Presence and sequence of bronchiectasis onset impact on the clinical characteristics in asthmatic patients.

Background: Asthmatic patients with comorbid bronchiectasis (ACB) show significantly severe condition with various inflammatory phenotypes; bronchiectasis is a heterogeneous disease caused by asthma and other multiple etiological factors. We aimed to investigate the inflammatory characteristics and their clinical significance in asthmatic patients according to the presence and onset time of bronchiectasis.

Methods: This prospective cohort study recruited outpatients with stable asthma.

Kirkendall effect Strengthened-Superhydrophilic/superaerophobic Co-NiN/NF heterostructure as electrode catalyst for High-current hydrogen production.

The development of efficient electrocatalysts for large-scale water electrolysis is crucial and challenging. Research efforts towards interface engineering and electronic structure modulation can be leveraged to enhance the electrochemical performance of the developed catalysts. In this work, a surface-engineered Co-NiN/NF heterostructure electrode was prepared based on Kirkendall effect for high-current water electrolysis.

Influence of Huangqin Decoction on the immune function and fecal microbiome of chicks after experimental infection with Escherichia coli O78.

Huangqin Decoction (HQD), a traditional Chinese medicine formula from the Shang Han Lun written by Zhang Zhongjing, has been used in China for nearly two thousand years. According to the traditional Chinese medicine and previous literature, HQD has the effect of clearing heat, removing toxins, relieving diarrhea and pain. Therefore, HQD was used to prevent or cure many diseases, such as inflammation, diarrhea, malaria, and other acute or chronic gastrointestinal diseases.

Expression analysis and functional characterization of tomato Tubby-like protein family.

Tubby-like protein (TLP) plays an important role in plant growth and development. In this investigation, the characteristics of 11 members in the SlTLP family were studied. SlTLP genes were classified into two subgroups, and the members containing the F-box domain were renamed SlTLFPs.

The transcription factor SlWRKY37 positively regulates jasmonic acid- and dark-induced leaf senescence in tomato.

Initiation and progression of leaf senescence are triggered by various environmental stressors and phytohormones. Jasmonic acid (JA) and darkness accelerate leaf senescence in plants. However, the mechanisms that integrate these two factors to initiate and regulate leaf senescence have not been identified.

Anabolism and signaling pathways of phytomelatonin.

Phytomelatonin is a small multifunctional molecule found ubiquitously in plants, which plays an important role in plant growth, development, and biotic and abiotic stress responses. The classical biosynthetic and metabolic pathways of phytomelatonin have been elucidated, and uncovering alternative pathways has deepened our understanding of phytomelatonin synthesis. Phytomelatonin functions mainly via two pathways.

The jasmonate-induced bHLH gene SlJIG functions in terpene biosynthesis and resistance to insects and fungus.

Jasmonic acid (JA) is a key regulator of plant defense responses. Although the transcription factor MYC2, the master regulator of the JA signaling pathway, orchestrates a hierarchical transcriptional cascade that regulates the JA responses, only a few transcriptional regulators involved in this cascade have been described. Here, we identified the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor gene in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), METHYL JASMONATE (MeJA)-INDUCED GENE (SlJIG), the expression of which was strongly induced by MeJA treatment.

Two Potential Probiotic Bacillus with Proteolytic Activity to Dietary Protein from Adult Feces.

　Two Bacillus strains were screened and identified using 16S rRNA gene sequencing the phenotypic tests, and then characterized in vitro for the probiotic characteristics. They were able to tolerate pH 2.5 for 2.

CDE4 encodes a pentatricopeptide repeat protein involved in chloroplast RNA splicing and affects chloroplast development under low-temperature conditions in rice.

Pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins play important roles in the post-transcriptional modification of organellar RNAs in plants. However, the function of most PPR proteins remains unknown. Here, we characterized the rice (Oryza sativa L.

CRISPR/Cas9 targeted mutagenesis of SlLBD40, a lateral organ boundaries domain transcription factor, enhances drought tolerance in tomato.

The LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARIES DOMAIN (LBD)-containing genes are plant-specific genes that play important roles in lateral organ development. In this study, we identified LBD40 (Solyc02g085910), which belongs to subfamily II of the LBD family of genes in tomato. LBD40 was highly expressed in roots and fruit.

expression enhances low-temperature stress resistance in tomato plants.

Herein, we identified the tomato gene as a MYB family transcription factor of the R2R3-MYB subfamily. We additionally determined that the promoter region contains photoresponsive, abiotic stress-responsive, and hormone-responsive regulatory elements, and we detected higher expression in the reproductive organs of tomato than that in vegetative organs, with the expression being highest in ripe fruits and in roots. expression was also shown to be cold-inducible.

SlTLFP8 reduces water loss to improve water-use efficiency by modulating cell size and stomatal density via endoreduplication.

Improving plant water-use efficiency (WUE) is important to plant survival and crop yield in the context of water limitation. In this study, SlTLFP8 (Tubby-like F-box protein 8) was identified as an osmotic-induced gene in tomato. Transgenic tomato with up-regulated expression of SlTLFP8 showed enhanced water-deficient resistance, whereas knockout mutants generated by CRISPR/Cas9 were more sensitive to water deficit.

Melatonin promotes carotenoid biosynthesis in an ethylene-dependent manner in tomato fruits.

In tomato, red color is a key commercial trait and arises from the accumulation of carotenoids. Previous studies have revealed that melatonin promotes lycopene accumulation and ethylene production. However, it is unclear if melatonin similarly increases other carotenoids, and whether any increase of carotenoids in tomato fruit is directly related to ethylene production.

Jasmonate and aluminum crosstalk in tomato: Identification and expression analysis of WRKYs and ALMTs during JA/Al-regulated root growth.

