Apple replant disease (ARD) is a frequently occurring plant disease in replanted orchards around Bohai Gulf, which causes growth inhibition and even death of plants. The aim of this study was to ...investigate the etiology of ARD around Bohai Gulf. In this study, the primary growth inhibition of apple seedlings was evaluated in ten replanted soils, sampled around Bohai Gulf. A fungal clone library was used to identify changes in the structure and composition of the soil fungal community. The results revealed that the Simpson diversity indices of Laizhou and Pulandian orchards were higher than others, presenting severe ARD. Ascomycota dominated around Bohai Gulf at the phyla level. Fusarium and Saccharomyces were abundant in all replanted soils. In addition, correlations between the relative abundance of fungal genera in soils and the severity of ARD were analyzed. The results showed that Fusarium was correlated positively with the severity of ARD, but Mortierella was negatively correlated. Furthermore, the quantitative PCR of Fusarium oxysporum, which was regarded as a factor of ARD, was performed. Overall, this study demonstrated that ARD was strongly associated with an unbalanced microbial ecosystem with more pathogenic fungi, while Fusarium in the apple replanted soil was the key factor for ARD around Bohai Gulf.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Abstract
Immune checkpoints play key roles in maintaining self-tolerance. Targeted potentiation of the checkpoint molecule PD-L1 through in situ manipulation offers clinical promise for patients with ...autoimmune diseases. However, the therapeutic effects of these approaches are often compromised by limited specificity and inadequate expression. Here, we report a two-step dual-anchor coupling strategy for enhanced immobilization of PD-L1 on target endogenous cells by integrating bioorthogonal chemistry and physical insertion of the cell membrane. In both type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis mouse models, we demonstrate that this approach leads to elevated and sustained conjugation of PD-L1 on target cells, resulting in significant suppression of autoreactive immune cell activation, recruitment of regulatory T cells, and systematic reshaping of the immune environment. Furthermore, it restores glucose homeostasis in type 1 diabetic mice for over 100 days. This specific in situ bioengineering approach potentiates the functions of PD-L1 and represents its translational potential.
The spatial resolution of remote sensing images directly affects the accuracy, efficiency, and computational cost of extracting the fractional vegetation cover (FVC). Taking the Liyang woodland ...region, Jiangsu Province, as the study area, FVCs with varying spatial resolutions were extracted separately from Sentinel-2, Landsat-8, MOD13Q1, and MOD13A1. The variations in FVCs extracted from remote sensing images with varying spatial resolutions were analyzed at one specific time and time series within a year. The results show that (i) the overall mean FVC values of the four spatial resolution images did not differ substantially; however, FVCs with varying spatial resolutions present with a regular pattern of overestimation or underestimation at different vegetation levels. (ii) Taking the 10 m spatial resolution FVC as the reference, the accuracy values of FVC extraction at 30 m, 250 m, and 500 m resolutions were 91.0%, 76.3%, and 76.7%, respectively. The differences in the spatial distribution of FVCs are the most obvious at water–land interfaces and at the edge of each woodland patch. (iii) The highest accuracy of time-series FVC extraction from lower-resolution images is in the range of 0.6~0.7 for FVC. The degree of variation in FVC of time series varying spatial resolutions depends on the season and vegetation cover conditions. In summary, there are considerable differences in the need to monitor high-resolution images depending on the FVC level of the land surface. This study provides a reference for selection and accuracy research of remote sensing images for FVC extraction.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
In nature, genomes have been optimized by the evolution of their nucleic acid sequences. The design of peptide-like carriers as synthetic sequences provides a strategy for optimizing multifunctional ...targeted nucleic acid delivery in an iterative process. The optimization of sequence-defined nanocarriers differs for different nucleic acid cargos as well as their specific applications. Supramolecular self-assembly enriched the development of a virus-inspired non-viral nucleic acid delivery system. Incorporation of DNA barcodes presents a complementary approach of applying sequences for nanocarrier optimization. This strategy may greatly help to identify nucleic acid carriers that can overcome pharmacological barriers and facilitate targeted delivery in vivo. Barcode sequences enable simultaneous evaluation of multiple nucleic acid nanocarriers in a single test organism for in vivo biodistribution as well as in vivo bioactivity.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
•Trans-caryophyllene (TC) promotes GSIS in a dose dependent manner.•The effect of TC on GSIS is dependent on CB2R.•Activation of small G protein Arf6 participates in the effect of TC on GSIS.
...Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) is essential for the control of metabolic fuel homeostasis and its impairment is a key element in the failure of β-cells in type 2 diabetes. Trans-caryophyllene (TC), an important constituent of the essential oil of several species of plants, has been reported to activate the type 2 cannabinoid receptor (CB2R). The effects of TC on GSIS are still unknown. Our results demonstrate that administration of TC in MIN6 cells promotes GSIS in a dose dependent manner. However, inhibition of CB2R by a specific inhibitor or specific RNA interference abolished the effects of TC on GSIS, which suggests that the effects of TC on GSIS are dependent on activation of CB2R. Further study demonstrated that treatment with TC leads to the activation of small G protein Arf6 as well as Rac1 and Cdc42. Importantly, Arf6 silencing abolished the effects of TC on GSIS, which suggests that Arf6 participates in mediating the effects of TC on GSIS. We conclude from these data that TC has a novel role in regulating GSIS in pancreatic β-cells.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
With the aim of improving fertilizer use efficiency and minimizing the negative impact on the environment, a new coated controlled-release fertilizer with the function of water retention was ...prepared. A novel low water solubility macromolecular fertilizer, poly(dimethylourea phosphate) (PDUP), was “designed” and formulated from N,N′-dimethylolurea (DMU) and potassium dihydrogen phosphate. Simultaneously, an eco-friendly superabsorbent composite based on wheat straw (WS), acrylic acid (AA), 2-acryloylamino-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS), and N-hydroxymethyl acrylamide (NHMAAm) was synthesized and used as the coating to control the release of nutrient. The nitrogen release profile and water retention capacity of the product were also investigated. The degradation of the coating material in soil solution was studied. Meanwhile, the impact of the content of N-hydroxymethyl acrylamide on the degradation extent was examined. The experimental data showed that the product with good water retention and controlled-release capacities, being economical and eco-friendly, could be promising for applications in agriculture and horticulture.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM, UPUK
This study investigated the association between inflammatory cytokines and major depressive disorder.
Plasma biomarkers were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Statistical ...analysis of baseline biomarkers in the major depression disorder (MDD) group and healthy controls (HC) group, and differences in biomarkers before and after treatment. Spearman analysis was performed to correlate baseline and after treatment MDD biomarkers with the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17) total scores. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves were analyzed for the effect of biomarkers on MDD and HC classification and diagnosis.
Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels were significantly higher in the MDD group than in the HC group, while high mobility group protein 1 (HMGB1) levels were significantly lower in the MDD group. The AUCs for HMGB1, TNF-α, and IL-6 were 0.375, 0.733, and 0.783, respectively, according to the ROC curves. MDD patients with brain-derived neurotrophic factor precursor (proBDNF) levels were positively correlated with total HAMD-17 scores. The levels of proBDNF levels were positively correlated with the total HAMD-17 score in male MDD patients, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and interleukin 18 (IL-18) levels were negatively correlated with the total HAMD-17 score in female MDD patients.
Inflammatory cytokines are associated with the severity of MDD, and TNF-α and IL-6 have the potential as objective biomarkers to aid in the diagnosis of MDD.
Pig shows multiple superior characteristics in anatomy, physiology, and genome that have made this species to be more suitable models for human diseases, especially for neurodegenerative diseases, ...because they have similar cerebral convolutions compared with human neocortex. Recently, CRISPR/Cas9 system shows enormous potential for engineering the pig genome. In this study, we expect to generate human Parkinson's disease pig model using CRISPR/Cas9 system by simultaneously targeting three distinct genomic loci, parkin/DJ-1/PINK1, in Bama miniature pigs. By co-injection of Cas9 mRNA and multiplexing single guide RNAs (sgRNAs) targeting parkin, DJ-1, and PINK1 genes, respectively, into in vivo derived pronuclear embryos, we simultaneously targeted three distinct genomic loci. The gene modified piglets remain healthy and display normal behavior at the age of 10 months. In addition, despite the high number of sgRNAs were employed in the present study, our trio-based whole-genome sequencing analysis suggested that the incidence of off-target events is low. Our results demonstrate that the simplicity, efficiency, and power of the CRISPR/Cas9 system to allow for the modification of multiple genes in pigs and yield results of high medical value.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Autophagy, a self-protective mechanism of chondrocytes, has become a promising target to impede the progress of osteoarthritis (OA). Autophagy is regulated by cytosolic Ca2+ activity and may thus be ...modified by the Ca2+ permeable transient receptor potential channel vanilloid 5 (TRPV5). Therefore, we investigated the potential role of TRPV5 in mediating Ca2+ influx and in inhibiting chondrocyte autophagy in a rat OA model.
The rat OA model was assessed by macroscopic and histological analyses. light chain 3B (LC3B) immunolocalization was detected by immunohistochemistry. TRPV5, LC3B and calmodulin in OA articular cartilage were assessed by real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blotting. TRPV5 small interfering RNA (TRPV5 siRNA) were transfected into rat primary chondrocyte then the calmodulin and LC3B was detected by immunofluorescence. The functionality of the TRPV5 was assessed by Ca2+ influx. Western blot was used to measure autophagy-related proteins.
We constructed a monosodium iodoacetate (MIA) -induced rat OA model and found that ruthenium red (TRPV5 inhibitor) slowed the progression of joint destruction. We found that the TRPV5 and calmodulin were up-regulated but LC3B was down-regulated in articular cartilage following prolonged progression of OA. Furthermore, the up-regulated TRPV5 channel caused an increase in the Ca2+ influx in chondrocytes. The up-regulation of TRPV5 stimulated Ca2+ influx, which inhibited autophagy by increasing the production of calmodulin, phosphorylation of calmodulin dependent protein kinases II (p-CAMK II), phosphorylation of Beclin1 (p-Beclin1), and protein of B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), and attenuating ratio of LC3-II/ LC3-.
Up-regulated TRPV5 as an initiating factor inhibited chondrocyte autophagy via the mediation of Ca2+ influx.
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