Date palm transcriptome analysis provides new insights on changes in response to high salt stress of colonized roots with the endophytic fungus .

Salinity is a significant threat that causes considerable yield losses in date palm. The root endophytic fungus has proven effective in providing salt stress tolerance to host plants. However, the underlying molecular mechanism facilitating the date palm's response to inoculation, and its involvement in the salt stress tolerance, remains unknown.

Molecular epidemiology and change trend of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from invasive infections of a hospital in Hangzhou from 2012 to 2018.

The disease caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a global public health challenge that threatens society and patients seriously. Therefore, the molecular epidemiology and change trend of MRSA is essential for the control and treatment of diseases caused by the pathogen in their regions. To explore molecular epidemiology of MRSA in Hangzhou, we collected 162 MRSA isolates from 2012 to 2018, conducted the antimicrobial susceptibility and used polymerase chain reaction(PCR) to test the molecular typing including multilocus sequence typing (MLST), staphylococcal chromosome cassette mec (SCCmec), staphylococcal protein A (spa A) and Panton-Valentine leucocidin (PVL).

Carbon dots with enhanced red emission for ratiometric sensing and encryption applications.

The excitation-dependent emission properties of carbon dots (Cdots) are extensively reported, but their red emission is often weak, limiting their wider application. Here we introduce ethidium bromide, as a functional precursor with red emission, to enhance the red emission for Cdots, with comparable intensity at a broad wavelength range to multi-emission Cdots (M-Cdots). We found that Cdots prepared with ethidium bromide/ethylenediamine exhibited strong blue and red emission at 440 and 615 nm, with optimal excitation at 360 and 470 nm as M-Cdots, respectively, but the Cdots from single ethidium bromide (EB-Cdots) possessed weak red emission.

A roadmap of haustorium morphogenesis in parasitic plants.

Parasitic plants invade their host through their invasive organ, the haustorium. This organ connects to the vasculature of the host roots and hijacks water and nutrients. Although parasitism has evolved independently in plants, haustoria formation follows a similar mechanism throughout different plant species, highlighting the developmental plasticity of plant tissues.

Installing the neurospora carotenoid pathway in plants enables cytosolic formation of provitamin A and its sequestration in lipid droplets.

Vitamin A deficiency remains a severe global health issue, which creates a need to biofortify crops with provitamin A carotenoids (PACs). Expanding plant cell capacity for synthesis and storing of PACs outside the plastids is a promising biofortification strategy that has been little explored. Here, we engineered PAC formation and sequestration in the cytosol of Nicotiana benthamiana leaves, Arabidopsis seeds, and citrus callus cells, using a fungal (Neurospora crassa) carotenoid pathway that consists of only three enzymes converting C isopentenyl building blocks formed from mevalonic acid into PACs, including β-carotene.

A PLETHORA/PIN-FORMED/auxin network mediates prehaustorium formation in the parasitic plant Striga hermonthica.

The parasitic plant Striga (Striga hermonthica) invades the host root through the formation of a haustorium and has detrimental impacts on cereal crops. The haustorium results from the prehaustorium, which is derived directly from the differentiation of the Striga radicle. The molecular mechanisms leading to radicle differentiation shortly after germination remain unclear.

[Laparoscopic management of persistent Müllerian duct syndrome: A case report and pedigree investigation].

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics, diagnosis, treatment and etiology of persistent Müllerian duct syndrome (PMDS).

Methods: A 3-year-old boy was diagnosed with PMDS according to the clinical manifestations and the results of ultrasonography, laboratory examinations and earlier surgical examination. We performed genetic tests for the patient and his family members, removed the infantile uterus by laparoscopic wedge hysterectomy, biopsied and descended the bilateral testes, and ligated the bilateral internal rings, followed by a retrospective analysis and review of relevant literature.

The Effect of Exogenous Nitrate on LCO Signalling, Cytokinin Accumulation, and Nodule Initiation in .

Nitrogen fixation by rhizobia is a highly energy-demanding process. Therefore, nodule initiation in legumes is tightly regulated. Environmental nitrate is a potent inhibitor of nodulation.

