CRISPR/Cas9 ribonucleoprotein mediated DNA-free genome editing in larch.

Here, a DNA-free genetic editing approach is presented for larch by delivering ribonucleoprotein complexes (RNPs) of CRISPR/Cas9 through particle bombardment. The detailed procedure encompasses creating a transgenic system particle bombardment for the transformation of embryogenic callus, validating the functionality of RNPs, optimizing coating and delivery techniques, enhancing somatic embryo maturation, regenerating plantlets, and precisely identifying mutants. The optimal particle bombardment parameters were determined at 1,100 psi and a distance of 9 cm and the editing efficiency of the targets was verified .

Room Temperature Broadband BiTe/PbS Colloidal Quantum Dots Infrared Photodetectors.

Lead sulfide colloidal quantum dots (PbS CQDs) are promising optoelectronic materials due to their unique properties, such as tunable band gap and strong absorption, which are of immense interest for application in photodetectors and solar cells. However, the tunable band gap of PbS CQDs would only cover visible short-wave infrared; the ability to detect longer wavelengths, such as mid- and long-wave infrared, is limited because they are restricted by the band gap of the bulk material. In this paper, a novel photodetector based on the synergistic effect of PbS CQDs and bismuth telluride (BiTe) was developed for the detection of a mid-wave infrared band at room temperature.

High-Performance Near-Infrared Photodetector Based on PbS Colloidal Quantum Dots/ZnO-Nanowires Hybrid Nanostructures.

Quantum dots have found significant applications in photoelectric detectors due to their unique electronic and optical properties, such as tunable bandgap. Recently, colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) have attracted much interest because of the ease of controlling the dot size and low production cost. In this paper, a high-performance ZnO/PbS heterojunction photodetector was fabricated by spin-coating PbS CQDs onto the surface of a hydrothermally grown vertical array of ZnO nanowires (NWs) on an indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate.

Fast-Response Photodetector Based on Hybrid BiTe/PbS Colloidal Quantum Dots.

Colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) as photodetector materials have attracted much attention in recent years due to their tunable energy bands, low cost, and solution processability. However, their intrinsically low carrier mobility and three-dimensional (3D) confinement of charges are unsuitable for use in fast-response and highly sensitive photodetectors, hence greatly restricting their application in many fields. Currently, 3D topological insulators, such as bismuth telluride (BiTe), have been employed in high-speed broadband photodetectors due to their narrow bulk bandgap, high carrier mobility, and strong light absorption.

Differential expression of microRNA in the serum of patients with polycystic ovary syndrome with insulin resistance.

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common reproductive endocrine disease in women of childbearing age, and insulin resistance is an important etiological mechanism in PCOS. This study revealed the microRNA (miRNA) expression profile of PCOS with insulin resistance and explored the potential biological functions of differentially expressed miRNA.

Methods: A total of 76 patients with PCOS and 30 normal healthy women were recruited in the gynecological clinic of the Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University.

Efficiency moderates the relationship between sleep-onset insomnia and resting-state electroencephalogram microstate.

Background: Overactivation of the salience network (SN) causes hyperarousal in insomnia patients and is associated with sleep-onset insomnia (SOI). Resting-state microstate 3 (RS-MS3) duration is closely related to SN overactivation. However, whether RS-MS3 duration is a biomarker for SOI has not yet been reported in the literature.

Health literacy and its socio-demographic risk factors in Hebei: A cross-sectional survey.

This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of low health literacy in Hebei Province of China, and to investigate its socio-demographic risk factors.This study was a community-based, cross-sectional questionnaire survey with a multiple-stage randomization design and a sample size of 10,560. Participants' health literacy status was evaluated by a questionnaire based on the 2012 Chinese Resident Health Literacy Scale.

The prevalence and related factors for low health literacy in Xingtai: A cross-sectional survey in prefecture-level city.

This study aimed to evaluate the low health literacy prevalence and its socio-demographic related factors in Xingtai.This study was a community-based, cross-sectional survey performed in Xingtai, with a sample size of 960. Participants' socio-demographic characteristics were collected, and their health literacy status was evaluated by the questionnaire designed by the 2012 Chinese Resident Health Literacy Survey.

Extracts of Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt. Flower Exhibit Antidiabetic Effects via the Inhibition of α-Glucosidase Activity.

The aim of this study was to assay the effects of Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt. flower extracts on hyperglycemia of diet-induced obese mice and the underlying mechanisms. Coreopsis tinctoria flower was extracted with ethanol and water, respectively.

Using a Hybrid Model to Forecast the Prevalence of Schistosomiasis in Humans.

Background: We previously proposed a hybrid model combining both the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) and the nonlinear autoregressive neural network (NARNN) models in forecasting schistosomiasis. Our purpose in the current study was to forecast the annual prevalence of human schistosomiasis in Yangxin County, using our ARIMA-NARNN model, thereby further certifying the reliability of our hybrid model.

