Motor network reorganization in stroke patients with dyskinesias during a shoulder-touching task:A fNIRS study

Hemiplegia after stroke has become a major cause of the world's high disabilities,and it is vital to enhance our understanding of post-stroke neuroplasticity to develop e±cient rehabilitation programs.This study aimed to explore the brain activation and network reorganization of the motor cortex(MC)with functional near-infrared spectroscopy(fNIRS).The MC hemodynamic signals were gained from 22 stroke patients and 14 healthy subjects during a shoulder-touching task with the right hand.The MC activation pattern and network attributes analyzed with the graph theory were compared between the two groups.The results revealed that healthy controls presented dominant activation in the left MC while stroke patients exhibited dominant activation in the bilateral hemispheres MC.The MC networks for the two groups had small-world properties.Compared with healthy controls,patients had higher transitivity and lower global e±ciency(GE),mean connectivity,and long connections(LCs)in the left MC.In addition,both MC activation and network attributes were correlated with patient's upper limb motor function.The results showed the stronger compensation of the unaffected motor area,the better recovery of the upper limb motor function for patients.Moreover,the MC network possessed high clustering and relatively sparse inter-regional connections during recovery for patients.Our results promote the understanding of MC reorganization during recovery and indicate that MC activation and network could provide clinical assessment signi¯cance in stroke patients.Given the advantages of fNIRS,it shows great application potential in the assessment and rehabilitation of motor function after stroke.

Regulation of fruit ripening by the brassinosteroid biosynthetic gene SlCYP90B3 via an ethylenedependent pathway in tomato

The essential role of ethylene in fruit ripening has been thoroughly studied.However,the involvement of brassinosteroids(BRs)in the regulation of fruit ripening and their relationship with the ethylene pathway are poorly understood.In the current study,we found that BRs were actively synthesized during tomato fruit ripening.We then generated transgenic lines overexpressing or silencing SlCYP90B3,which encodes a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase that catalyzes the rate-limiting step of BR synthesis.The expression level of SlCYP90B3 was positively related to the contents of bioactive BRs as well as the ripening process in tomato fruit,including enhanced softening and increased soluble sugar and flavor volatile contents.Both carotenoid accumulation and ethylene production were strongly correlated with the expression level of SlCYP90B3,corroborated by the altered expression of carotenoid biosynthetic genes as well as ethylene pathway genes in transgenic tomato fruits.However,the application of the ethylene perception inhibitor 1-methycyclopropene(1-MCP)abolished the promotion effect of SlCYP90B3 overexpression on carotenoid accumulation.Taken together,these results increase our understanding of the involvement of SlCYP90B3 in bioactive BR biosynthesis as well as fruit ripening in tomato,thus making SlCYP90B3 a target gene for improvement of visual,nutritional and flavor qualities of tomato fruits with no yield penalty.

Pharmacokinetics of Arctigenin in Fructus Arctii Extract in Piglets

[Objectives]This study was conducted to investigate the pharmacokinetic characteristics of arctigenin from water extract of Fructus Arctii in piglets,understand its absorption,distribution,transformation and excretion in piglets,and provide theoretical reference for the development and clinical use of new veterinary drugs.[Methods]Six healthy piglets,weighing(30.0±5.0)kg,were selected and administered by gavage with a Fructus Arctii water extract at 1.0 g/kg·bw.Blood was collected from the anterior vena cava at different time points.The concentration of arctigenin in pig plasma was determined by HPLC.The main pharmacokinetic parameters were:absorption half-life(t1/2 ka)(0.098±0.006)h,distribution half-life(t1/2α)(0.208±0.009)h,elimination half-life(t1/2β)(23.816±2.151)h,apparent volume of distribution(Vd)(32.212±4.033)L/kg,apparent volume of distribution(Vd)(32.212±4.033)L/kg,clearance(CLb)(2.384±1.589)L/(h·kg),peak time(tmax)(0.251±0.011)h,peak concentration(Cmax)(0.560±0.063)μg/ml,and the area under the curve(AUC)at the time of drug administration(9.620±0.752)μg·h/ml.[Results]After oral administration of the water extract powder of Fructus Arctii,arctigenin showed a two-compartment model with absorption in piglets,with the characteristics of fast absorption,wide distribution and slow elimination.Arctigenin might have a hepatoenteral circulation in piglets,and the drug effect could last for a long time.[Conclusions]This study provides a theoretical basis and reference for the development and clinical use of new veterinary drugs.

