R2R3 MYB Transcription Factors Involved in Flower Petal Pigmentation via Regulating Anthocyanin Synthesis in Rhododendron simsii.

Azaleas (Rhododendron simsii) are popular ornamental woody plants known for their bright colors; however, very limited studies have been reported on the process of flower petal pigmentation. In this study, we found significant differences in the anthocyanin contents of petals from different colored azaleas, and the results of quantitative real-time PCR indicated that the R2R3 MYB genes, RsMYB12, RsMYB90, and RsMYB123, showed significant expression changes during the petal coloration in azalea petals; therefore, we hypothesized that RsMYB12, RsMYB90, and RsMYB123 might involve in the coloring process of azalea petals by regulating anthocyanin synthesis. This work provides insights into the underlying mechanisms of petal pigmentation in R.

Multi-perspective kinetic analysis of plastic blends under thermogravimetric pyrolysis conditions.

Plastic blends were co-pyrolyzed under non-isothermal conditions in a thermogravimetric (TG) analyzer. The co-pyrolysis characteristics and kinetic triplet, i.e.

Advanced design strategies and applications for enhanced higher-order multisegment denatured Pascal curve gears.

The existing Pascal curve gears are limited by inflexible pitch curves and constrained transmission ratio changes, which hinders the application in a range of mechanical systems that require more adaptable gear solutions. To address this, a design procedure for higher-order multisegment denatured Pascal curve gear is proposed. A unified mathematical expression for the Pascal curve gear family is derived, enabling the construction of non-circular gears with free-form pitch curves by adjusting key parameters and offering more flexible pitch curve and a wider range of transmission ratios.

Effect of Dual-Site Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation on Upper-Limb Function After Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) has attracted significant attention as it has been proven to be effective in facilitating upper limb motor recovery in patients with stroke. This meta-analysis evaluates the efficacy of dual-site non-invasive brain stimulation (DS-NIBS) in improving upper extremity motor function after stroke.

Methods: A PRISMA systematic search was conducted for randomized controlled trials.

Microbial community acclimation during anaerobic digestion of high-oil food waste.

Anaerobic digestion is one of the most promising options for the disposal of biodegradable food waste. However, the relatively high content of oil in food waste inhibits the conversion efficiency of anaerobic digestion because of the accumulation of long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs). In this study, activated anaerobic sludge was acclimated to accommodate high-oil conditions.

Effects of Psychological Intervention Based on the Self-Transcendence Theory on the Sleep Quality of Chinese Nurses.

Background: COVID-19 infection is transmitted easily and quickly, exposing medical care workers, especially nursing workers, to tremendous stress. Therefore, identifying the factors influencing the sleep quality of nurses and implementing corresponding interventions are conducive to improving the sleep quality of nurses and enhancing their nursing quality.

Methods: Form September to December 2022, a survey-based evaluation was conducted on 1074 front-line clinical nurses randomly selected from three hospitals in Zhejiang Province, China.

Proteomic and Phosphoproteomic analysis of thyroid papillary carcinoma: Identification of potential biomarkers for metastasis.

Thyroid cancer has emerged as the most rapidly proliferating solid neoplasm. In this study, we included a cohort of patients who underwent sonographic assessment and surgical intervention at the Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, associated with the School of Medicine at Zhejiang University, spanning from January 2019 to June 2020. Stratification of cases was based on a combination of preoperative ultrasonographic evaluations and postoperative histopathological diagnoses, resulting in three distinct groups: high-risk papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) labeled as C1, low-risk PTC designated as C2, and a control group (N) composed of benign thyroid tissue adjacent to the carcinoma.

Pioneering advanced security solutions for reinforcement learning-based adaptive key rotation in Zigbee networks.

In the rapidly evolving landscape of Internet of Things (IoT), Zigbee networks have emerged as a critical component for enabling wireless communication in a variety of applications. Despite their widespread adoption, Zigbee networks face significant security challenges, particularly in key management and network resilience against cyber attacks like distributed denial of service (DDoS). Traditional key rotation strategies often fall short in dynamically adapting to the ever-changing network conditions, leading to vulnerabilities in network security and efficiency.

Thermophilic-mesophilic temperature phase anaerobic co-digestion compared with single phase co-digestion of sewage sludge and food waste.

Anaerobic co-digestion is an effective method for addressing the issue of a single substrate not being able to achieve optimal conditions for anaerobic digestion. By adjusting the mixture ratio of sewage sludge and food waste to achieve the optimal carbon to nitrogen ratio, the effectiveness of thermophilic-mesophilic temperature phase anaerobic co-digestion (TPAcD) was evaluated in comparison to single phase mesophilic anaerobic co-digestion (MAcD) and thermophilic anaerobic co-digestion (TAcD). The results indicated that TPAcD increased methane yield by 50.

Clinical characteristics and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of Mycobacterium abscessus and Mycobacterium massiliense pulmonary infection.

Objectives: Mycobacterium abscessus complex (MABC) is the most common rapidly growing Mycobacterium species in structural pulmonary diseases and can be life-threatening. This study aimed to assess the clinical characteristics and drug-susceptibility statuses of different M. abscessus (MAB) subspecies in the Zhejiang Province.

Reevaluating Adiponectin's impact on obesity hypertension: a Chinese case-control study.

Background: Obesity and hypertension are major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases that affect millions of people worldwide. Both conditions are associated with chronic low-grade inflammation, which is mediated by adipokines such as adiponectin. Adiponectin is the most abundant adipokine that has a beneficial impact on metabolic and vascular biology, while high serum concentrations are associated with some syndromes.

Analysis of the effect of comprehensive physical and mental nursing for patients with acute cerebral infarction in intravenous thrombolytic therapy.

