Microscopy has greatly advanced our understanding of biology. Although significant progress has recently been made in optical microscopy to break the diffraction-limit barrier, reliance of such ...techniques on fluorescent labeling technologies prohibits quantitative 3D imaging of the entire contents of cells. Cryoelectron microscopy can image pleomorphic structures at a resolution of 3—5 nm, but is only applicable to thin or sectioned speciments. Here, we report quantitative 3D imaging of a whole, unstained cell at a resolution of 50—60 nm by X-ray diffraction microscopy. We identified the 3D morphology and structure of cellular organelles including cell wall, vacuole, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, granules, nucleus, and nucleolus inside a yeast spore cell. Furthermore, we observed a 3D structure protruding from the reconstructed yeast spore, suggesting the spore germination process. Using cryogenic technologies, a 3D resolution of 5—10 nm should be achievable by X-ray diffraction microscopy. This work hence paves a way for quantitative 3D imaging of a wide range of biological specimens at nanometer-scale resolutions that are too thick for electron microscopy.
ObjectivesVarious treatment options are available for degenerative joint disease (DJD). During clinical visits, patients and clinicians collaboratively make decisions regarding the optimal treatment ...for DJD; this is the essence of shared decision-making (SDM). Here, we collated and assessed the SDM-related experiences and perspectives of outpatients with DJD in Taiwan.DesignIn-depth interviews and thematic analysis.SettingPrimary care clinics of a regional teaching hospital in Taiwan, October 2021–May 2022.Participants21 outpatients with at least three visits for DJD and who were aware of SDM.ResultsFour main themes emerged in this study: first, equipping themselves with knowledge: outpatients obtained disease-related and treatment-related knowledge in various ways—seeking relevant information online, discussing with family and friends, learning from their own experiences or learning from professionals. Second, shared or not shared: physicians had different patterns for communicating with patients, particularly when demonstrating authority, performing mutual discussion, respecting patient preferences or responding perfunctorily. Third, seldom saying no to physician-prescribed treatment plans during clinical visits: most patients respected physicians’ professionalism; however, some patients rejected physicians’ recommendations indirectly, whereas some responded depending on their disease prognosis. Fourth, whose call?—participants decided to accept or reject a treatment plan independently or by discussing it with their families or by obeying their physicians’ recommendations.ConclusionsIn general, patients with DJD sought reliable medical information from various sources before visiting doctors; however, when having a conversation with patients, physicians dominated the discussion on treatment options. The patient–physician interaction dynamics during the SDM process determined the final medical decision, which was in accordance with either patients’ original autonomy or physicians’ recommendations. To alleviate medical paternalism and physician dominance, patients should be empowered to engage in medical decision-making and share their opinions or concerns with their physicians. Family members should also be included in SDM.
The accuracy of river velocity measurements plays an important role in the effective management of water resources. Various methods have been developed to measure river velocity. Currently, ...image-based techniques provide a promising approach to avoid physical contact with targeted water bodies by researchers. In this study, measured surface velocities collected under low flow and high flow conditions in the Houlong River, Taiwan, using large-scale particle image velocimetry (LSPIV) captured by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and a terrestrial fixed station were analyzed and compared. Under low flow conditions, the mean absolute errors of the measured surface velocities using LSPIV from a UAV with shooting heights of 9, 12, and 15 m fell within 0.055 ± 0.015 m/s, which was lower than that obtained using LSPIV on video recorded from a terrestrial fixed station (i.e., 0.34 m/s). The mean absolute errors obtained using LSPIV derived from UAV aerial photography at a flight height of 12 m without seeding particles and with different seeding particle densities were slightly different, and fell within the range of 0.095 ± 0.025 m/s. Under high flow conditions, the mean absolute errors associated with using LSPIV derived from terrestrial fixed photography and LSPIV derived from a UAV with flight heights of 32, 62, and 112 m were 0.46 m/s and 0.49 m/s, 0.27 m, and 0.97 m/s, respectively. A UAV flight height of 62 m yielded the best measured surface velocity result. Moreover, we also demonstrated that the optimal appropriate interrogation area and image acquisition time interval using LSPIV with a UAV were 16 × 16 pixels and 1/8 s, respectively. These two parameters should be carefully adopted to accurately measure the surface velocity of rivers.
