression for some ASEGs. In this study, a detailed analysis of genotype-dependent ASEGs in the embryo and endosperm of three different maize F1 hybrids will provide an index of genes for future research on the genetic and molecular mechanism of heterosis.

Guided self-help mindfulness-based intervention for increasing psychological resilience and reducing job burnout in psychiatric nurses: A randomized controlled trial.

AIMS: The present study aimed to explore the effects of a guided self-help mindfulness intervention on psychological resilience and job burnout among psychiatric nurses. BACKGROUND: Psychiatric nurses work in challenging and potentially high stress settings. Mindfulness interventions can improve psychological resilience and reduce job burnout of nurses. However, face-to-face delivery of mindfulness interventions may be inconvenient for individuals. Guided self-help interventions may be more accessible. METHODS: This randomized controlled trial was conducted from January to August 2022. One hundred and eighteen psychiatric nurses were randomized into the intervention and control groups. The individuals in the intervention group received an 8-week guided self-help mindfulness intervention, while the individuals in the control group received a psycho-educational brochure. The Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey were used to evaluate the levels of mindfulness, psychological resilience and job burnout, respectively. RESULTS: After an 8-week intervention, compared with the control group, the levels of mindfulness and psychological resilience were higher, while the level of job burnout was lower in the intervention group. CONCLUSIONS: The guided self-help mindfulness intervention can improve psychological resilience and reduce job burnout among psychiatric nurses.

Genome-wide identification and characterization of lncRNAs in sunflower endosperm.

BACKGROUND: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), as important regulators, play important roles in plant growth and development. The expression and epigenetic regulation of lncRNAs remain uncharacterized generally in plant seeds, especially in the transient endosperm of the dicotyledons. RESULTS: In this study, we identified 11,840 candidate lncRNAs in 12 day-after-pollination sunflower endosperm by analyzing RNA-seq data. These lncRNAs were evenly distributed in all chromosomes and had specific features that were distinct from mRNAs including tissue-specificity expression, shorter and fewer exons. By GO analysis of protein coding genes showing strong correlation with the lncRNAs, we revealed that these lncRNAs potential function in many biological processes of seed development. Additionally, genome-wide DNA methylation analyses revealed that the level of DNA methylation at the transcription start sites was negatively correlated with gene expression levels in lncRNAs. Finally, 36 imprinted lncRNAs were identified including 32 maternally expressed lncRNAs and four paternally expressed lncRNAs. In CG and CHG context, DNA methylation levels of imprinted lncRNAs in the upstream and gene body regions were slightly lower in the endosperm than that in embryo tissues, which indicated that the maternal demethylation potentially induce the paternally bias expression of imprinted lncRNAs in sunflower endosperm. CONCLUSION: Our findings not only identified and characterized lncRNAs on a genome-wide scale in the development of sunflower endosperm, but also provide novel insights into the parental effects and epigenetic regulation of lncRNAs in dicotyledonous seeds.

Reciprocal regulation of NRF2 by autophagy and ubiquitin-proteasome modulates vascular endothelial injury induced by copper oxide nanoparticles.

NRF2 is the key antioxidant molecule to maintain redox homeostasis, however the intrinsic mechanisms of NRF2 activation in the context of nanoparticles (NPs) exposure remain unclear. In this study, we revealed that copper oxide NPs (CuONPs) exposure activated NRF2 pathway in vascular endothelial cells. NRF2 knockout remarkably aggravated oxidative stress, which were remarkably mitigated by ROS scavenger. We also demonstrated that KEAP1 (the negative regulator of NRF2) was not primarily involved in NRF2 activation in that KEAP1 knockdown did not significantly affect CuONPs-induced NRF2 activation. Notably, we demonstrated that autophagy promoted NRF2 activation as evidenced by that ATG5 knockout or autophagy inhibitors significantly blocked NRF2 pathway. Mechanically, CuONPs disturbed ubiquitin-proteasome pathway and consequently inhibited the proteasome-dependent degradation of NRF2. However, autophagy deficiency reciprocally promoted proteasome activity, leading to the acceleration of degradation of NRF2 via ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. In addition, the notion that the reciprocal regulation of NRF2 by autophagy and ubiquitin-proteasome was further proven in a CuONPs pulmonary exposure mice model. Together, this study uncovers a novel regulatory mechanism of NRF2 activation by protein degradation machineries in response to CuONPs exposure, which opens a novel intriguing scenario to uncover therapeutic strategies against NPs-induced vascular injury and disease.

