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Mengwei JiangDepartment of Anesthesiology, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310014, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Mengwei Jiang, Department of Anesthesiology, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310014, People’s Republic of China, Tel +8618767188937, Email [email protected]View the original paper by Miss Xue and colleagues

Most fresh bananas belong to the Cavendish and Gros Michel subgroups. Here, we report chromosome-scale genome assemblies of Cavendish (1.48 Gb) and Gros Michel (1.33 Gb), defining three subgenomes, Ban, Dh and Ze, with Musa acuminata ssp. banksii, malaccensis and zebrina as their major ancestral contributors, respectively. The insertion of repeat sequences in the Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) tropical race 4 RGA2 (resistance gene analog 2) promoter was identified in most diploid and triploid bananas. We found that the receptor-like protein (RLP) locus, including Foc race 1-resistant genes, is absent in the Gros Michel Ze subgenome. We identified two NAP (NAC-like, activated by apetala3/pistillata) transcription factor homologs specifically and highly expressed in fruit that directly bind to the promoters of many fruit ripening genes and may be key regulators of fruit ripening. Our genome data should facilitate the breeding and super-domestication of bananas.

To evaluate the effects of axial length and slot-to-slot distance of double-slot microwave antenna (DSMA) with frequency of 433 MHz on the size and shape of ablation zones created under different input microwave powers. The design of double slot microwave antennas (DSMAs) with axial lengths (70 mm, 30 mm) and slot-to-slot distance (49 mm, 10 mm) were optimized by numerical simulation and ex vivo liver experiments. Finite-element method simulations and forty ablations of swine liver were employed to obtain the temperature distributions within liver tissue using DSMAs at the 433 MHz operating frequency in a range of heating powers (20, 30, 40 and 50W) for 600 s. The dependence of the effectiveness of MWA on the axial length and slot-to-slot distance of antenna as well as the input power was further evaluated by analyzing morphologic characteristics of ablated zone. Two-zone ablation was achieved by two types of double-slot antennas in our study with frequency of 433 MHz, and the observed shapes of ex vivo experimental ablation zones were in good agreement with patterns predicted by simulation models. The ablation zone exhibited a 'gourd' shape after the treatment using the antenna with longer axial length and slot-to-slot distance, while the short antenna caused a guitar-shape ablation in liver tissue after MWA. The dedicated design of our DSMAs with a frequency of 433 MHz could enable new ablation shapes with controllable dimensions, which can be applied to the clinical treatment of MWA for gourd-shaped liver tumors and other long-shaped tumors. Furthermore, research can be conducted on how to design the antenna as flexible and use it for the treatment of pulmonary nodules or varicose veins.

The rapid spread and emergence of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and other pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria spurred scientists and clinicians to look for alternative therapeutic agents to conventional antibiotics. In the present study, an A. baumannii bacteriophage p54 was isolated and characterized. Morphological and genome analysis revealed that bacteriophage p54 belongs to Myoviridae family with a genome size of 165,813 bps. A novel endolysin, namely LysAB54, showing low similarity with other well-known related endolysins, was cloned, expressed, and characterized from the bacteriophage p54. LysAB54 showed significant bactericidal activity against multidrug-resistant A. baumannii and other Gram-negative bacteria, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Klebsiella pneumoniae , and Escherichia coli , in the absence of outer membrane permeabilizers. Based on all those observations, LysAB54 could represent a potential agent for the treatment of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative superbugs.

Anxiety disorder, a prevalent mental health issue, is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. Damage to the blood–brain barrier (BBB) is implicated in anxiety, but its regulatory mechanisms remain unclear. Herein, we show that adrenomedullin 2 (ADM2), a novel angiogenic growth factor, alleviates autistic and anxiety-like behaviors in mice. Based on transcriptome analysis and biochemical analyses, we found that ADM2 facilitates the expression of insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF-II), which then triggers the activation of the AKT-GSK3β-mTOR signaling pathway via the IGF-II receptor (IGF-IIR), rather than the IGF-I receptor (IGF-IR). Furthermore, as evidenced by increased Evans blue staining and decreased VE-cadherin levels, the BBB exhibited dysfunction in ADM2 knockout mice with anxiety-like behaviors. In in vitro studies, ADM2 administration promoted the expression of VE-cadherin and decreased IGF-II leakage through the endothelial barrier in a BBB model. Taken together, ADM2 may alleviate anxiety-like behavior and social deficits by enhancing BBB integrity and increasing IGF-II levels in the brain. These findings highlight the potential of ADM2 as a therapeutic target for anxiety and related mental disorders.

