GROWTH-REGULATING FACTORs (GRFs) play a pivotal role in the regulation of leaf size in plants and have been widely reported in plants. However, their specific functions in leaf size regulation in ...Liriodendron chinense remains unclear. Therefore, in this study, we identified GRF genes on a genome-wide scale in L. chinense to characterize the roles of LcGRFs in regulating leaf size. A total of nine LcGRF genes were identified, and these genes exhibited weak expression in mature leaves but strong expression in shoot apex. Notably, LcGRF2 exhibited the highest expression level in the shoot apex of L. chinense. Further RT-qPCR assay revealed that the expression level of LcGRF2 gradually decreased along with the leaf development process, and also displayed a gradient along the leaf proximo-distal and medio-lateral axes. Furthermore, overexpression of LcGRF2 in Arabidopsis thaliana resulted in increased leaf size, and significantly up-regulated the expression of genes involved in cell division like AtCYCD3;1, AtKNOLLE, and AtCYCB1;1, indicating that LcGRF2 may influence leaf size by promoting cell proliferation. This work contributes to a better understanding of the roles and molecular mechanisms of LcGRFs in the regulation of leaf size in L. chinense.
•LcGRF2 exhibited a gradient expression pattern along both the proximal-distal axis (from high to low) and medio-lateral axis (from low to high) of leaves.•Overexpression of LcGRF2 in A. thaliana enlarged leaf size.•LcGRF2 regulated leaf size through the regulation of cell proliferation.
TEOSINTE-BRANCHED/CYCLOIDEA/PCF (TCP) proteins are plant-specific transcription factors (TFs) that play a pivotal role in leaf development by controlling cell proliferation and differentiation. In ...this study, the authors systematically analyzed the phylogeny, sequence structure, domain feature and expression profiles of
TCP
genes in
Liriodendron chinense
, an ornamental tree species with peculiar leaf shape. A total of 17
LcTCP
genes were identified in
L. chinense
genome, which could be grouped into two classes according to their features in the TCP domain. RT-qPCR analysis showed that the expression levels of four
TCP
genes in Class I (
LcTCP21
,
LcTCP9
,
LcTCP19a
, and
LcTCP19b
) and three genes in Class II (
LcTCP4a
,
LcTCP4b
, and
LcTCP24
) were consistently higher than those of the other
LcTCP
genes during leaf development. Degradome data analysis revealed that three
LcTCP
genes,
LcTCP4a
,
LcTCP4b
, and
LcTCP24
, are targeted by lch-miR319c. Further,
LcTCP4a/b
and
LcTCP24
differed significantly in their expression levels between leaf buds and lobed leaves. However, the expression patterns of
LcTCP21
and
LcTCP9
contrasted with those of
LcTCP19a
and
LcTCP19b,
implying that leaf development in
L. chinense
may be regulated by a balance between the antagonistic roles of Class I and Class II
LcTCP
genes. Furthermore, overexpression of
LcTCP4
in
Arabidopsis thaliana
caused a tendency of leaf margin smoothness, and down-regulated the expression levels of genes involved in cell division,
AtCYCD3,1
and
AtKNOLLE
, indicating that
LcTCP4
may influence leaf margin shape by inhibiting cell proliferation. Overall, this study provided a comprehensive assessment of the
LcTCP
gene family and serves as a cornerstone for subsequent functional verification of the
LcTCP
genes in regulating the leaf development of
L. chinense
.
To develop and evaluate a fully automated method based on deep learning and phantomless internal calibration for bone mineral density (BMD) measurement and opportunistic low BMD (osteopenia and ...osteoporosis) screening using chest low-dose CT (LDCT) scans.
A total of 1175 individuals were enrolled in this study, who underwent both chest LDCT and BMD examinations with quantitative computed tomography (QCT), by two different CT scanners (Siemens and GE). Two convolutional neural network (CNN) models were employed for vertebral body segmentation and labeling, respectively. A histogram technique was applied for vertebral BMD calculation using paraspinal muscle and surrounding fat as references. 195 cases (by Siemens scanner) as fitting cohort were used to build the calibration function. 698 cases as validation cohort I (VCI, by Siemens scanner) and 282 cases as validation cohort II (VCII, by GE scanner) were performed to evaluate the performance of the proposed method, with QCT as the standard for analysis.