Rooting in the Desert: A Developmental Overview on Desert Plants.

Plants, as sessile organisms, have evolved a remarkable developmental plasticity to cope with their changing environment. When growing in hostile desert conditions, plants have to grow and thrive in heat and drought. This review discusses how desert plants have adapted their root system architecture (RSA) to cope with scarce water availability and poor nutrient availability in the desert soil.

A Homeotic Mutation Changes Legume Nodule Ontogeny into Actinorhizal-Type Ontogeny.

Some plants fix atmospheric nitrogen by hosting symbiotic diazotrophic rhizobia or bacteria in root organs known as nodules. Such nodule symbiosis occurs in 10 plant lineages in four taxonomic orders: Fabales, Fagales, Cucurbitales, and Rosales, which are collectively known as the nitrogen-fixing clade. Nodules are divided into two types based on differences in ontogeny and histology: legume-type and actinorhizal-type nodules.

Anchorene is a carotenoid-derived regulatory metabolite required for anchor root formation in .

Anchor roots (ANRs) arise at the root-shoot junction and are the least investigated type of root. Here, we show that ANRs originate from pericycle cells in an auxin-dependent manner and a carotenogenic signal to emerge. By screening known and assumed carotenoid derivatives, we identified anchorene, a presumed carotenoid-derived dialdehyde (diapocarotenoid), as the specific signal needed for ANR formation.

Lateral root formation involving cell division in both pericycle, cortex and endodermis is a common and ancestral trait in seed plants.

Studies on the model plant have led to the common view that lateral roots are exclusively formed from pericycle cells and that the latter are unique in their ability to be reprogrammed into stem cells. By analysing lateral root formation in an evolutionary context, we show that lateral root primordium formation in which cortex, endodermis and pericycle are mitotically activated, is a common and ancestral trait in seed plants, whereas the exclusive involvement of pericycle evolved in the Brassicaceae. Furthermore, the endodermis can also be reprogrammed into stem cells in some species.

A Medicago truncatula SWEET transporter implicated in arbuscule maintenance during arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis.

Plants form a mutualistic symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, which facilitates the acquisition of scarce minerals from the soil. In return, the host plants provide sugars and lipids to its fungal partner. However, the mechanism by which the AM fungi obtain sugars from the plant has remained elusive.

Emergent Protective Organogenesis in Date Palms: A Morpho-Devo-Dynamic Adaptive Strategy during Early Development.

Desert plants have developed mechanisms for adapting to hostile desert conditions, yet these mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we describe two unique modes used by desert date palms () to protect their meristematic tissues during early organogenesis. We used x-ray micro-computed tomography combined with high-resolution tissue imaging to reveal that, after germination, development of the embryo pauses while it remains inside a dividing and growing cotyledonary petiole.

Retrospective comparative analysis of risk factors and outcomes in patients with carbapenem-resistant bloodstream infections: cefoperazone-sulbactam associated with resistance and tigecycline increased the mortality.

Background: Carbapenem-resistant (CRAB) is a rapidly emerging, life-threatening nosocomial infection. This study aimed to explore the risk factors, clinical features, antimicrobial therapy, and outcomes of CRAB bloodstream infections (BSIs).

Methods: This is a retrospective, comparative analysis of data from patients with BSI, treated from 2012 to 2015 at a tertiary teaching hospital.

Combined effects of aspirin and vitamin D3 on two OSCC cell lines: a preliminary study.

Objectives: We evaluated the potential effects of aspirin combined with vitamin D3 on cell proliferation and apoptosis in oral cancer cells.

Results: Compared to the untreated control or individual drug, the combinations of aspirin and vitamin D3 significantly decreased the rates of cell proliferation by CCK-8 assay, and caused higher rates of cell apoptosis in both CAL-27 and SCC-15 cells by Annexin V-FITC apoptosis assay and flow cytometry. Remarkably, the combined treatment with aspirin and vitamin D3 significantly suppressed the expression of Bcl-2 protein and p-Erk1/2 protein, examined by western blot analysis.

