Phytoene synthases 1 modulates tomato fruit quality through influencing the metabolic flux between carotenoid and flavonoid pathways

The deterioration in fruit quality of commercial tomatoes is a major concern of modern tomato breeding.However,the metabolism and genetics of fruit quality are poorly understood.Here,we performed transgenic and molecular biology experiments to reveal that tomato phytoene synthase 1(SlPSY1)is responsible for the accumulation of an important flavor chemical,6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one(MHO).To dissect the function of SlPSY1 in regulating fruit quality,we generated and analyzed a dataset encompassing over 2000 compounds detected by GC-MS and LC-MS/MS along with transcriptomic data.The combined results illustrated that SlPSY1 deficiency imparts novel flavor to yellow tomatoes with 236 volatiles significantly changed and improves fruit firmness,possibly due to accumulation of seven cutins.Further analysis indicated SlPSY1 is essential for carotenoid-derived metabolite biosynthesis by catalyzing prephytoene-PP(PPPP)to 15-cis-phytoene.Notably,we showed that SlPSY1 can influence the metabolic flux between carotenoid and flavonoid pathways,and this metabolic flux was confirmed by silencing SlCHS1.Our study provided insights into the multiple effects of SlPSY1 on tomato fruit metabolome and highlights the potential to produce high-quality fruit by rational design of SlPSY1 expression.

Synergistic chemotherapy/PTT/oxygen enrichment by multifunctional liposomal polydopamine nanoparticles for rheumatoid arthritis treatment

Amultifunctional liposomal polydopamine nanoparticle(MPM@Lipo)was designed in this study,to combine chemotherapy,photothermal therapy(PTT)and oxygen enrichment to clear hyperproliferating inflammatory cells and improve the hypoxic microenvironment for rheumatoid arthritis(RA)treatment.MPM@Lipo significantly scavenged intracellular reactive oxygen species and relieved joint hypoxia,thus contributing to the repolarization of M1 macrophages into M2 phenotype.Furthermore,MPM@Lipo could accumulate at inflammatory joints,inhibit the production of inflammatory factors,and protect cartilage in vivo,effectively alleviating RA progression in a rat adjuvant-induced arthritis model.Moreover,upon laser irradiation,MPM@Lipo can elevate the temperature to not only significantly obliterate excessively proliferating inflammatory cells but also accelerate the production of methotrexate and oxygen,resulting in excellent RA treatment effects.Overall,the use of synergistic chemotherapy/PTT/oxygen enrichment therapy to treat RA is a powerful potential strategy.

A Pilot Study to Evaluate an Internet-Based Cervical Cancer Screening Model Based on Self-Sampling

Background: Community based cervical cancer screening models using self-collection can effectively place the identification of who is positive in the hands of the patient. The key areas we have identified as critical are 1) education, 2) notification of screening opportunities, 3) registration, 4) submission of samples, 5) receiving results with an explanation, and 6) being advised where to receive evaluation and management from qualified healthcare personnel. Methods: Our primary objectives were to create, register, and pilot a website as a public platform for cervical cancer prevention for both city and rural, individual and organizational application. We selected two sites: Shenzhen City in China as the local city (individual participant) site, and Sangzhi County in Hunan Province as the remote (group management) site. The website was reviewable to all of China, but applications for screening and registration were open only to the women from the 2 pilot sites. In the local site, the women would first sign up (obtain a password) to view the website (www.mcareu.com), and then if they desired, they could register for screening using their true name and their state ID. After an offline confirmation of the address, the sampling kit would arrive. Results were available with additional education and guidance for care also on the website. Findings: 120,099 people nationwide visited the website in 27 months by the end of May, 2015, 1148 women from the sites registered at the website and 87.5% enrolled in the pilot trial. 72.3% of those testing positive returned for management. Virtually 100% of the registration/historical information was entered appropriately and 100% of the samples were handled properly. Interpretation: Web-based decision aids help patients through the uncertainties of healthcare. Applied to cervical cancer screening using self-collection, the effectiveness of the model specifically in respect to accessibility, education, registration, data input, and instructions for positive management was clearly demonstrated by this pilot as well as the potential for future diagnostics applicable to self-collection.

