Multi-epitope vaccine design of African swine fever virus considering T cell and B cell immunogenicity.

T and B cell activation are equally important in triggering and orchestrating adaptive host responses to design multi-epitope African swine fever virus (ASFV) vaccines. However, few design methods have considered the trade-off between T and B cell immunogenicity when identifying promising ASFV epitopes. This work proposed a novel Pareto front-based ASFV screening method PFAS to identify promising epitopes for designing multi-epitope vaccines utilizing five ASFV Georgia 2007/1 sequences.

A NAC transcription factor ZaNAC93 confers floral initiation, fruit development, and prickle formation in Zanthoxylum armatum.

Zanthoxylum armatum is a dioecious prickly plant which developed apomictic reproduction. The increases in male flowers and prickle density in female plants lead to low yield and picking efficiency. However, little is known concerning the mechanisms of floral development and prickle formation.

Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals hormone, transcriptional and epigenetic regulation involved in prickle formation in Zanthoxylum armatum.

Zanthoxylum armatum is an evergreen plant with high economical and medicinal values. The presence of prickles on stems and leaves is undesirable for them make picking difficult. To date, little is known of prickle formation in Z.

Transcriptome mining of genes in Zanthoxylum armatum revealed ZaMYB86 as a negative regulator of prickly development.

Zanthoxylum armatum DC. is an important economic tree species. Prickle is a type of trichome with special morphology, and there are a lot of prickles on the leaves of Z.

Transcriptome and metabolite profiling to identify genes associated with rhizome lignification and the function of ZoCSE in ginger ().

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) is an important spice crop in China, and fresh ginger rhizomes are consumed as vegetable in Sichuan and Chongqing. However, tissue lignification accelerates with rhizome maturation, resulting in the loss of edible quality. To understand the molecular mechanisms of texture modification during rhizome development, we investigated lignin accumulation patterns and identified the key genes associated with lignin biosynthesis using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq).

SMRT and Illumina RNA sequencing reveal the complexity of terpenoid biosynthesis in Zanthoxylum armatum.

Sichuan pepper (Zanthoxylum armatum DC) is a popular spice and is often prescribed in traditional Chinese medicine to treat vomiting, diarrhea, ascariasis and eczema, among other conditions. Volatile oils from Z. armatum leaves contain active ingredients, with terpenoids being one of the main components.

Transcriptome-wide characterization of the WRKY family genes in Lonicera macranthoides and the role of LmWRKY16 in plant senescence.

Background: Lonicera macranthoides is an important woody plant with high medicinal values widely cultivated in southern China. WRKY, one of the largest transcription factor families, participates in plant development, senescence, and stress responses. However, a comprehensive study of the WRKY family in L.

A R2R3-MYB transcriptional activator LmMYB15 regulates chlorogenic acid biosynthesis and phenylpropanoid metabolism in Lonicera macranthoides.

Lonicera macranthoides Hand-Mazz is an important medicinal plant widely distributed in southern China that has long been used in Chinese traditional medicines. Chlorogenic acid (CGA, 3-caffeoylquinic acid) is the major biologically active ingredient in L. macranthoides.

Localized autoimmune pancreatitis mimicking pancreatic cancer: Case report and literature review.

Autoimmune pancreatitis (AP) is a rare autoimmune pancreatic manifestation of systemic immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4)-related sclerosing disease. Distinguishing between AP and pancreatic cancer is crucial because the clinical courses, treatments, and prognoses of these two disease entities are quite different. We herein report a case involving a 52-year-old man with subacute epigastralgia who visited our hospital for evaluation of a suspicious pancreatic mass found during esophagogastroduodenoscopy.

Nitric oxide participates in plant flowering repression by ascorbate.

In Oncidium, redox homeostasis involved in flowering is mainly due to ascorbic acid (AsA). Here, we discovered that Oncidium floral repression is caused by an increase in AsA-mediated NO levels, which is directed by the enzymatic activities of nitrate reductase (NaR) and nitrite reducatase (NiR). Through Solexa transcriptomic analysis of two libraries, 'pseudobulb with inflorescent bud' (PIB) and 'pseudobulb with axillary bud' (PAB), we identified differentially expressed genes related to NO metabolism.

Natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery-assisted versus laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy (NAOC vs. LOC): a case-matched study.

Background: Natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) has shown its prospection as a minimally invasive endoscopic surgery. This study aimed to examine the safety and efficacy of combined NOTES and vaginal approach, natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery-assisted ovarian cystectomy (NAOC), in the conservative management of benign ovarian tumors.

Methods: Records were reviewed for the 34 consecutive NAOC procedures between May 2011 and March 2014.

Analysis of microsatellites in the vulnerable orchid Gastrodia flavilabella: the development of microsatellite markers, and cross-species amplification in Gastrodia.

Background: Gastrodia flabilabella is a mycoheterotrophic orchid that obtains carbohydrates and nutrients from its symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi. The species is an endemic and vulnerable species enlisted in the "A Preliminary Red List of Taiwanese Vascular Plants" according to the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria Version 3.1.

Effects of commercial citrate-containing juices on urolithiasis in a Drosophila model.

Diet modification plays an important role in nephrolithiasis. Development of an easy, ready-to-use beverage such as a commercial juice drink to use as a preventive treatment for renal calculi formation would be widely welcomed. We previously developed a novel Drosophila model for the study of nephrolithiasis.

Transcervical drainage for descending necrotizing mediastinitis may be sufficient.

Objective: Descending necrotizing mediastinitis (DNM) is a serious form of mediastinitis with a high mortality rate. It is caused by the downward spread of an oropharyngeal or cervicofascial infection. The optimal surgical approach for this often fatal disease is controversial.

Genetic population structure of the alpine species Rhododendron pseudochrysanthum sensu lato (Ericaceae) inferred from chloroplast and nuclear DNA.

Background: A complex of incipient species with different degrees of morphological or ecological differentiation provides an ideal model for studying species divergence. We examined the phylogeography and the evolutionary history of the Rhododendron pseudochrysanthum s. l.

Functional outcomes of patients with advanced pyriform sinus cancer treated with extended near-total laryngopharyngectomy and free fasciocutaneous flap reconstruction.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the functional results in patients with advanced pyriform sinus cancer treated with extended near-total laryngopharyngectomy (ENTLP) and free fasciocutaneous flap reconstruction. We reviewed the medical records of patients with pyriform sinus cancer who were treated at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, a tertiary medical center in Taiwan, between June 1998 and December 2008. This retrospective study enrolled the patients who had a stage III or IV pyriform sinus cancer and was surgically treated with ENTLP and free fasciocutaneous flap reconstruction.

Endoscopic laser anterior commissurotomy for anterior glottic web: one-stage procedure.

Objectives: The conventional method for preventing web formation after anterior glottic web surgery is keel insertion. However, this presents risks of airway compromise and granulation tissue formation, which could necessitate tracheotomy in addition to a secondary procedure for keel removal. We introduce a novel, 1-stage endoscopic laser anterior commissurotomy for preventing anterior glottic web re-formation.

Difference of Helicobacter pylori colonization in recurrent inflammatory and simple hyperplastic tonsil tissues.

Objective: To investigate the difference in colonization by Helicobacter pylori between recurrent inflammatory and normal hyperplastic human palatine tonsil tissues.

Design: A retrospective review of a prospective data set.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Transoral laser ventricular fold resection and thyroarytenoid myoneurectomy for adductor spasmodic dysphonia: long-term outcome.

Objectives: A transoral approach to laser myoneurectomy of the thyroarytenoid muscles was recently reported as an effective technique for treatment of adductor spasmodic dysphonia (ASD). The short-term results were encouraging. In this study, a long-term surgical outcome of this technique is investigated.

Extraction of Aflatoxin from Peanut Meal and Kernels by CO-Methanol Using a Highly Pressurized Fluid Extraction Process.

Peanut kernels infected with Aspergillus parasiticus after milling into meals were used as toxin-contaminated material for aflatoxin extraction using CO-methanol. The percentage of aflatoxin recovery increased with CO-60% methanol and decreased with CO-100% methanol with an increase in the methanol/peanut meal ratio. One gram of peanut meal and 6 ml of 60% methanol were deposited in an extraction chamber (ca.