Significant association of the cytokine variants with head and neck cancer risk: evidence from meta-analysis.

Aim: To evaluate the possible relevance of the IL-18-137 G>C (rs187238), IL-18-607 C>A (rs1946518) and IL-4-590 C>T (rs2243250) polymorphisms to the genetic susceptibility of head and neck cancer.

Methods: Data were retrieved from PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and CNKI databases, and the results were independently analysed by two reviewers using Stata 14.0 software.

The Potential Impact of Radix Paeoniae Alba in Embryonic Development of Mice.

Although Radix Paeoniae Alba (RPA) has been ranked as one of the top 6 herbs used frequently to prevent and treat miscarriages clinically, there is no clear evidence regarding its safety in embryonic development. This study aims to evaluate the potential impacts of RPA on embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and pregnant mice. Cytotoxicity assays of the extract were performed in ESCs and 3T3 cells.

Meta-analysis of risk factors associated with atherosclerosis in patients with Kawasaki disease.

Background: Kawasaki disease (KD) has now become the leading cause of acquired heart disease among children in developed countries. This study investigated whether patients with KD have an increased risk of atherosclerosis.

Methods: Electronic databases, including PubMed, Embase and Springer link, were searched through June 1, 2015, for eligible studies.

What Does It Take to Evolve A Nitrogen-Fixing Endosymbiosis?

Plant rhizo- and phyllospheres are exposed to a plethora of nitrogen-fixing bacteria, providing opportunities for the establishment of symbiotic associations. Nitrogen-fixing endosymbioses are most profitable and have evolved more than ten times in the angiosperms. This suggests that the evolutionary trajectory towards endosymbiosis is not complex.

Mibefradil suppresses the proliferation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells.

Intracellular Ca(2+) levels play a critical role in the regulation of vasodilation and vasoconstriction by stimulating pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell (PASMC) proliferation, which is important in the pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH); however, L-type Ca(2+) channel antagonists are useful in only few patients with PAH. The present study sought to assess the effect of mibefradil, which blocks T-type Ca(2+) channels, on PASMC proliferation and Ca(2+) channel profile. Human PASMCs were stimulated with 25 ng/mL platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) with and without 10 µM mibefradil or 100 nM sildenafil.

Coronary artery fistula between single right coronary artery and right pulmonary artery: a case report and literature review.

Background: Coronary artery fistula and single coronary artery are two different rare congenital anomalies. The cases with co-existed the two anomalies are more rare. To the best of our knowledge with literature review, the coronary artery fistula between single right coronary artery and right pulmonary artery has not been previously reported.

The strigolactone biosynthesis gene DWARF27 is co-opted in rhizobium symbiosis.

Background: Strigolactones are a class of plant hormones whose biosynthesis is activated in response to phosphate starvation. This involves several enzymes, including the carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases 7 (CCD7) and CCD8 and the carotenoid isomerase DWARF27 (D27). D27 expression is known to be responsive to phosphate starvation.

LMNA gene single nucleotide polymorphisms in dilated cardiomyopathy of Han children.

Objective: To investigate whether LMNA gene mutation is associated with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in Chinese Han Race children.

Methods: DNA was isolated from 78 patients with DCM and 100 healthy Chinese children who served as controls. 12 exons in the functional regions and the adjacent part of introns of the LMNA gene were amplified with polymerase chain reactions (PCR) and the PCR products were sequenced with DNA sequencer.

Selective and sensitive determination of cypermethrin in fish via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-like method based on molecularly imprinted artificial antibody-quantum dot optosensing materials.

Molecularly imprinted silica layers appended to quantum dots (MIP-QDs) with customized selective artificial recognition sites were fabricated in this study by optimizing the ratio of the functional monomer to the template. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Brunauer–emmett–teller, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and selectivity assay analyses were also performed. Results demonstrated that the selective fluorescence quenching properties of MIP-QDs toward cypermethrin (CYP) are due to strong interactions between these molecules.