PINK1/TAX1BP1-directed mitophagy attenuates vascular endothelial injury induced by copper oxide nanoparticles.

Copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs) are widely used metal oxide NPs owing to their excellent physical-chemical properties. Circulation translocation of CuONPs after inhalation leads to vascular endothelial injury. Mitochondria, an important regulatory hub for maintaining cell functions, are signaling organelles in responses to NPs-induced injury. However, how mitochondrial dynamics (fission and fusion) and mitophagy (an autophagy process to degrade damaged mitochondria) are elaborately orchestrated to maintain mitochondrial homeostasis in CuONPs-induced vascular endothelial injury is still unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that CuONPs exposure disturbed mitochondrial dynamics through oxidative stress-dependent manner in vascular endothelial cells, as evidenced by the increase of mitochondrial fission and the accumulation of fragmented mitochondria. Inhibition of mitochondrial fission with Mdivi-1 aggravated CuONPs-induced mtROS production and cell death. Furthermore, we found that mitochondrial fission led to the activation of PINK1-mediated mitophagy, and pharmacological inhibition with wortmannin, chloroquine or genetical inhibition with siRNA-mediated knockdown of PINK1 profoundly repressed mitophagy, suggesting that the protective role of mitochondrial fission and PINK1-mediated mitophagy in CuONPs-induced toxicity. Intriguingly, we identified that TAX1BP1 was the primary receptor to link the ubiquitinated mitochondria with autophagosomes, since TAX1BP1 knockdown elevated mtROS production, decreased mitochondrial clearance and aggravated CuONPs-induced cells death. More importantly, we verified that urolithin A, a mitophagy activator, promoted mtROS clearance and the removal of damaged mitochondria induced by CuONPs exposure both in vitro and in vivo. Overall, our findings indicated that modulating mitophagy may be a therapeutic strategy for pathological vascular endothelial injury caused by NPs exposure.

The cost-effectiveness of bivalent, quadrivalent, and nine-valent HPV vaccination in Asia: a systematic review.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to systematically review the cost-effectiveness of HPV vaccination in Asia. METHODS: We performed a systematic review of papers indexed in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science covering the period from 1 January 2000 to 13 August 2020. RESULTS: Sixteen studies were included in the review. Half of them (8 studies) evaluated the cost-effectiveness of HPV vaccination in high-income countries and regions (HICs) while the other eight studies were set in low- and middle-income countries and regions (LMICs). In HICs, the implementation of bivalent, quadrivalent and nine-valent HPV vaccination was all shown to be cost-effective. Most studies (7/8) also showed that it was cost-effective to implement bivalent, quadrivalent, and nine-valent HPV vaccines in LMICs. However, one study concluded that it was not cost-effective to implement bivalent HPV vaccination in Thailand. CONCLUSION: In general, the implementation of bivalent, quadrivalent and nine-valent HPV vaccination for adolescent girls was cost-effective in both high-income countries and regions and low- and middle-income countries and regions in Asia. Policy makers in HICs could consider expanding the target vaccinated population, while for LMICs it is essential to reduce HPV vaccine price to a level at which the implementation of HPV vaccination is cost-effective.

Mahjong Playing and Leisure Physical Activity Alleviate Cognitive Symptoms in Older Community Residents.

Leisure activities, particularly physically and cognitively stimulating leisure activities, mitigate cognitive decline. The present study aimed to examine the relationship between mahjong playing, leisure physical activity, and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Older adults with and without MCI were recruited (n = 489, healthy group; and n = 187, MCI group). The regression results showed that years of mahjong playing (odds ratio = 0.595, 95% confidence interval [0.376, 0.961], p = .032) and physical activity (odds ratio = 0.572, 95% confidence interval [0.381, 0.849], p = .012) were associated with reduced odds of having MCI after adjusting for a series of covariates. Leisure physical activity and mahjong playing interacted with each other and produced combined effects on the odds of having MCI. Combined cognitive and physical interventions may produce larger benefits on cognition than either intervention alone.

