Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals genes involved in trichome development and metabolism in tobacco.

BACKGROUND: The glandular trichomes of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) can efficiently produce secondary metabolites. They act as natural bioreactors, and their natural products function to protect plants against insect-pests and pathogens and are also components of industrial chemicals. To clarify the molecular mechanisms of tobacco glandular trichome development and secondary metabolic regulation, glandular trichomes and glandless trichomes, as well as other different developmental tissues, were used for RNA sequencing and analysis. RESULTS: By comparing glandless and glandular trichomes with other tissues, we obtained differentially expressed genes. They were obviously enriched in KEGG pathways, such as cutin, suberine, and wax biosynthesis, flavonoid and isoflavonoid biosynthesis, terpenoid biosynthesis, and plant-pathogen interaction. In particular, the expression levels of genes related to the terpenoid, flavonoid, and wax biosynthesis pathway mainly showed down-regulation in glandless trichomes, implying that they lack the capability to synthesize certain exudate compounds. Among the differentially expressed genes, 234 transcription factors were found, including AP2-ERFs, MYBs, bHLHs, WRKYs, Homeoboxes (HD-ZIP), and C2H2-ZFs. These transcription factor and genes that highly expressed in trichomes or specially expressed in GT or GLT. Following the overexpression of R2R3-MYB transcription factor Nitab4.5_0011760g0030.1 in tobacco, an increase in the number of branched glandular trichomes was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Our data provide comprehensive gene expression information at the transcriptional level and an understanding of the regulatory pathways involved in glandular trichome development and secondary metabolism.

Parallel edge extraction operators on chip speed up photonic convolutional neural networks.

We experimentally establish a 3 × 3 cross-shaped micro-ring resonator (MRR) array-based photonic multiplexing architecture relying on silicon photonics to achieve parallel edge extraction operations in images for photonic convolution neural networks. The main mathematical operations involved are convolution. Precisely, a faster convolutional calculation speed of up to four times is achieved by extracting four feature maps simultaneously with the same photonic hardware's structure and power consumption, where a maximum computility of 0.742 TOPS at an energy cost of 48.6 mW and a convolution accuracy of 95.1% is achieved in an MRR array chip. In particular, our experimental results reveal that this system using parallel edge extraction operators instead of universal operators can improve the imaging recognition accuracy for CIFAR-10 dataset by 6.2% within the same computing time, reaching a maximum of 78.7%. This work presents high scalability and efficiency of parallel edge extraction chips, furnishing a novel, to the best of our knowledge, approach to boost photonic computing speed.

On-chip silicon photonic micro-ring processor lights up optical image encryption.

Optical image encryption has long been an important concept in the fields of photonic network processing and communication. Here, we propose a convolution-like operation-based optical image encryption algorithm exploiting a silicon photonic multiplexing architecture to achieve content security. Particularly, the encryption process is completed in a 3 × 3 cross-shaped photonic micro-ring resonator (MRR) array on chip. For the first time, to the best of our knowledge, this algorithm encodes information in an integrated intensity modulation, effectively reducing the encoding difficulty. Moreover, the high reliability and scalability of optical encryption are ensured using both linear and nonlinear operations on photonic chips according to characteristics of MRRs. As the encryption and decryption experiments show, the image restoration accuracy of our optical encryption algorithm exceeds 99% under real system noise at the pixel level, indicating its noise-robust property. Meanwhile, the peak signal-to-noise ratios of the restored and encrypted images are >60 and <15 dB, respectively, revealing both the high accuracy of the restored image and the small correlation between the encrypted and original images. This work adds to the rapidly expanding field of optical image encryption on photonic chips.

Modulating the Electronic States of Pt Nanoparticles on Reducible Metal-Organic Frameworks for Boosting the Oxidation of Volatile Organic Compounds.

The adsorption and activation of pollutant molecules and oxygen play a critical role in the oxidation reaction of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In this study, superior adsorption and activation ability was achieved by modulating the interaction between Pt nanoparticles (NPs) and UiO-66 (U6) through the spatial position effect. Pt@U6 exhibits excellent activity in toluene, acetone, propane, and aldehyde oxidation reactions. Spectroscopic studies, 16O2/18O2 kinetic isotopic experiments, and density functional theory (DFT) results jointly reveal that the encapsulated Pt NPs of Pt@U6 possess higher electron density and d-band center, which is conducive for the adsorption and dissociation of oxygen. The toluene oxidation reaction and DFT results indicate that Pt@U6 is more favorable to activate the C-H of toluene and the C═C of maleic anhydride, while Pt/U6 with lower electron density and d-band center exhibits a higher oxygen dissociation temperature and higher reactant activation energy barriers. This study provides a deep insight into the architecture-performance relation of Pt-based catalysts for the catalytic oxidation of VOCs.

