For decades, Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated plant transformation has played an integral role in advancing fundamental and applied plant biology. The recent omnipresent emergence of synthetic biology, which relies on plant transformation to manipulate plant DNA and gene expression for novel product biosynthesis, has further propelled basic as well as applied interests in plant transformation technologies. The strong demand for a faster design-build-test-learn cycle, the essence of synthetic biology, is, however, still ill-matched with the long-standing issues of high tissue culture recalcitrance and low transformation efficiency of a wide range of plant species especially food, fiber and energy crops.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFConductive hydrogels have promising applications for flexible strain sensors. However, most hydrogels have poor tensile strength and are susceptible to damage, significantly impeding their potential for further application. Wood has been used to reinforce hydrogels, significantly enhancing their strength and dimensional stability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSevere traumatic bleeding and chronic diabetic wounds require rapid hemostasis and multifunctional dressings, which remain particularly challenging, especially for non-compressible trauma and irregular wounds with dysregulated microenvironments. Chitosan (CS) can be easily cross-linked with genipin to form GpCS hydrogels. However, developing injectable GpCS hydrogels for biomedical applications faces challenges, particularly in enhancing rapid gel formation and optimizing physical properties.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a prevalent male sexual dysfunction that remarkably impacts patients' quality of life and is also recognized as a precursor to cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are derived from dietary intake and mainly involved in energy metabolism. Previous studies have underscored the association between BCAAs and CVD, but the causal link between BCAAs and ED remains uncertain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComp Biochem Physiol C Toxicol Pharmacol
January 2025
The compound m-Cresol, also referred to as 3-methylphenol,acts as a precursor in the creation of pesticides and plasticizers. This research has conducted a thorough evaluation of the toxic effects of m-cresol on the cardiac development of juvenile zebrafish, from 6 to 72 hpf. The study's results reveal that higher concentrations of m-Cresol, compared to lower ones, result in more severe heart abnormalities in zebrafish larvae.
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