Silica-Activated Redox Signaling Confers Rice with Enhanced Drought Resilience and Grain Yield.

Under a changing climate, enhancing the drought resilience of crops is critical to maintaining agricultural production and reducing food insecurity. Here, we demonstrate that seed priming with amorphous silica (SiO) nanoparticles (NPs) (20 mg/L) accelerated seed germination speed, increased seedlings vigor, and promoted seedling growth of rice under polyethylene glycol (PEG)-mimicking drought conditions. An orthogonal approach was used to uncover the mechanisms of accelerated seed germination and enhanced drought tolerance, including electron paramagnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), metabolomics, and transcriptomics.

Efficacy, safety and treatment satisfaction of transition to a regimen of insulin degludec/aspart: A pilot study.

Background: There is a lack of clinical evidence on the efficacy and safety of transitioning from a thrice-daily pre-mixed insulin or basal-prandial regimen to insulin deglu-dec/aspart (IDegAsp) therapy, with insufficient data from the Chinese popu-lation.

Aim: To demonstrate the efficacy, safety, and treatment satisfaction associated with the transition to IDegAsp in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods: In this 12-week open-label, non-randomized, single-center, pilot study, patients with T2DM receiving thrice-daily insulin or intensive insulin treatment were transitioned to twice-daily injections of insulin IDegAsp.

Activin A receptor type 1C single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma risk in Chinese population.

Background: Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) superfamily plays an important role in tumor progression and metastasis. Activin A receptor type 1C (ACVR1C) is a TGF-β type I receptor that is involved in tumorigenesis through binding to different ligands.

Aim: To evaluate the correlation between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of ACVR1C and susceptibility to esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in Chinese Han population.

Effectiveness of the addition of visual aids to conversational preoperative education in glaucoma filtering surgery: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of preoperative visual aids on anxiety and pain management in patients with low educational backgrounds undergoing glaucoma filtering surgery.

Methods: A randomized, single-blinded, single-center clinical trial was conducted at a tertiary eye hospital in Shantou, China. Patients scheduled for glaucoma filtering surgery were randomly assigned to either a conventional oral education group or a visual aids group.

Evaluation of drinking water quality in Xinjiang based on the improved comprehensive water quality index.

Objective: To evaluate the drinking water quality in cities and towns in Xinjiang.

Methods: The testing data of 6543 water samples from the dry season and the wet season in 2023 were selected, and the drinking water quality in Xinjiang was evaluated and analyzed by using the Nemerow pollution index, the worst factor discriminant method and the weighted average method to calculate the comprehensive water quality index.

Results: The comprehensive index of drinking water quality in Xinjiang was 0.