Boosting N2O Catalytic Decomposition by the Synergistic Effect of Multiple Elements in Cobalt-Based High-Entropy Oxides.

Nitrous oxide (N2O) has a detrimental impact on the greenhouse effect, and its efficient catalytic decomposition at low temperatures remains challenging. Herein, the cobalt-based high-entropy oxide with a spinel-type structure (Co-HEO) is successfully fabricated via a facile coprecipitation method for N2O catalytic decomposition. The obtained Co-HEO catalyst displays more remarkable catalytic performance and higher thermal stability compared with single and binary Co-based oxides, as the temperature of 90% N2O decomposition (T90) is 356 °C. A series of characterization results reveal that the synergistic effect of multiple elements enhances the reducibility and augments oxygen vacancy in the high-entropy system, thus boosting the activity of the Co-HEO catalyst. Moreover, density functional theory (DFT) calculations and the temperature-programmed surface reaction (TPSR) with isotope labeling demonstrate that N2O decomposition on the Co-HEO catalyst follows the Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) mechanism with the promotion of abundant oxygen vacancies. This work provides a fundamental understanding of the synergistic catalytic effect in N2O decomposition and paves the way for the novel environmental catalytic applications of HEO.

Platanosides from Platanus × acerifolia: New molecules, SAR, and target validation of a strong lead for drug-resistant bacterial infections and the associated sepsis.

Three undescribed (1-3) and nine known (4-12) platanosides were isolated and characterized from a bioactive extract of the May leaves of Platanus × acerifolia that initially showed inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus. Targeted compound mining was guided by an LC-MS/MS-based molecular ion networking (MoIN) strategy combined with conventional isolation procedures from a unique geographic location. The novel structures were mainly determined by 2D NMR and computational (NMR/ECD calculations) methods. Compound 1 is a rare acylated kaempferol rhamnoside possessing a truxinate unit. 6 (Z,E-platanoside) and 7 (E,E-platanoside) were confirmed to have remarkable inhibitory effects against both methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MIC: ≤ 16 µg/mL) and glycopeptide-resistant Enterococcus faecium (MIC: ≤ 1 µg/mL). These platanosides were subjected to docking analyses against FabI (enoyl-ACP reductase) and PBP1/2 (penicillin binding protein), both of which are pivotal enzymes governing bacterial growth but not found in the human host. The results showed that 6 and 7 displayed superior binding affinities towards FabI and PBP2. Moreover, surface plasmon resonance studies on the interaction of 1/7 and FabI revealed that 7 has a higher affinity (KD = 1.72 µM), which further supports the above in vitro data and is thus expected to be a novel anti-antibacterial drug lead.

Effects of pressure-controlled ventilation targeting end-inspiratory flow rate on pulmonary complications and inflammation levels in patients undergoing spinal surgery in the prone position: a randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: This study assessed the impact of pressure-controlled ventilation (PCV) focusing on end-inspiratory flow rate on the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) and inflammation levels in patients undergoing spinal surgery in the prone position. METHODS: A total of 187 patients who underwent posterior spinal surgery were enrolled and randomly divided into 3 groups: 61 in the volume-controlled ventilation (VCV) group (group V), 62 in the PCV-volume-guaranteed (VG) group (group P1), and 64 in the PCV-VG end-expiratory zero flow rate group (group P2). Indicators including tidal volume (VT), peak airway pressure (Ppeak), and dynamic lung compliance (Cdyn) were recorded. The Ppeak, Cdyn, PETCO2, and oxygenation index (PaO2/FiO2) after intubation (T0), after prone position (T1), 60 min after prone position (T2), and after supine position at the end of surgery (T3) of the three groups were collected. RESULTS: In the within-group comparison, compared with T0, Ppeak increased at T1 - 2 in groups V and P1 (P < 0.01), whereas it decreased at T1 - 3 in group P2 (P < 0.01). Cdyn decreased at T1 - 2 and PaO2/FiO2 increased at T1 - 3 in all three groups (P < 0.01), and PaO2/FiO2 increased at T1 - 3 (P < 0.01). Compared with group V, Ppeak decreased at T0 - 3 in group P1 (P < 0.01) and at T1 - 3 in group P2 (P < 0.01), while Cdyn increased at T0 - 3 in groups P1 and P2 (P < 0.01). Compared with group P1, Ppeak was elevated at T0 (P < 0.01) and decreased at T1 - 3 (P < 0.05), and Cdyn was elevated at T0 - 3 in group P2 (P < 0.01). The total incidence of PPCs in group P2 was lower than that in group V (P < 0.01). Compared with the preoperative period, serum interleukin 6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were increased at 24 and 72 h after surgery in group V (P < 0.01), whereas that was increased at 24 h after surgery in group P1 and group P2 (P < 0.01). Compared with group V, serum IL-6 and CRP levels were reduced at 24 h after surgery in groups P1 and P2 (P < 0.01 or < 0.05). CONCLUSION: In patients undergoing spinal surgery in the prone position, PCV-VG targeting an end-inspiratory zero flow rate lowers the incidence of PPCs and inflammation levels.