Methods: We used the ARIMA, NARNN and ARIMA-NARNN models to fit and forecast the annual prevalence of schistosomiasis.

Bavachinin, as a novel natural pan-PPAR agonist, exhibits unique synergistic effects with synthetic PPAR-γ and PPAR-α agonists on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in db/db and diet-induced obese mice.

Aims/hypothesis: Pan-peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonists have long been sought as therapeutics against the metabolic syndrome, but current PPAR agonists show limited efficacy and adverse effects. Natural herbs provide a structurally untapped resource to prevent and treat complicated metabolic syndrome.

Methods: Natural PPAR agonists were screened using reporter gene, competitive binding and 3T3-L1 pre-adipocyte differentiation assays in vitro.

Dietary component isorhamnetin is a PPARγ antagonist and ameliorates metabolic disorders induced by diet or leptin deficiency.

Studies on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ ligands have been focused on agonists. However, PPARγ activation may induce obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), one of the most challenging medical conditions. Here, we identified that isorhamnetin, a naturally occurring compound in fruits and vegetables and the metabolite of quercetin, is a novel antagonist of PPARγ.

Risk Factors for Advanced HIV Disease and Late Entry to HIV Care: National 1994-2012 HIV Surveillance Data for Wuhan, China.

Few studies in China have focused on advanced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease (AHD) and late entry to HIV care, which are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. A population-based retrospective study was conducted using 980 national HIV surveillance reports from 1994 to February 2012 in Wuhan, China. AHD was defined as presence of a first-reported CD4 count<200 cells/μL or an acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)-defining event within 1 month of HIV diagnosis.

Protopanaxatriol, a novel PPARγ antagonist from Panax ginseng, alleviates steatosis in mice.

Obesity is prevalent worldwide, and is highly associated with metabolic disorders, such as insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia and steatosis. Ginseng has been used as food and traditional herbal medicine for the treatment of various metabolic diseases. However, the molecular mechanisms how ginseng and its components participate in the regulation of lipogenesis are still largely unclear.

A hybrid model for predicting the prevalence of schistosomiasis in humans of Qianjiang City, China.

Backgrounds/objective: Schistosomiasis is still a major public health problem in China, despite the fact that the government has implemented a series of strategies to prevent and control the spread of the parasitic disease. Advanced warning and reliable forecasting can help policymakers to adjust and implement strategies more effectively, which will lead to the control and elimination of schistosomiasis. Our aim is to explore the application of a hybrid forecasting model to track the trends of the prevalence of schistosomiasis in humans, which provides a methodological basis for predicting and detecting schistosomiasis infection in endemic areas.

Application of a new hybrid model with seasonal auto-regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) and nonlinear auto-regressive neural network (NARNN) in forecasting incidence cases of HFMD in Shenzhen, China.

Background: Outbreaks of hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) have been reported for many times in Asia during the last decades. This emerging disease has drawn worldwide attention and vigilance. Nowadays, the prevention and control of HFMD has become an imperative issue in China.

Extract of okra lowers blood glucose and serum lipids in high-fat diet-induced obese C57BL/6 mice.

Okra is an important tropical vegetable and source of dietary medicine. Here, we assayed the effects of an ethanol extract of okra (EO) and its major flavonoids isoquercitrin and quercetin 3-O-gentiobioside on metabolic disorders in high-fat diet-induced obese mouse. We found that treatment with EO, isoquercitrin and quercetin 3-O-gentiobioside reduced blood glucose and serum insulin levels and improved glucose tolerance in obese mice.

Preparative separation and identification of the flavonoid phlorhizin from the crude extract of Lithocarpus polystachyus Rehd.

The flavonoid phlorhizin is abundant in the leaves of Sweet Tea (ST, Lithocarpus Polystachyus Rehd). Phlorhizin was preparatively separated and purified from a crude ST extract containing 40% total flavonoids by static adsorption and dynamic desorption on ADS-7 macroporous resin and neutral alumina column chromatography. Only water and ethanol were used as solvents and eluants throughout the whole separation and purification process.

In vitro modulation of telomerase activity, telomere length and cell cycle in MKN45 cells by verbascoside.

Screening of natural products with anti-tumor activity as telomerase inhibitor is a new subject in the field of tumor therapy. Using telomerase PCR ELISA, telomere DNA hybridization and flow cytometry analysis, the effects of verbascoside, a phenylpropanoid glucoside extracted from Pedicularis striata Pall, on telomerase activity, telomere length and cell cycle of human gastric carcinoma cells MKN45 was examined in vitro. After being treated with a 50 % inhibition concentration of verbascoside (17.