The average BMDs from the proposed method were strongly correlated with QCT (in VCI:
= 0.896, in VCII:
= 0.956,
< 0.001). Bland-Altman analysis showed a small mean difference of 1.1 mg/cm
, and large interindividual differences as seen by wide 95% limits of agreement (-29.9 to +32.0 mg/cm
) in VCI. The proposed method measured BMDs were higher than QCT measured BMDs in VCII (mean difference = 15.3 mg/cm
,
< 0.001). Osteoporosis and low BMD were diagnosed by proposed method with AUCs of 0.876 and 0.903 in VCI, 0.731 and 0.794 in VCII, respectively. The AUCs of the proposed method were increased to over 0.920 in both VCI and VCII after adjusting the cut-off.
Without manual selection of the region of interest of body tissues, the proposed method based on deep learning and phantomless internal calibration has the potential for preliminary screening of patients with low BMD using chest LDCT scans. However, the agreement between the proposed method and QCT is insufficient to allow them to be used interchangeably in BMD measurement.
This study proposed an automated vertebral BMD measurement method based on deep learning and phantomless internal calibration with paraspinal muscle and fat as reference.
The qualities of precooked foods can be significantly changed by the microorganisms produced during room temperature storage. This work assessed the effects of different antibacterial treatments (CK, ...without any treatment; microwave treatment, MS; microwave treatment and biological preservatives, MSBP) on the physicochemical properties and microbial communities of precooked crayfish tails during room temperature storage. Only the combination of microwave sterilization and biological preservatives significantly inhibited spoilage, as evidenced by the total viable count (4.15 log CFU/g) after 3 days of room temperature storage, which satisfied the transit time of most logistics companies in China. Changes in pH and TVB-N were also significantly inhibited in the MSBP group compared with those in the CK and MS groups. More than 30 new volatile compounds were produced in the CK groups during room temperature storage. However, in the MSBP groups, the volatile compounds were almost unchanged. The correlations between the microbial composition and volatile compounds suggested that specific bacterial species with metabolic activities related to amino acid, energy, cofactor, and vitamin metabolism, as well as xenobiotics biodegradation and metabolism, were responsible for the changes in volatile compounds. These bacteria included
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
, and
. Overall, our findings provide a foundation for the development of strategies to inhibit spoilage in precooked crayfish tails stored at room temperature.
Abstract
The plant-specific SQUAMOSA promoter-binding protein-like (SPL) transcription factors play a pivotal role in various developmental processes, including leaf morphogenesis and vegetative to ...reproductive phase transition. Liriodendron chinense and Liriodendron tulipifera are widely used in landscaping due to their tulip-like flowers and peculiar leaves. However, the SPL gene family in Liriodendron has not been identified and systematically characterized. We systematically identified and characterized the SPL family members in Liriodendron, including phylogeny, gene structure and syntenic analyses. Subsequently, we quantified the expression patterns of LcSPLs across various tissue sites through transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) assays and identified the target gene, LcSPL2. Finally, we characterized the functions of LcSPL2 via ectopic transformation. Altogether, 17 LcSPL and 18 LtSPL genes were genome-widely identified in L. chinense and L. tulipifera, respectively. All the 35 SPLs were grouped into 9 clades. Both species had three SPL gene pairs arising from segmental duplication events, and the LcSPLs displayed high collinearity with the L. tulipifera genome. RT-qPCR assays showed that SPL genes were differentially expressed in different tissues, especially. Because LcSPL2 is highly expressed in pistils and leaves, it was selected to describe the SPL gene family of L. chinense by ectopic expression. We showed that overexpression of LcSPL2 in Arabidopsis thaliana resulted in earlier flowering and fewer rosette leaves. Moreover, we observed that overexpression of LcSPL2 in A. thaliana up-regulated the expression levels of four genes related to flower development. This study identified SPL genes in Liriodendron and characterized the function of LcSPL2 in advancing flower development.