Assessment of Bitterness in Non-Charged Pharmaceuticals with a Taste Sensor: A Study on Substances with Xanthine Scaffold and Allopurinol.

Taste sensors with an allostery approach have been studied to detect non-charged bitter substances, such as xanthine derivatives, used in foods (e.g., caffeine) or pharmaceuticals (e.g., etofylline). In this study, the authors modified a taste sensor with 3-bromo-2,6-dihydroxybenzoic acid and used it in conjunction with sensory tests to assess the bitterness of non-charged pharmaceuticals with xanthine scaffolds (i.e., acefylline and doxofylline), as well as allopurinol, an analogue of hypoxanthine. The results show that the sensor was able to differentiate between different levels of sample bitterness. For instance, when assessing a 30 mM sample solution, the sensor response to acefylline was 34.24 mV, which corresponded to the highest level of bitterness (τ = 3.50), while the response to allopurinol was lowest at 2.72 mV, corresponding to relatively weaker bitterness (τ = 0.50). Additionally, this study extended the application of the sensor to detect pentoxifylline, an active pharmaceutical ingredient in pediatric medicines. These results underscore the taste sensor's value as an additional tool for early-stage assessment and prediction of bitterness in non-charged pharmaceuticals.

Enantioselective Ring-Closing Aminomethylamination of Allylic Aminodienes with Aminals Triggered by C-N Bond Metathesis.

A conceptually novel strategy utilizing a cyclopalladated complex as an electrophile to activate the C-N bond for the C-N bond metathesis between allylamines and aminals is developed, which enables an efficient ring-closing aminomethylamination of allylic aminodienes and aminals. The reaction proceeds under mild reaction conditions and displays a remarkable scope. Utilizing a modified Trost-type diphosphine as the ligand, this method enables the efficient synthesis of 5-10-membered aminoallylated chiral N-heterocycles in good yields with high enantiomeric excess values.

Theoretical Epidemiology Needs Urgent Attention in China.

The mathematical method to which theoretical epidemiology belongs is one of the three major methodologies in epidemiology. It is of great value in diagnosing infectious disease epidemic trends and evaluating the effectiveness of prevention and control measures. This paper aims to summarize the brief history of the development of theoretical epidemiology, common types of mathematical models, and key steps to develop a mathematical model. It also provides some thoughts and perspectives on the development and application of theoretical epidemiology in China.

Development of Taste Sensor with Lipid/Polymer Membranes for Detection of Umami Substances Using Surface Modification.

A taste sensor employs various lipid/polymer membranes with specific physicochemical properties for taste classification and evaluation. However, phosphoric acid di(2-ethylhexyl) ester (PAEE), employed as one of the lipids for the taste sensors, exhibits insufficient selectivity for umami substances. The pH of sample solutions impacts the dissociation of lipids to influence the membrane potential, and the response to astringent substances makes accurate measurement of umami taste difficult. This study aims to develop a novel taste sensor for detecting umami substances like monosodium L-glutamate (MSG) through surface modification, i.e., a methodology previously applied to taste sensors for non-charged bitter substance measurement. Four kinds of modifiers were tested as membrane-modifying materials. By comparing the results obtained from these modifiers, the modifier structure suitable for measuring umami substances was identified. The findings revealed that the presence of carboxyl groups at para-position of the benzene ring, as well as intramolecular H-bonds between the carboxyl group and hydroxyl group, significantly affect the effectiveness of a modifier in the umami substance measurement. The taste sensor treated with this type of modifier showed excellent selectivity for umami substances.

Organic Electrochemical Transistors for Biomarker Detections.