Conservation Study of Imprinted Genes in Maize Triparental Heterozygotic Kernels.

Genomic imprinting is a classic epigenetic phenomenon related to the uniparental expression of genes. Imprinting variability exists in seeds and can contribute to observed parent-of-origin effects on seed development. Here, we conducted allelic expression of the embryo and endosperm from four crosses at 11 days after pollination (DAP). First, the F1 progeny of B73(♀) × Mo17(♂) and the inducer line CAU5 were used as parents to obtain reciprocal crosses of BM-C/C-BM. Additionally, the F1 progeny of Mo17(♀) × B73(♂) and CAU5 were used as parents to obtain reciprocal crosses of MB-C/C-MB. In total, 192 and 181 imprinted genes were identified in the BM-C/C-BM and MB-C/C-MB crosses, respectively. Then, by comparing the allelic expression of these imprinted genes in the reciprocal crosses of B73 and CAU5 (BC/CB), fifty-one Mo17-added non-conserved genes were identified as exhibiting imprinting variability. Fifty-one B73-added non-conserved genes were also identified by comparing the allelic expression of imprinted genes identified in BM-C/C-BM, MB-C/C-MB and MC/CM crosses. Specific Gene Ontology (GO) terms were not enriched in B73-added/Mo17-added non-conserved genes. Interestingly, the imprinting status of these genes was less conserved across other species. The cis-element distribution, tissue expression and subcellular location were similar between the B73-added/Mo17-added conserved and B73-added/Mo17-added non-conserved imprinted genes. Finally, genotypic and phenotypic analysis of one non-conserved gene showed that the mutation and overexpression of this gene may affect embryo and kernel size, which indicates that these non-conserved genes may also play an important role in kernel development. The findings of this study will be helpful for elucidating the imprinting mechanism of genes involved in maize kernel development.

Parent-of-origin-dependent nucleosome organization correlates with genomic imprinting in maize.

Genomic imprinting refers to allele-specific expression of genes depending on their parental origin. Nucleosomes, the fundamental units of chromatin, play a critical role in gene transcriptional regulation. However, it remains unknown whether differential nucleosome organization is related to the allele-specific expression of imprinted genes. Here, we generated a genome-wide map of allele-specific nucleosome occupancy in maize endosperm and presented an integrated analysis of its relationship with parent-of-origin-dependent gene expression and DNA methylation. We found that ∼2.3% of nucleosomes showed significant parental bias in maize endosperm. The parent-of-origin-dependent nucleosomes mostly exist as single isolated nucleosomes. Parent-of-origin-dependent nucleosomes were significantly associated with the allele-specific expression of imprinted genes, with nucleosomes positioned preferentially in the promoter of nonexpressed alleles of imprinted genes. Furthermore, we found that most of the paternal specifically positioned nucleosomes (pat-nucleosomes) were associated with parent-of-origin-dependent differential methylated regions, suggesting a functional link between the maternal demethylation and the occurrence of pat-nucleosome. Maternal specifically positioned nucleosomes (mat-nucleosomes) were independent of allele-specific DNA methylation but seem to be associated with allele-specific histone modification. Our study provides the first genome-wide map of allele-specific nucleosome occupancy in plants and suggests a mechanistic connection between chromatin organization and genomic imprinting.

Epigenetic modifications potentially controlling the allelic expression of imprinted genes in sunflower endosperm.

BACKGROUND: Genomic imprinting is an epigenetic phenomenon mainly occurs in endosperm of flowering plants. Genome-wide identification of imprinted genes have been completed in several dicot Cruciferous plant and monocot crops. RESULTS: Here, we analyzed global patterns of allelic gene expression in developing endosperm of sunflower which belongs to the composite family. Totally, 691 imprinted loci candidates were identified in 12 day-after-pollination sunflower endosperm including 79 maternally expressed genes (MEG) and 596 paternally expressed genes (PEG), 6 maternally expressed noncoding RNAs (MNC) and 10 paternally expressed noncoding RNAs (PNC). And a clear clustering of imprinted genes throughout the rapeseed genome was identified. Generally, imprinting in sunflower is conserved within a species, but intraspecific variation also was detected. Limited loci in sunflower are imprinted in other several different species. The DNA methylation pattern around imprinted genes were investigated in embryo and endosperm tissues. In CG context, the imprinted genes were significantly associated with differential methylated regions exhibiting hypomethylation in endosperm and hypermethylation in embryo, which indicated that the maternal demethylation in CG context potentially induce the genomic imprinting in endosperm. CONCLUSION: Our study would be helpful for understanding of genomic imprinting in plants and provide potential basis for further research in imprinting in sunflower.

