CircZmMED16 delays plant flowering by negatively regulating starch content through its binding to ZmAPS1.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs), a type of head-to-tail closed RNA molecules, have been implicated in various aspects of plant development and stress responses through transcriptome sequencing; however, the precise functional roles of circRNAs in plants remain poorly understood. In this study, we identified a highly expressed circular RNA, circZmMED16, derived from exon 8 of the mediator complex subunit 16 (ZmMED16) across different maize (Zea mays L.) inbred lines using circRNA-seq analysis.

Clinical characteristics of acute epiphyseal osteomyelitis and acute metaphyseal osteomyelitis of long bones in children.

This study aimed to summarize the clinical characteristics of acute epiphyseal osteomyelitis and acute metaphyseal osteomyelitis of long bones in children. Data of 43 children with acute osteomyelitis of long bones diagnosed and treated from November 2017 to January 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Medical records, laboratory results, and MRI were reviewed.

The role of vitamin D in slipped capital femoral epiphysis in children and adolescents: a retrospective case-control study.

Objective: To explore the correlation between vitamin D levels, related endocrine/metabolic factors, and the risk of slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE) in children and adolescents, and to assess whether vitamin D levels are associated with SCFE severity.

Methods: A retrospective case-control study was conducted from March 2014 to October 2023 in Shengjing hospital. Patients diagnosed with SCFE were categorized as the SCFE group.

Single-cell transcriptome atlas of peripheral immune features to Omicron breakthrough infection under booster vaccination strategies.

Introduction: The high percentage of Omicron breakthrough infection in vaccinees is an emerging problem, of which we have a limited understanding of the phenomenon.

Methods: We performed single-cell transcriptome coupled with T-cell/B-cell receptor (TCR/BCR) sequencing in 15 peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) samples from Omicron infection and naïve with booster vaccination.

Results: We found that after breakthrough infection, multiple cell clusters showed activation of the type I IFN pathway and widespread expression of Interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs); T and B lymphocytes exhibited antiviral and proinflammatory-related differentiation features with pseudo-time trajectories; and large TCR clonal expansions were concentrated in effector CD8 T cells, and clonal expansions of BCRs showed a preference for IGHV3.

Local abnormal white matter microstructure in the spinothalamic tract in people with chronic neck and shoulder pain.

Objective: To investigate differences in the microstructure of the spinothalamic tract (STT) white matter in people with chronic neck and shoulder pain (CNSP) using diffusion tensor imaging, and to assess its correlation with pain intensity and duration of the pain.

Materials And Methods: A 3.0T MRI scanner was used to perform diffusion tensor imaging scans on 31 people with CNSP and 24 healthy controls (HCs), employing the Automatic Fiber Segmentation and Quantification (AFQ) method to extract the STT and quantitatively analyze the fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD), reflecting the microstructural integrity of nerve fibers.