The improvement of living standards and the advancement of medical technology have led to an increased focus on health among individuals. Detections of biomarkers are feasible approaches to obtaining information about health status, disease progression, and response to treatment of an individual. In recent years, organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) have demonstrated high electrical performances and effectiveness in detecting various types of biomarkers. This review provides an overview of the working principles of OECTs and their performance in detecting multiple types of biomarkers, with a focus on the recent advances and representative applications of OECTs in wearable and implantable biomarker detections, and provides a perspective for the future development of OECT-based biomarker sensors.

Computational Modeling of Bone Fracture Healing Under Different Initial Conditions and Mechanical Load.

OBJECTIVE: Computational model of bone healing can replace animal experiments to study the parameters affecting the bone healing process, thus reducing the damage to experimental animals and saving a lot of time. We propose a computational model for continuous simulation of four phases of bone healing to study the effects of mechanical environmental and biological factors, including initial conditions at the fracture site, mechanical stimulus loading, and vascular growth rate. METHODS: A finite element model of mechanobiological fracture healing containing several pre-determined variables was developed for bone healing after fracture in sheep, which included many relevant parameters and biological effects during fracture healing, such as the effects of mechanical environment, blood supply level in the local fracture area, cell migration and diffusion, and resorption effects of fracture healing. The effects of several parameters on indices such as Young's modulus of the callus during bone healing were obtained by simulation. RESULTS: The initial geometry of the healing tissue and mechanical loading had the greatest effect on fracture healing, and different preset values were likely to cause delayed or non-healing fractures. Changed initial tissue properties of the healing tissue showed a nonlinear effect on fracture healing rather than a linear delay or advancement. Parameters related to angiogenesis had a greater effect on fracture healing compared to those related to cell migration. CONCLUSION: This paper quantified the effect of fracture healing pre-determined variables on fracture healing to better understand the application of mechanobiology in fracture healing simulation models and optimization of treatment strategies. SIGNIFICANCE: The importance of initial conditions and loads on fracture healing has been shown to help physicians treat bone nonunion or delayed bone healing after a fracture.

Investigation of sorptive interactions between volatile organic compounds and supramolecules at dynamic oscillation using bulk acoustic wave resonator virtual sensor arrays.

Supramolecules are considered as promising materials for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) sensing applications. The proper understanding of the sorption process taking place in host-guest interactions is critical in improving the pattern recognition of supramolecules-based sensing arrays. Here, we report a novel approach to investigate the dynamic host-guest recognition process by employing a bulk acoustic wave (BAW) resonator capable of producing multiple oscillation amplitudes and simultaneously recording multiple responses to VOCs. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of ß-cyclodextrin (ß-CD) were modified on four BAW sensors to demonstrate the gas-surface interactions regarding oscillation amplitude and SAM length. Based on the method, a virtual sensor array (VSA) type electronic nose (e-nose) can be realized by pattern recognition of multiple responses at different oscillation amplitudes of a single sensor. VOCs analysis was realized respectively by using principal component analysis (PCA) for individual VOC identification and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) for VOCs mixtures classification.

Association of Friendly School and Family Contexts and Reducing Health Risk Behaviors Among Adolescents: A Cross-National Study in Europe, North America, and China.

BACKGROUND: Social factors play an important role in adolescents' behaviors. This study aims to understand percentages of health risk behaviors across country in Europe, North America, and China; explore the associations between friendly school and family contexts and involvement for several health risk behaviors among adolescents. METHODS: Data derived from health behavior in school-aged children cross-sectional surveys and China Education Panel Survey in 2014-2015. Hierarchical generalized linear modeling was used to analyze data. RESULTS: The highest percentages of health risk behaviors including unhealthy diet, smoking or alcohol, screen-based sedentary behaviors, and violent behaviors across country ranged from 28.62% to 65.24%. National classmate friendliness was negatively associated with 5 out of 9 health risk behaviors prevalence rates in 41 countries (p < 0.05). Adolescents' perceived peer friendly and helpful were common protective factor for engaging in several health risk behaviors (p < 0.01). Individual family contexts were associated with 3 types of health risk behaviors involvement (p < 0.001). SCHOOL HEALTH POLICY IMPLICATIONS: Health risk behaviors among adolescents reducing was associated with the implementation of friendly school and family contexts, emphasizing the significance of the goals of embedding friendly adolescents, along with the home-school collaboration. CONCLUSIONS: Public health strategies should promote national climate of friendship and individual perceived friendly school contexts to reduce health risk behaviors.

Trends in Respiratory Infectious Pathogens in Children Under the Age of 14 - Xiamen City, Fujian Province, China, 2017-2023.