突出创新思维和科学研究是加强无机化学教材建设的前提——编写《无机化学探究式教学丛书》

通过对比国内外教材的不同特色和无机化学的飞速进展,找出差距和不足;依据教育部提出的“教学改革改到实处是教材”为宗旨,提出编写《无机化学探究式教学丛书》的设想和做法。力图在探索中突出创新思维和科学研究,体现出强化教材育人功能和中华民族的价值观体系,形成中国特色、世界水平的老师教学、学生学习的重要工具,从而推进无机化学课程思政建设。

温度响应高分子微凝胶的水相制备与表征——介绍一个大学化学综合实验

介绍一个涵盖高分子化学、物理化学与仪器分析等学科的综合实验。本实验选择有温度响应的聚(N-异丙基丙烯酰胺)(pNIPAM)作为合成与研究对象,在水相中通过异相单体聚合法制备p NIPAM微凝胶,从宏观和微观两个角度探究微凝胶的温度响应特性。本综合实验取材于广受关注且已有较多验证的研究前沿成果,有助于培养学生理论联系实验、学以致用的思维,锻炼学生学科交叉融合意识。

冷冻切片结合细胞学涂片在卵巢肿瘤病理诊断中的应用价值

目的探讨冷冻切片结合细胞学涂片在卵巢肿瘤病理诊断中的应用价值。方法随机抽取2014年3月-2015年10月在我院择期实施卵巢肿瘤手术的患者100例,全部患者在手术过程中留取肿瘤标本,然后分别实施细胞学涂片检测与冷冻切片检测,再在手术结束实施石蜡切片检测,比较不同检测方法的准确性。结果细胞学涂片检测(94.00%)与冷冻切片检测两种方法的准确性(93.00%)之间没有统计学差异(P>0.05),而两种检测方法联合判断的准确性(99.00%)比单独一种方法明显增加,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论在卵巢肿瘤的临床诊断中,应用细胞学涂片检测与冷冻切片检测两者联合方法的准确程度更高,值得在临床诊断中广泛实施。

山羊基因组研究进展

山羊基因组是山羊品种资源保护和利用的研究依据,对培育和改良山羊品种具有重要意义。目前,随着山羊参考基因组的不断完善,在山羊起源、进化和适应性等方面的研究取得了诸多重要成果。本文详细综述了山羊基因组研究进展,主要包括山羊基因组结构、山羊基因组图谱(遗传图谱、物理图谱和比较图谱)、山羊高通量测序和山羊SNP芯片的开发及利用,以期为开展山羊基因组选择(genome selection,GS)奠定理论基础。

Prevalence of iron deficiency in different subtypes of pulmonary hypertension

Background and Objective Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a fatal disease resulting from various causes. Studies from abroad have shown iron deficiency (ID) is closely associated with disease progression.This association is common in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)that belongs to World Health Organization group 1 PH. However, ID prevalence in Chinese patients suffering from PH is unclear so far.

Run-Time Dynamic Resource Adjustment for Mitigating Skew in MapReduce

MapReduce is a widely used programming model for large-scale data processing.However,it still suffers from the skew problem,which refers to the case in which load is imbalanced among tasks.This problem can cause a small number of tasks to consume much more time than other tasks,thereby prolonging the total job completion time.Existing solutions to this problem commonly predict the loads of tasks and then rebalance the load among them.However,solutions of this kind often incur high performance overhead due to the load prediction and rebalancing.Moreover,existing solutions target the partitioning skew for reduce tasks,but cannot mitigate the computational skew for map tasks.Accordingly,in this paper,we present DynamicAdjust,a run-time dynamic resource adjustment technique for mitigating skew.Rather than rebalancing the load among tasks,DynamicAdjust monitors the run-time execution of tasks and dynamically increases resources for those tasks that require more computation.In so doing,DynamicAdjust can not only eliminate the overhead incurred by load prediction and rebalancing,but also culls both the partitioning skew and the computational skew.Experiments are conducted based on a 21-node real cluster using real-world datasets.The results show that DynamicAdjust can mitigate the negative impact of the skew and shorten the job completion time by up to 40.85%.

The expressions and significance of α-,β-catenins and cyclin D1 in breast cancers

Objective： To study the relationship between expressions of α-, β-catenins and cyclin D1 and the occurrence, infiltration and metastasis of breast cancer. Methods： High sensitive S-P immunohistochemical method was used to detect the protein expressions of α-, β-catenins and cyclin D1 in the 60 cases of breast cancer tissues. Results： Abnormal immunoreactivities of α- and β-catenins were observed in 37 （61.7%） and 42 （70%） cases of breast cancer tissues, respectively. There were 28 cases （46.7%） who showed cyclin D1 overexpression. The abnormal expression rates of α- and β-catenins in infiltrating Iobular carcinoma （ILC） were significantly higher than those in infiltrating ductal carcinoma （IDC） （P 〈 0.05）, but they had no relations to the extent of differentiation and lymphatic metastasis of breast cancer （P 〉 0.05）. The overexpression rate of cyclin D1 was correlated with tumor stage and lymphatic metastasis of breast cancer （P 〈 0.05）, but not with histological type and the extent of differentiation （P 〉 0.05）. Cyclin D1 overexpression was observed in 57.1% （24/42） of these cases that showed abnormal staining of β-catenin, but only observed in 22.2% （4/18） of these cases with normal membranous staining of β-catenin. There was a significantly positive correlation between the abnormal expression of β-catenin and overexpression of cyclin D1 （r, = 0.321, P 〈 0.05）. Conclusion： The abnormal expression of β-catenin may play an important role in the genesis of breast cancer by triggering cyclin D1 overexpression in breast cancer. The abnormal expressions of α- and β-catenins are not a key factor in malignant cell metastasis in breast cancer, but may also involve in the progress.