Indoxyl sulfate (IS) is accumulated during severe renal insufficiency and known for its nephrotoxic properties. Transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) is present in the kidney and acts as a ...renal sensor. However, the mechanism underlying IS-mediated renal tubular damage in view of TRPV1 is lacking. Here, we demonstrated that TRPV1 was expressed in tubular cells of Lilly Laboratories cell-porcine kidney 1 (LLC-PK
) and Madin-Darby canine kidney cells (MDCK). IS treatment in both cells exhibited tubular damage with increased LDH release and reduced cell viability in dose- and time-dependent manners. MDCK, however, was more vulnerable to IS. We, therefore, investigated MDCK cells to explore a more detailed mechanism. Interestingly, IS-induced tubular damage was markedly attenuated in the presence of selective TRPV1 blockers. IS showed no effect on TRPV1 expression but significantly increased arachidonate 12-lipoxygenase (ALOX12) protein, mRNA expression, and 12(
)-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (12(
)-HETE) amounts in a dose-dependent manner, indicating that the ALOX12/12(
)-HETE pathway induced TRPV1 hyperfunction in IS-mediated tubulotoxicity. Blockade of ALOX12 by cinnamyl-3,4-dihydroxy-α-cyanocinnamate or baicalein attenuated the effects of IS. Since aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activation after IS binding is crucial in mediating cell death, here, we found that the AhR blockade not only ameliorated tubular damage but also attenuated ALOX12 expression and 12(
)-HETE production caused by IS. The uremic toxic adsorbent AST-120, however, showed little effect on ALOX12 and 12(
)-HETE, as well as IS-induced cell damage. These results clearly indicated that IS activated AhR and then upregulated ALOX12, and this induced endovanilloid 12(
)-HETE synthesis and contributed to TRPV1 hyperfunction in IS-treated tubular cells. Further study on TRPV1 may attenuate kidney susceptibility to the functional loss of end-stage kidney disease via IS.
The efficacy of treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection has decreased steadily because of increasing resistance to clarithromycin, metronidazole, and levofloxacin. Resistance to amoxicillin is ...generally low, and high intragastric pH increases the efficacy of amoxicillin, so we investigated whether a combination of a high-dose proton pump inhibitor and amoxicillin (dual therapy) was more effective than standard first-line or rescue therapies in eradicating H pylori.
We performed a large-scale multihospital trial to compare the efficacy of a high-dose dual therapy (HDDT) with that of standard therapies in treatment-naive (n = 450) or treatment-experienced (n = 168) patients with H pylori infection. Treatment-naive patients were randomly assigned to groups given HDDT (rabeprazole 20 mg and amoxicillin 750 mg, 4 times/day for 14 days, group A1), sequential therapy for 10 days (group B1), or clarithromycin-containing triple therapy for 7 days (group C1). Treatment-experienced patients were randomly assigned to groups given HDDT for 14 days (group A2), sequential therapy for 10 days (B2), or levofloxacin-containing triple therapy for 7 days (C2). H pylori infection was detected by using the (13)C-urea breath test. We evaluated factors associated with treatment outcomes.
In the intention-to-treat analysis, H pylori was eradicated in 95.3% of patients in group A1 (95% confidence interval CI, 91.9%-98.8%), 85.3% in B1 (95% CI, 79.6%-91.1%), and 80.7% in group C1 (95% CI, 74.3%-87.1%). Infection was eradicated in 89.3% of patients in group A2 (95% CI, 80.9%-97.6%), 51.8% in group B2 (95% CI, 38.3%-65.3%), and 78.6% (95% CI, 67.5%-89.7%) in group C2. The efficacy of HDDT was significantly higher than that of currently recommended regimens, irrespective of CYP2C19 genotype. Bacterial resistance to drugs was associated with treatment failure. There were no significant differences between groups in adverse events or patient adherence.
HDDT is superior to standard regimens as empirical first-line or rescue therapy for H pylori infection, with similar safety profiles and tolerability. ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT01163435.
•Permafrost does not impact topsoil nutrient stoichiometry in Tibetan grassland.•Carbon and nitrogen decouple from phosphorus and potassium in alpine soils.•Soil moisture, texture, and vegetation ...mainly control topsoil nutrient stoichiometry.