Executive Control, Alerting, Updating, and Falls in Cognitively Healthy Older Adults.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive impairment represents a risk factor for falls in older adults. However, cognition is a complex construct comprising several functional domains. The relationship between specific cognitive domain and falls in cognitively healthy older adults is unclear. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to investigate the relationship between falls, attention, and executive function in older adults while considering the three components of attention (alerting, orienting, and executive control) and three components of executive function (updating, inhibition, and shifting). METHODS: Cognitively healthy older adults were recruited (n = 60 for fallers and n = 100 for non-fallers). The participants were assessed on the Attention Network Test (alerting, orienting, and executive control), running memory test (updating), Stroop test (inhibition), and digit switching test (shifting). Confounder-adjusted logistic models were used to examine the associations between falls and specific cognitive functions in cognitively healthy older adults. RESULTS: The results showed that falls were associated with alerting, executive control, and updating. These associations were not attenuated when adjusting for a series of covariates such as age, gender, education, balance, general health, and emotional status. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that among cognitively healthy older adults, falls are related to three specific cognitive functions: alerting, executive control, and updating. Disentangling the mechanism and contribution of cognitive deficits in fall risk may provide insights for the development of prevention and rehabilitation strategies for falls in older adults.

Telephone-based reminiscence therapy for colorectal cancer patients undergoing postoperative chemotherapy complicated with depression: a three-arm randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer patients undergoing postoperative chemotherapy often exhibit symptoms of depression that in turn may negatively affect outcome. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of telephone-based reminiscence therapy on the depression, anxiety, subjective well-being, and social support of colorectal cancer patients undergoing postoperative chemotherapy complicated with depression. METHODS: Patients were divided randomly into a control group (CON, n = 45), telephone support group (TS, n = 45), and telephone-based reminiscence therapy group (TBR, n = 45). Patients in TS and TBR groups received six 20-40-min telephone intervention sessions conducted weekly. Patients were assessed at baseline and at 6 weeks. The primary outcomes were changes on the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD), which were used to evaluate depression symptoms. Secondary outcomes were changes in Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), Memorial University of Newfoundland Scale of Happiness (MUNSH), and Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS) scores, which were used to evaluate anxiety symptoms, subjective well-being, and social support, respectively. RESULTS: After 6 weeks, SDS and HAMD scores were significantly lower than pre-intervention baseline in the TBR group but not in the CON and TS groups (P < 0.05). Both SAS and HAMA scores were significantly reduced in TBR and TS groups but not the CON group (P < 0.05) following intervention; however, there was no significant difference in post-intervention scores between TS and TBR groups (P > 0.05). Neither telephone support nor telephone-based reminiscence therapy improved subjective well-being or social support (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that telephone-based reminiscence therapy can reduce depression symptoms in colorectal cancer patients undergoing postoperative chemotherapy. Telephone-based reminiscence therapy may also improve anxiety, but no better than telephone support. Alternatively, telephone-based reminiscence therapy did not improve subjective well-being or social support. We suggest that clinicians provide appropriate telephone-based reminiscence therapy in long-term care institutions based on patient mental health status.

Cyberbullying perpetration and victimisation among junior and senior high school students in Guangzhou, China.