Conversion from Calcineurin Inhibitors to Sirolimus Maintenance Therapy in Renal Allograft Recipients with Risk Factors

Background: The efficacy and safety of conversion treatment with sirolimus in renal transplant recipients using the calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) with one or more risk factors was evaluated. Methods: Ninety-three renal transplant recipients were prospectively enrolled. CNIs(CsA and FK506) as main immunosuppressant were converted to SRL immunosuppressant protocol. Rapid conversion with si-rolimus was performed in all patients. The CNI withdrawal was in 2 weeks. At 4 hours after oral administration of cyclosporin A or tacrolimus, the patients took sirolimus. Initial dose of sirolimus was 6 mg, and repeated maintenance dose is 1.0 - 2.0 mg/d. The first concentration of sirolimus was detected at 5 - 7 days after first oral administration, and the target concentration was 6 - 10 μg/L. Results: The symptoms were markedly improved in patients with CNI induced renal toxicity and CNI induced liver toxicity, and the concentration of sirolimus were maintained at (5.1 ± 1.2) μg/L. Serum creatinine levels decreased from (297.72 ± 150.28) μmol/L to (123.76 ± 44.2) μmol/L, and the liver function were recovery in 24 (92.3%) patients. 9 patients with high glucose returned to normal, and 2 patients were improved. Serum creatinine levels decreased more than 25% of primary level in 17 patients, and the effective rate was 51.5%. 10 patients with tumor were appeared 6 - 43 months after renal transplantation, no recurrence was found in 8 of them and 2 patients were dead. Acute rejections were occurred in 3 patients at 6 months after conversion treatment. The complications were included hyperlipidemia and proteinuria. 3 patients were dead, 6 patients returned to dialysis treatment, and 2 patients were removal of grafts. At 3 years after conversion treatment, the survival rates of patients and grafts were 90.9% and 75.8%, respectively. Conclusion: The conversion treatment with SRL and MMF may be a better option for the renal transplant recipients using the CNI with risk factors appeared.

Activity coefficient of NiO in SiO_(2)-saturated MnO–SiO_(2)slag and Al_(2)O_(3)-saturated MnO–SiO_(2)–Al_(2)O_(3)slag at 1623 K

As a part of the fundamental study related to the reduction smelting of spent lithium-ion batteries and ocean polymetallic nodules based on MnO–SiO_(2)slags,this work investigated the activity coefficient of NiO in SiO_(2)-saturated Mn O–Si O_(2)slag and Al_(2)O_(3)-saturated Mn O–SiO_(2)–Al_(2)O_(3)slag at 1623 K with controlled oxygen partial pressure levels of 10^(-7),10^(-6),and 10^(-5)Pa.Results showed that the solubility of nickel oxide in the slags increased with increasing oxygen partial pressure.The nickel in the Mn O–Si O_(2)slag and Mn O–Si O_(2)–Al_(2)O_(3)slag existed as Ni O under experimental conditions.The addition of Al_(2)O_(3)in the Mn O–Si O_(2)slag decreased the dissolution of nickel in the slag and increased the activity coefficient of Ni O.Furthermore,the activity coefficient of Ni O(γN_(i O)),which is solid Ni O,in the Si O_(2)saturated Mn O–Si O_(2)slag and Al_(2)O_(3)saturated Mn O–Si O_(2)–Al_(2)O_(3)slag at 1623 K can be respectively calculated asγN_(i O)=8.58w(Ni O)+3.18 andγN_(i O)=11.06w(Ni O)+4.07,respectively,where w(Ni O)is the Ni O mass fraction in the slag.