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Soil nutrient stoichiometry and its environmental controllers play vital roles in understanding soil-plant interaction and nutrient cycling under a changing environment, while they remain poorly understood in alpine grassland due to lack of systematic field investigations. We examined the patterns and controls of soil nutrients stoichiometry for the top 10cm soils across the Tibetan ecosystems. Soil nutrient stoichiometry varied substantially among vegetation types. Alpine swamp meadow had larger topsoil C:N, C:P, N:P, and C:K ratios compared to the alpine meadow, alpine steppe, and alpine desert. In addition, the presence or absence of permafrost did not significantly impact soil nutrient stoichiometry in Tibetan grassland. Moreover, clay and silt contents explained approximately 32.5% of the total variation in soil C:N ratio. Climate, topography, soil properties, and vegetation combined to explain 10.3–13.2% for the stoichiometry of soil C:P, N:P, and C:K. Furthermore, soil C and N were weakly related to P and K in alpine grassland. These results indicated that the nutrient limitation in alpine ecosystem might shifts from N-limited to P-limited or K-limited due to the increase of N deposition and decrease of soil P and K contents under the changing climate conditions and weathering stages. Finally, we suggested that soil moisture and mud content could be good predictors of topsoil nutrient stoichiometry in Tibetan grassland.
(
) is a plant belonging to the Cactaceae family that is abundant in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide.
is consumed as a local delicacy and has no other current use. To understand the ...nutritional value of
in human health and its application in the food, cosmetic, and drug industries, this review summarizes information on the chemical compounds (pure α-pyrone compounds, flavonoids, phenolic acids, polysaccharides, minerals, fatty acids, and betalains) and biological properties (anti-diabetic, anti-hyperglycemic, antihyperlipidemic, anti-atherosclerotic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antimicrobial, antifungal, antiviral, anti-spermatogenic, anticancer, antilarval, anti-angiogenic, and antioxidant) of extracts from each part of the plant (fruit juice, fruit peel, cladode, and seeds) (aqueous, ethanolic, and methanolic), and seed oil. In addition, data related to the recent applications of
in various industries (e.g., edible coatings, food supplements, cosmetics, nanoparticles, and wastewater treatment) are provided.
Plant vacuoles serve as the primary intracellular compartments for inorganic phosphate (Pi) storage. Passage of Pi across vacuolar membranes plays a critical role in buffering the cytoplasmic Pi ...level against fluctuations of external Pi and metabolic activities. Here we demonstrate that the SPX-MFS proteins, designated as PHOSPHATE TRANSPORTER 5 family (PHT5), also named Vacuolar Phosphate Transporter (VPT), function as vacuolar Pi transporters. Based on (31)P-magnetic resonance spectroscopy analysis, Arabidopsis pht5;1 loss-of-function mutants accumulate less Pi and exhibit a lower vacuolar-to-cytoplasmic Pi ratio than controls. Conversely, overexpression of PHT5 leads to massive Pi sequestration into vacuoles and altered regulation of Pi starvation-responsive genes. Furthermore, we show that heterologous expression of the rice homologue OsSPX-MFS1 mediates Pi influx to yeast vacuoles. Our findings show that a group of Pi transporters in vacuolar membranes regulate cytoplasmic Pi homeostasis and are required for fitness and plant growth.
Citral is a typical essential oil used in the food, cosmetic, and drug industries and has shown antimicrobial activity against microorganisms. Citral is unstable and hydrophobic under normal storage ...conditions, so it can easily lose its bactericide activity. Nanoemulsion technology is an excellent way to hydrophilize, microencapsulate, and protect this compound. In our studies, we used a mixed surfactant to form citral-in-water nanoemulsions, and attempted to optimize the formula for preparing nanoemulsions. Citral-in-water nanoemulsions formed at So 0.4 to 0.6 and ultrasonic power of 18 W for 120 seconds resulted in a droplet size of < 100 nm for nanoemulsions. The observed antimicrobial activities were significantly affected by the formulation of the nanoemulsions. The observed relationship between the formulation and activity can lead to the rational design of nanoemulsion-based delivery systems for essential oils, based on the desired function of antimicrobials in the food, cosmetics, and agrochemical industries.
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•Citral is unstable and hydrophobic under normal storage condition.•Nanoemulsion is probably a good manner to protect this compound.•Formulation of citral nanoemulsion was studied.•The citral nanoemulsions demonstrated antimicrobial activity against bacteria.•The findings could apply to food, cosmetics, and agrochemical industries.
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