What is already known about this topic?: Respiratory infections pose a significant burden on public health. Despite recent outbreaks occurring in various locations, there is limited information available on the prevalence trends of multiple common respiratory pathogens in China beyond 2022. What is added by this report?: A retrospective analysis was conducted on respiratory pathogen infections in a Xiamen hospital over a seven-year period. The analysis revealed fluctuating trends, with the number of infections for certain viruses initially decreasing after 2019, only to rebound to previous or higher levels. Recently, there has been an observed collective increase in positive cases for certain pathogens. What are the implications for public health practice?: The study improves understanding of respiratory pathogens, primarily in Xiamen, with potential implications for the improvement of strategies for the prevention and management of respiratory infectious diseases.

Isolated Binary Fe-Ni Metal-Nitrogen Sites Anchored on Porous Carbon Nanosheets for Efficient Oxygen Electrocatalysis through High-Temperature Gas-Migration Strategy.

Atomically dispersed dual-site catalysts can regulate multiple reaction processes and provide synergistic functions based on diverse molecules and their interfaces. However, how to synthesize and stabilize dual-site single-atom catalysts (DACs) is confronted with challenges. Herein, we report a facile high-temperature gas-migration strategy to synthesize Fe-Ni DACs on nitrogen-doped carbon nanosheets (FeNiSAs/NC). FeNiSAs/NC exhibits a high half-wave potential (0.88 V) for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and a low overpotential of 410 mV at 10 mA cm-2 for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). As an air electrode for Zn-air batteries (ZABs), it shows better performances in aqueous ZABs and excellent stability and flexibility in solid-state ZABs. The high specific surface area (1687.32 m2/g) of FeNiSAs/NC is conducive to electron transport. Density functional theory (DFT) reveals that the Fe sites are the active center, and Ni sites can significantly optimize the free energy of the oxygen-containing intermediate state on Fe sites, contributing to the improvement of ORR and the corresponding OER activities. This work can provide guidance for the rational design of DACs and understand the structure-activity relationship of SACs with multiple active sites for electrocatalytic energy conversion.

MODELS: a six-step framework for developing an infectious disease model.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, a plethora of modeling studies related to COVID-19 have been released. While some models stand out due to their innovative approaches, others are flawed in their methodology. To assist novices, frontline healthcare workers, and public health policymakers in navigating the complex landscape of these models, we introduced a structured framework named MODELS. This framework is designed to detail the essential steps and considerations for creating a dependable epidemic model, offering direction to researchers engaged in epidemic modeling endeavors.

Myasthenia gravis with tongue muscle atrophy: A case series.

Here, we presented 6 patients who were admitted to our institution and diagnosed as myasthenia gravis (MG) with tongue muscle atrophy. All these 6 patients developed symptoms of bulbar muscle weakness in acetylcholine receptor antibodies positive MG (AChR-MG) (3/6), muscle-specific receptor tyrosine kinase antibodies positive MG (MuSK-MG) (1/6), and sero-negative MG (2/6). Most of patients had "triple-furrowed" tongue except for patient 2 with irregular atrophy of tongue muscle. Tongue muscle atrophy occurs in patients with MuSK-MG, AChR-MG, and sero-negative MG. Atrophied tongue muscles of five patients with MG were reversible after immunotherapy.

Asymmetric magma plumbing system beneath Axial Seamount based on full waveform inversion of seismic data.

The architecture of magma plumbing systems plays a fundamental role in volcano eruption and evolution. However, the precise configuration of crustal magma reservoirs and conduits responsible for supplying eruptions are difficult to explore across most active volcanic systems. Consequently, our understanding of their correlation with eruption dynamics is limited. Axial Seamount is an active submarine volcano located along the Juan de Fuca Ridge, with known eruptions in 1998, 2011, and 2015. Here we present high-resolution images of P-wave velocity, attenuation, and estimates of temperature and partial melt beneath the summit of Axial Seamount, derived from multi-parameter full waveform inversion of a 2D multi-channel seismic line. Multiple magma reservoirs, including a newly discovered western magma reservoir, are identified in the upper crust, with the maximum melt fraction of ~15-32% in the upper main magma reservoir (MMR) and lower fractions of 10% to 26% in other satellite reservoirs. In addition, a feeding conduit below the MMR with a melt fraction of ~4-11% and a low-velocity throat beneath the eastern caldera wall connecting the MMR roof with eruptive fissures are imaged. These findings delineate an asymmetric shallow plumbing system beneath Axial Seamount, providing insights into the magma pathways that fed recent eruptions.