In this study, we systematically analysed SQUAMOSA promoter binding protein-like (SPL ) genes in the genus Liriodendron , comparing 35 SPL genes within the genus. This analysis included a phylogenetic tree, SBP domain sequence and conserved motif analysis to reveal the evolutionary relationships of SPLs in Liriodendron . Homology analysis indicated high homology of SPLs between Liriodendron chinense and Liriodendron tulipifera species. After examining the expression patterns of 17 LcSPLs across various tissues of L. chinense , we selected LcSPL2 for functional studies. Overexpression of LcSPL2 in Arabidopsis thaliana accelerated flowering under long-day conditions.
•Artificial intelligence is widely used for detection and diagnosis of CE.•CE-YOLOv5 not only identifies abnormalities of small bowel but also differentiates between lesion types.•CE-YOLOv5 provides ...an approach for automated detection lesions captured by CE videos in real-life setting.
In order to overcome the challenges of lesion detection in capsule endoscopy (CE), we improved the YOLOv5-based deep learning algorithm and established the CE-YOLOv5 algorithm to identify small bowel lesions captured by CE.
A total of 124,678 typical abnormal images from 1,452 patients were enrolled to train the CE-YOLOv5 model. Then 298 patients with suspected small bowel lesions detected by CE were prospectively enrolled in the testing phase of the study. Small bowel images and videos from the above 298 patients were interpreted by the experts, non-experts and CE-YOLOv5, respectively.
The sensitivity of CE-YOLOv5 in diagnosing vascular lesions, ulcerated/erosive lesions, protruding lesions, parasite, diverticulum, active bleeding and villous lesions based on CE videos was 91.9 %, 92.2 %, 91.4 %, 93.1 %, 93.3 %, 95.1 %, and 100 % respectively. Furthermore, CE-YOLOv5 achieved specificity and accuracy of more than 90 % for all lesions. Compared with experts, the CE-YOLOv5 showed comparable overall sensitivity, specificity and accuracy (all P > 0.05). Compared with non-experts, the CE-YOLOv5 showed significantly higher overall sensitivity (P < 0.0001) and overall accuracy (P < 0.0001), and a moderately higher overall specificity (P = 0.0351). Furthermore, the time for AI-reading (5.62 ± 2.81 min) was significantly shorter than that for the other two groups (both P < 0.0001).
CE-YOLOv5 diagnosed small bowel lesions in CE videos with high sensitivity, specificity and accuracy, providing a reliable approach for automated lesion detection in real-world clinical practice.
Abstract
A hyperglycemic and hyperinsulinemic environment characteristic of type 2 diabetes causes insulin resistance. In adipocytes, defects in both insulin sensitivity and maximum response of ...glucose transport have been demonstrated. To investigate the molecular mechanisms, freshly isolated rat adipocytes were incubated in control (5.6 mM glucose, no insulin) and high glucose (20 mM)/high insulin (100 nM) (HG/HI) for 18 hours to induce insulin resistance. Insulin-resistant adipocytes manifested decreased sensitivity of glucose uptake associated with defects in insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1 Tyr phosphorylation, association of p85 subunit of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase, Akt Ser473 and Thr308 phosphorylation, accompanied by impaired glucose transporter 4 translocation. In contrast, protein kinase C (PKC)-ζ activity was augmented by chronic HG/HI. Inhibition of PKC-ζ with a specific cell-permeable peptide reversed the signaling defects and insulin sensitivity of glucose uptake. Transfection of dominant-negative, kinase-inactive PKC-ζ blocked insulin resistance, whereas constitutively active PKC-ζ recapitulated the defects. The HG/HI incubation was associated with stimulation of IRS-1 Ser318 and Akt Thr34 phosphorylation, targets of PKC-ζ. Transfection of IRS-1 S318A and Akt T34A each partially corrected insulin signaling, whereas combined transfection of both completely normalized insulin signaling. In vivo hyperglycemia/hyperinsulinemia in rats for 48 hours similarly resulted in activation of PKC-ζ and increased phosphorylation of IRS-1 Ser318 and Akt Thr34. These data indicate that impairment of insulin signaling by chronic HG/HI is mediated by dual defects at IRS-1 and Akt mediated by PKC-ζ.