OBJECTIVES: Cyberbullying research in China is in early stage. This study describes the cyberbullying experiences of junior and senior high school students in Guangzhou, China, and to examine the risk factors associated with cyberbullying perpetrators, victims and perpetrator-victims among students. We also investigated the frequency of cyberbullying and coping strategies of student victims. METHODS: Participants were 2590 students in grades 7, 8, 9 and 10 from six junior and senior high schools in October 2015 in Guangzhou, in south China, who completed a questionnaire. Data on participants' experiences with cyberbullying perpetration and victimisation during the previous 6 months were collected. Multinomial logistic regression was used to analyse factors associated with being perpetrators, victims and perpetrator-victims. RESULTS: In this sample, 28.0% (725) of participants reported being a perpetrator and 44.5% (1150) reported being a victim in the previous 6 months. Specifically, 2.9% (74) reported being perpetrators only, 19.3% (499) reported being victims only and 25.2% (651) reported being perpetrator-victims (both perpetrator and victim). In addition, flaming was the most common form of cyberbullying in both perpetration and victimisation. Logistic regression analyses indicated that online game addiction in participants was associated with increased odds of being a perpetrator only; no democratic parenting style in the mother and physical discipline by parents were associated with increased odds of being a victim only; male students, students with low academic achievement, those spending over 2 hours a day online, experiencing physical discipline from parents and online game addiction were associated with increased odds of both perpetration and victimisation. CONCLUSIONS: Cyberbullying is a common experience among Chinese junior and senior high school students. These findings add to the empirical data on cyberbullying and reinforce the urgent need for cyberbullying prevention in China. Furthermore, from the perspective of practice, it is important to raise our awareness of cyerbullying and reduce the risk factors.

Identification of minor effect QTLs for plant architecture related traits using super high density genotyping and large recombinant inbred population in maize (Zea mays).

BACKGROUND: Plant Architecture Related Traits (PATs) are of great importance for maize breeding, and mainly controlled by minor effect quantitative trait loci (QTLs). However, cloning or even fine-mapping of minor effect QTLs is very difficult in maize. Theoretically, large population and high density genetic map can be helpful for increasing QTL mapping resolution and accuracy, but such a possibility have not been actually tested. RESULTS: Here, we employed a genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) strategy to construct a linkage map with 16,769 marker bins for 1021 recombinant inbred lines (RILs). Accurately mapping of well studied genes P1, pl1 and r1 underlying silk color demonstrated the map quality. After QTL analysis, a total of 51 loci were mapped for six PATs. Although all of them belong to minor effect alleles, the lengths of the QTL intervals, with a minimum and median of 1.03 and 3.40 Mb respectively, were remarkably reduced as compared with previous reports using smaller size of population or small number of markers. Several genes with known function in maize were shown to be overlapping with or close neighboring to these QTL peaks, including na1, td1, d3 for plant height, ra1 for tassel branch number, and zfl2 for tassel length. To further confirm our mapping results, a plant height QTL, qPH1a, was verified by an introgression lines (ILs). CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated a method for high resolution mapping of minor effect QTLs in maize, and the resulted comprehensive QTLs for PATs are valuable for maize molecular breeding in the future.

Genomewide analysis of the lateral organ boundaries domain gene family in Eucalyptus grandis reveals members that differentially impact secondary growth.

Lateral Organ Boundaries Domain (LBD) proteins are plant-specific transcription factors playing crucial roles in growth and development. However, the function of LBD proteins in Eucalyptus grandis remains largely unexplored. In this study, LBD genes in E. grandis were identified and characterized using bioinformatics approaches. Gene expression patterns in various tissues and the transcriptional responses of EgLBDs to exogenous hormones were determined by qRT-PCR. Functions of the selected EgLBDs were studied by ectopically overexpressing in a hybrid poplar (Populus alba × Populus glandulosa). Expression levels of genes in the transgenic plants were investigated by RNA-seq. Our results showed that there were forty-six EgLBD members in the E. grandis genome and three EgLBDs displayed xylem- (EgLBD29) or phloem-preferential expression (EgLBD22 and EgLBD37). Confocal microscopy indicated that EgLBD22, EgLBD29 and EgLBD37 were localized to the nucleus. Furthermore, we found that EgLBD22, EgLBD29 and EgLBD37 were responsive to the treatments of indol-3-acetic acid and gibberellic acid. More importantly, we demonstrated EgLBDs exerted different influences on secondary growth. Namely, 35S::EgLBD37 led to significantly increased secondary xylem, 35S::EgLBD29 led to greatly increased phloem fibre production, and 35S::EgLBD22 showed no obvious effects. We revealed that key genes related to gibberellin, ethylene and auxin signalling pathway as well as cell expansion were significantly up- or down-regulated in transgenic plants. Our new findings suggest that LBD genes in E. grandis play important roles in secondary growth. This provides new mechanisms to increase wood or fibre production.