The brassinosteroid signaling component SlBZR1 promotes tomato fruit ripening and carotenoid accumulation

The plant hormone ethylene is essential for climacteric fruit ripening, although it is unclear how other phytohormones and their interactions with ethylene might affect fruit ripening. Here, we explored how brassinosteroids(BRs) regulate fruit ripening in tomato(Solanum lycopersicum) and how they interact with ethylene. Exogenous BR treatment and increased endogenous BR contents in tomato plants overexpressing the BR biosynthetic gene SlCYP90B3promoted ethylene production and fruit ripening.Genetic analysis indicated that the BR signaling regulators Brassinazole-resistant1(SlBZR1) and BRI1-EMS-suppressor1(SlBES1) act redundantly in fruit softening. Knocking out Sl BZR1 inhibited ripening through transcriptome reprogramming at the onset of ripening. Combined transcriptome deep sequencing and chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing identified 73 Sl BZR1-repressed targets and 203 Sl BZR1-induced targets involving major ripening-related genes, suggesting that Sl BZR1 positively regulates tomato fruit ripening.Sl BZR1 directly targeted several ethylene and carotenoid biosynthetic genes to contribute to the ethylene burst and carotenoid accumulation to ensure normal ripening and quality formation. Furthermore,knock-out of Brassinosteroid-insensitive2(Sl BIN2),a negative regulator of BR signaling upstream of Sl BZR1, promoted fruit ripening and carotenoid accumulation. Taken together, our results highlight the role of Sl BZR1 as a master regulator of tomato fruit ripening with potential for tomato quality improvement and carotenoid biofortification.

Avian Influenza A(H7N9) Virus in a Wild Land Bird in Central China,Late 2015

Dear Editor,In early 2013,the first case of a human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9)virus was reported in the Yangtze River Delta region of China(Liu et al.2013).Since early2013,a total of 1533 laboratory-confirmed human infections with avian H7N9 viruses have been reported to

Effect of pH Control with Acetic Acid/Sodium Acetate Buffer on Hot-water Extraction of Poplar Wood

Poplar wood chips were extracted in an acetic acid/sodium acetate(SA/AA)buffer solution at 180ºC for 60 minutes,with a solid-to-liquid ratio of 1:6,to investigate the effect of pH on the extraction performance in terms of chemical compositions of the extract.The pH was controlled by varying the concentrations of sodium acetate and acetic acid in the buffer system.Results showed that the SA/AA system could promote the dissolution of hemicellulose,obtaining more oligosaccharides and monosaccharides,and could also inhibit the excessive decomposition of monosaccharides.When extracting poplar wood chips in a SA/AA system of pH=3.7,the yield of oligosaccharides was the highest,while the contents of furfural and hydroxymethyl furfural decreased by 25%and 30%,respectively,compared to conventional water extraction systems.Moreover,the amount of lignin extracted in the S/AA process was also higher than that in a conventional hot water extraction process.

Structural Changes of Poplar Wood Lignin in Hydrothermal pretreatment in Acetic Acid-Sodium Acetate system

Hydrothermal pretreatment of poplar wood chips was performed in an acetic acid/sodium acetate buffer medium.To characterize the structural changes of lignin in the pretreatment process,milled wood lignin(MWL)was isolated from both the un-treated and treated poplar wood chips,and analyzed by ^(1)H-NMR,^(13)C-NMR,^(31)P-NMR,FT-IR,and GPC-MALLS.Results showed that the lignin in the pretreated wood chips had more phenolic OH groups,less aliphatic OH groups,higher molecular weight,and narrower polydispersity,in comparison with the lignin in the un-treated wood.The acetic acid-sodium acetate buffer pretreatment facilitated the removal of-OCH_(3) groups and the cleavage of the inter-unit linkages ofβ-O-4 bond in the lignin.Furthermore,the re-polymerization of lignin in the acetic acid-sodium acetate buffer pretreatment was found to be less than that in autohydrolysis.