Study on Mott-Insulator-Superfluid Phase Transition in Symmetric and Unsymmetric Double-Chain Bose-Hubbard Model

The symmetric and the asymmetric double-chain Bose-Hubbard Models( BHMs) are studied by the mean-field theory. By using Landau's quantum phase transition theory,phase diagrams for systems with different hopping energies and repulsive interactions are obtained. Thereby,Mott-insulator-superfluid( MISF)phase transition boundaries are determined. Our results show that tunneling effects between two chains provide additional channels for particles hopping between corresponding optical lattice sites of different chains,which makes easier for systems to transit from MI to SF phase. The two-site parity function is also utilized to investigate the properties of the system near the quantum phase transit point.We found that the increase of inter-chain hopping will reinforce the tunneling effects between two chains,and reduce the intrachain tunneling effects within the same chain.

A 49-year-old male with sleep-disordered breathing and nocturnal paroxysmal dyspnea after congenital heart defect correction

Rationale PH is a pathophysiological disorder involving multiple clinical conditions and is often concomitant with other cardiopulmonary diseases,and related differential diagnosis is quite tricky for its various etiologies.Patient characteristics A 49-year-old man presented with 1-year history of nocturnal paroxysmal dyspnea and was transferred to our hospital.

Significance of the left ventricular ejection/filling parameters in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension:a magnetic resonance imaging based study

Background The goal of this study was to explore the significance of left ventricular(LV)ejection/filling parameters in assessing severity and prognosis of pulmonary arterial hypertension(PAH).Methods Newly diagnosed PAH patients were recruited between July 2011 and December 2013 prospectively.Cardiopulmonary hemodynamics derived from right heart catheterization,and LV ejection/filling parameters derived from CMR were collected.Follow-up data were collected periodically using a specifically-designed network database until April 30,2016.

Exercise-based rehabilitation programmes for pulmonary hypertension:a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trails

Objective Individuals with pulmonary hypertension(PH)have reduced exercise capacity and quality of life.Exercise-based rehabilitation may have beneficial effects to improve the exercise capacity and quality of life in patients with PH.We aim to assess the efficacy and safety of exercised-based rehabilitation for people eith PH by performing a randomized controlled trails(RCTs)meta-analysis of exercised-based rehabilitation for people with PH by performing a randomized controlled trails meta-analysis.

Preparing 3D Perovskite Li_(0.33)La_(0.557)TiO_(3)Nanotubes Framework Via Facile Coaxial Electro-Spinning Towards Reinforced Solid Polymer Electrolyte

It is of significance to construct continuous multiphase percolation channels with fast lithium-ion pathway in hybrid solid electrolytes.3D ceramic nanostructure frameworks have attracted great attention in this field.Herein,the three-dimensional perovskite Li_(0.33)La_(0.557)TiO_(3)nanotubes framework(3D-LLTO-NT)is fabricated via a facile coaxial electro-spinning process followed by a calcination process at 800°C.The hybrid polymer electrolyte of 3DLLTO-NT framework and poly(ethylene carbonate)(3D-LLTO-NT@PEC)shows improved ionic conductivity of 1.73×10^(-4)S cm^(-1)at ambient temperature,higher lithium-ion transference number(t_(Li)^(+))of 0.78 and electrochemical stability window up to 5.0 V vs Li/Li^(+).The all-solid-state cell of LiFePO_(4)/3D-LLTO-NT@PEC/Li delivers a high specific capacity of 140.2 mAh g^(-1)at 0.1 C at ambient temperature.This outstanding performance is attributed to the 3D ceramic nanotubes frameworks which provide fast lithium ion transfer pathway and stable interfaces.

The clinical characteristics and outcome of isolated post-capillary pulmonary hypertension and combined post-capillary and pre-capillary pulmonary hypertension

Objective To investigate the risk factors associated with combined post-capillary and pre-capillary pulmonary hypertension(Cpc-PH)and the prognostic difference between isolated post-capillary pulmonary hypertension(Ipc-PH)and Cpc-PH in pulmonary hypertension due to left heart failure.Methods From October 2012 to November 2016,patients with pulmonary hypertension due to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction(PH-HFpEF)and pulmonary hypertension due to heart failure with reduced ejection fraction(PH-HFrEF)were prospectively enrolled from 11 centers all over the country.

SB525334 attenuates MCT-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension in rats

Background and Objective Pulmonary arterial hypertension(PAH)is a pathophysiological disorder characterized by increased pulmonary arterial pressure and pulmonary vascular remodeling,its mechanism remains unclear.Transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β)family plays a pivotal role in pulmonary arterial hypertension.SB525334 is a selective inhibitor of TGF-βreceptor 1,this study aimed to investigate the effects of SB525334 on the alleviation of monocrotalineinduced pulmonary hypertension.