The WRKY transcription factors (TFs) are involved in aluminum (Al) stress and jasmonic acid (JA)-regulated resistance responses. WRKYs act as regulators of Al-activated malate transporter (ALMT) proteins (anion channels) by directly binding to their promoters and altering malate efflux, thereby regulating Al ion toxicity in plant roots. JA enhances Al-induced root growth inhibition in Arabidopsis.

SlSNAT Interacts with HSP40, a Molecular Chaperone, to Regulate Melatonin Biosynthesis and Promote Thermotolerance in Tomato.

The SNAT enzyme participates in the biosynthesis of melatonin, which is reported to regulate thermotolerance in many plants. However, the mechanistic basis of this regulation remains unclear. In this study, we identified the SlSNAT gene, which is responsible for melatonin biosynthesis in tomato.

Factors Associated With Hospitalization Costs of Coronary Heart Disease in Township Hospitals in Rural China.

In large proportions of rural areas in many developing countries, health care delivery system is less developed and is less likely to be equipped to conduct sophisticated treatment for coronary heart disease (CHD) patients locally. This study aims at describing the status quo of and exploring factors associated with hospitalization costs of CHD in township hospitals where only drug therapy was available for CHD conditions. We collected data of inpatients with CHD from discharge records from 10 township hospitals in rural Liaoning from December 2013 to December 2014.

An Online Interactive Paradigm for P300 Brain-Computer Interface Speller.

For each brain-computer interface system, efficiency is a key issue that considers both accuracy and speed. The P300 spellers built upon oddball paradigm are usually less efficient due to the repetitive stimulation of multiple characters for reliable detection. In this paper, based on the online EEG signal, we propose an interactive paradigm for P300 speller to improve its efficiency, primarily focusing within the single characterP300 paradigm.

Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) for functional analysis of MYB80 gene involved in Solanum lycopersicum cold tolerance.

Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is a method for transiently silencing genes in dicot and monocot plants. To evaluate the effects of chilling injury on activity of the MYB80 gene in Solanum lycopersicum, an investigation was conducted by VIGS using TRV-GFP (a modified TRV vector) to silence the target gene. During the chilling treatment (4/12 °C, 8/16-h dark/light photoperiod, with 60% humidity), the leaves were collected to analyze the malondialdehyde (MDA) content, soluble sugar content, free proline levels, and relative electric conductivity (REC).

An EOG-Based Human-Machine Interface to Control a Smart Home Environment for Patients With Severe Spinal Cord Injuries.

Objective: This paper presents an asyn-chronous electrooculography (EOG)-based human-machine interface (HMI) for smart home environmental control with the purpose of providing daily assistance for severe spinal cord injury (SCI) patients.

Methods: The proposed HMI allows users to interact with a smart home environment through eye blinking. Specifically, several buttons, each corresponding to a control command, randomly flash on a graphical user interface.

Quantum Efficiency Enhancement of a GaN-Based Green Light-Emitting Diode by a Graded Indium Composition p-Type InGaN Layer.

We propose a graded indium composition p-type InGaN (p-InGaN) conduction layer to replace the p-type AlGaN electron blocking layer and a p-GaN layer in order to enhance the light output power of a GaN-based green light-emitting diode (LED). The indium composition of the p-InGaN layer decreased from 10.4% to 0% along the growth direction.

Sesquiterpene Quinones/Hydroquinones from the Marine Sponge Spongia pertusa Esper.

Nine new sesquiterpene quinones/hydroquinones (1-7, 10, and 12), three solvent-generated artifacts (8, 9, and 11), and three known compounds, 5-epi-smenospongine (13), smenospongine (14), and smenospongiadine (15), were isolated from the marine sponge Spongia pertusa Esper. The planar structures of the new compounds were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analyses. Their absolute configurations were determined by comparison between the calculated and experimental ECD spectra.

An Optimal Dietary Zinc Level of Brown-Egg Laying Hens Fed a Corn-Soybean Meal Diet.

An experiment was conducted to estimate the optimal dietary zinc (Zn) level of brown-egg laying hens fed a corn-soybean meal diet from 20 to 40 weeks of age. A total of 120 20-week-old Beijing Red commercial laying hens were randomly allotted by bodyweight to one of five treatments with six replicates of four birds each in a completely randomized design, and fed a Zn-unsupplemented corn-soybean meal basal diet containing 27.95 mg Zn/kg by analysis and the basal diets supplemented with 30, 60, 90, or 120 mg Zn/kg as Zn sulfate (reagent grade ZnSO·7HO) for a duration of 20 weeks.

Extracranial injections of botulinum neurotoxin type A inhibit intracranial meningeal nociceptors' responses to stimulation of TRPV1 and TRPA1 channels: Are we getting closer to solving this puzzle?

Background: Administration of onabotulinumtoxinA (BoNT-A) to peripheral tissues outside the calvaria reduces the number of days chronic migraine patients experience headache. Because the headache phase of a migraine attack, especially those preceded by aura, is thought to involve activation of meningeal nociceptors by endogenous stimuli such as changes in intracranial pressure (i.e.

Protective Effect of Fucoxanthin Isolated from Laminaria japonica against Visible Light-Induced Retinal Damage Both in Vitro and in Vivo.

With increasingly serious eye exposure to light stresses, such as light-emitting diodes, computers, and widescreen mobile phones, efficient natural compounds for preventing visible light-induced retinal damages are becoming compelling needs in the modern society. Fucoxanthin, as the main light absorption system in marine algae, may possess an outstanding bioactivity in vision protection because of its filtration of blue light and excellent antioxidative activity. In this work, both in vitro and in vivo simulated visible light-induced retinal damage models were employed.