Chronic activation of PKC-ζ decreases insulin sensitivity of glucose transport in adipocytes exposed to combined hyperglycemia/hyperinsulinemia by phosphorylation of dual targets, IRS-1 and Akt.
Background:
A pink color change occasionally found by us under magnifying endoscopy with narrow-band imaging (ME-NBI) may be a special feature of early gastric cancer (EGC), and was designated the ...“pink pattern”. The purposes of this study were to determine the relationship between the pink pattern and the cytopathological changes in gastric cancer cells and whether the pink pattern is useful for the diagnosis of EGC.
Methods:
The color features of ME-NBI images and pathological images of cancerous gastric mucosal surfaces were extracted and quantified. The cosine similarity was calculated to evaluate the correlation between the pink pattern and the nucleus-to-cytoplasm ratio of cancerous epithelial cells. Two diagnostic tests were performed by 12 endoscopists using stored ME-NBI images of 185 gastric lesions to investigate the diagnostic efficacy of the pink pattern for EGC. The diagnostic values, such as the area under the curve (AUC), the accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV), of test 1 and test 2 were compared.
Results:
The cosine similarity between the color values of ME-NBI images and pathological images of 20 lesions was at least 0.744. The median AUC, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of test 2 were significantly better than those of test 1 for all endoscopists and for the junior and experienced groups.
Conclusions:
The pink pattern observed in ME-NBI images correlated strongly with the change in the nucleus-to-cytoplasm ratio of gastric epithelial cells, and could be considered a useful marker for the diagnosis of differentiated EGC.
Taxodium
is a genus renowned for its fast growth, good form and tolerance of flooding, salt, alkalinity, disease and strong winds. In this study, a genetic linkage map was constructed using ...sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers based on an F
1
population containing 148 individuals generated from a cross between
T.
‘Zhongshanshan 302’ and
T. mucronatum
. The map has a total length of 976.5 cM, with a mean distance of 7.0 cM between markers, and contains 34 linkage groups with 179 markers (171 SRAPs and 8 SSRs). Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) affecting growth traits, such as seedling height, basal diameter and crown width, were detected based on the constructed linkage map. Four significant QTLs were identified, three of which, namely qtSH-1 for seedling height, qtBD-1 for basal diameter and qtCW-1 for crown width, were located at 2.659 cM of LG7 with logarithm odds values of 3.72, 3.49 and 3.93, respectively, and explained 24.9, 27.0 and 21.7 % of the total variation of the three grown traits, respectively. Another QTL for crown width (qtCW-2) was detected at 1.0 cM on LG13, with a logarithm of odds value of 3.15, and explained 31.7 % of the total variation of crown width. This is the first report on the construction of a genetic linkage map and QTL analysis in
Taxodium
, laying the groundwork for the construction of a high-density genetic map and QTL mapping in the genus
Taxodium
.
We improved an existing end-to-end polyp detection model with better average precision validated by different data sets with trivial cost on detection speed. Our previous work on detecting polyps ...within colonoscopy provided an efficient end-to-end solution to alleviate doctor's examination overhead. However, our later experiments found this framework is not as robust as before as the condition of polyp capturing varies. In this work, we conducted several studies on data set, identifying main issues that causes low precision rate in the task of polyp detection. We used an optimized anchor generation methods to get better anchor box shape and more boxes are used for detection as we believe this is necessary for small object detection. A alternative backbone is used to compensate the heavy time cost introduced by dense anchor box regression. With use of the attention gate module, our model can achieve state-of-the-art polyp detection performance while still maintain real-time detection speed.
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