Background: To evaluate the efficacy of comprehensive physical and mental nursing for patients with acute cerebral infarction (ACI) undergoing intravenous thrombolytic therapy and its impact on patients' quality of life and psychological state.

Methods: A total of 200 patients with ACI, admitted to our hospital between December 2018 and December 2019, were included in the study. They were randomly assigned to either the control group or the experimental group using a random number table.

Causal effect of interleukin (IL)-6 on blood pressure and hypertension: A mendelian randomization study.

To examine whether circulating interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels (CirIL6) have a causal effect on blood pressure using Mendelian randomization (MR) methods. We used data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of European ancestry to obtain genetic instruments for circulating IL-6 levels and blood pressure measurements. We applied several robust MR methods to estimate the causal effects and to test for heterogeneity and pleiotropy.

Functional connectivity characteristics of the brain network involved in prickle perception of single fiber stimulation.

Background: The complex network connections, information transmission and organization play key roles in brain cognition on sensory stimulation. Previous studies showed that several brain regions of somatosensory, motor, emotional, cognitive, etc. are linked to fabric-evoked prickle.

Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) orchestrates adipose tissue inflammation and metabolic disorders through NLRP3 inflammasome.

Obesity is a metabolic disorder characterized by the hypertrophy expansion of adipose tissue, resulting in dysregulated energy metabolism, and accompanied by chronic low-grade inflammation. Adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs), a principal component of inflammation, respond to microenvironment signals and modulate adipose tissue remodeling and metabolic processes situation-specific. However, the mechanisms governing how the organism maintains equilibrium between its chronic inflammation and metabolism still need to be understood.

Widely targeted metabolomics reveals the effect of different raw materials and drying methods on the quality of instant tea.

Introduction: Instant teas are particularly rich in tea polyphenols and caffeine and have great potential as food ingredients or additives to improve the quality of food and enhance their nutritional and commercial value.

Methods: To determine the relationships between raw material, drying method, and sensory and other quality attributes, instant teas were prepared from three tea varieties, namely black, green and jasmine tea, using two drying methods, namely spray-drying (SD) and freeze-drying (FD).

Results: Both the raw tea material and drying method influenced the quality of the finished instant teas.

Comparison of brain functional response to mechanical prickling stimuli to the glabrous and hairy skin.

Background: A kind of prickle sensation, which is a composite feeling of pain and itch, can be evoked by mechanical stimulation of fiber ends from fabric surface against to human hairy skin, rather than glabrous skin. Now, a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study was conducted to investigate the cognitive differences in the brain for mechanical prickling stimuli to the two types of skin.

Materials And Methods: A nylon filament with the diameter of 205 μm and the length of 8 mm was used to deliver mechanical prickling stimuli respectively to two skin sites, fingertip (glabrous skin) and volar forearm (hairy skin), of eight healthy male subjects.

Three STAT isoforms formed by selective splicing are involved in the regulation of anti-lipopolysaccharide factor expression in Macrobrachium nipponense during WSSV infection.

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV), a double-stranded DNA virus, is harmful in aquaculture. The signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) has been shown to play a role during host infection with the virus, but the exact mechanism by which it acts is unclear. In this study, three STAT isoforms (MnSTAT1, MnSTAT2, and MnSTAT3) were identified in Macrobrachium nipponense.

Colorable role of interleukin (IL)-6 in obesity hypertension: A hint from a Chinese adult case-control study.

Background: Obesity and hypertension are major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases that affect millions of people worldwide. Both conditions are associated with chronic low-grade inflammation, which is mediated by cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6). IL-6 is a multifunctional cytokine that can have pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory effects depending on the context.

Multi-phase attention network for face super-resolution.

Previous general super-resolution methods do not perform well in restoring the details structure information of face images. Prior and attribute-based face super-resolution methods have improved performance with extra trained results. However, they need an additional network and extra training data are challenging to obtain.

Impact of the Interaction Model of Client Health Behavior on the Physical and Psychological Health of Patients with Limb Fracture.

Background: During rehabilitation, patients with limb fracture should receive physical and psychological nursing. The study aimed to explore the intervention effect of the Interaction Model of Client Health Behavior on the physical and psychological health of patients with limb fracture.

Methods: Convenience sampling was used to recruit patients with limb fracture who underwent orthopedic treatment in three hospitals in Zhejiang Province, China from 2021-2022.

Chlorogenic acid improves intestinal morphology by enhancing intestinal stem-cell activity.

Background: Chlorogenic acid (CGA), as one of the most abundant naturally occurring phenolic acids, has been documented to be beneficial for intestinal health. However, the underlying mechanism is still not fully understood. The adult intestinal stem cell is the critical driver of epithelial homeostasis and regeneration.

Ocular biometrics and uncorrected visual acuity for detecting myopia in Chinese school students.

The study is to evaluate the performance of ocular biometric measures and uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) for detecting myopia among Chinese students. Among 5- to 18-year-old Chinese students from two cities of China, trained eye-care professionals performed assessment of ocular biometrics (axial length (AL), corneal curvature radius (CR), anterior chamber depth) under noncycloplegic conditions using NIDEK Optical Biometer AL-Scan, distance visual acuity using retro-illuminated logMAR chart with tumbling-E optotypes, and cycloplegic refractive error using NIDEK autorefractor with administration of 0.5% tropicamide.

Correlation between copper speciation and transport pathway in Caco-2 cells.

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated that, in contrast to the properties of food-derived copper, water-derived copper exerts neurotoxic effects and exhibits different speciation during digestion. The cellular uptake efficiencies of different speciation of copper are distinct. However, it is unclear whether these different speciation share the same transport pathway in intestinal epithelial cells.