Alcohol‐associated liver disease (ALD) is a major cause of mortality. Gut barrier dysfunction–induced bacterial translocation and endotoxin release contribute to the pathogenesis of ALD. Probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) is known to be beneficial on experimental ALD by reinforcing the intestinal barrier function. In this study, we aim to investigate whether the protective effects of LGG on intestinal barrier function is mediated by exosome‐like nanoparticles (ELNPs) released by LGG. Intestinal epithelial cells and macrophages were treated with LGG‐derived ELNPs (LDNPs) isolated from LGG culture. LDNPs increased tight junction protein expression in epithelial cells and protected from the lipopolysaccharide‐induced inflammatory response in macrophages. Three‐day oral application of LDNPs protected the intestine from alcohol‐induced barrier dysfunction and the liver from steatosis and injury in an animal model of ALD. Co‐administration of an aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) inhibitor abolished the protective effects of LDNPs, indicating that the effects are mediated, at least in part, by intestinal AhR signaling. We further demonstrated that LDNP administration increased intestinal interleukin‐22‐Reg3 and nuclear factor erythroid 2‐related factor 2 (Nrf2)–tight junction signaling pathways, leading to the inhibition of bacterial translocation and endotoxin release in ALD mice. This protective effect was associated with LDNP enrichment of bacterial tryptophan metabolites that are AhR agonists. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the beneficial effects of LGG and their supernatant in ALD are likely mediated by bacterial AhR ligand–enriched LDNPs that increase Reg3 and Nrf2 expression, leading to the improved barrier function. These findings provide a strategy for the treatment of ALD and other gut barrier dysfunction–associated diseases.

Background Phenotyping of plant traits presents a significant bottleneck in Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) mapping and genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Computerized phenotyping using digital images promises rapid, robust, and reproducible measurements of dimension, shape, and color traits of plant organs, including grain, leaf, and floral traits. Results We introduce GRABSEEDS, which is specifically tailored to extract a comprehensive set of features from plant images based on state-of-the-art computer vision and deep learning methods. This command-line enabled tool, which is adept at managing varying light conditions, background disturbances, and overlapping objects, uses digital images to measure plant organ characteristics accurately and efficiently. GRABSEED has advanced features including label recognition and color correction in a batch setting. Conclusion GRABSEEDS streamlines the plant phenotyping process and is effective in a variety of seed, floral and leaf trait studies for association with agronomic traits and stress conditions. Source code and documentations for GRABSEEDS are available at: https://github.com/tanghaibao/jcvi/wiki/GRABSEEDS .

In this work, the potential of a hyperspectral imaging (HSI) system for the detection of black spot disease on winter jujubes infected by Alternaria alternata during postharvest storage was investigated. The HSI images were acquired using two systems in the visible and near-infrared (Vis-NIR, 400–1000 nm) and short-wave infrared (SWIR, 1000–2000 nm) spectral regions. Meanwhile, the change of physical (peel color, weight loss) and chemical parameters (soluble solids content, chlorophyll) and the microstructure of winter jujubes during the pathogenic process were measured. The results showed the spectral reflectance of jujubes in both the Vis-NIR and SWIR wavelength ranges presented an overall downtrend during the infection. Partial least squares discriminant models (PLS-DA) based on the HSI spectra in Vis-NIR and SWIR regions of jujubes both gave satisfactory discrimination accuracy for the disease detection, with classification rates of over 92.31% and 91.03%, respectively. Principal component analysis (PCA) was carried out on the HSI images of jujubes to visualize their infected areas during the pathogenic process. The first principal component of the HSI spectra in the Vis-NIR region could highlight the diseased areas of the infected jujubes. Consequently, Vis-NIR HSI and NIR HSI techniques had the potential to detect the black spot disease on winter jujubes during the postharvest storage, and the Vis-NIR HSI spectral information could visualize the diseased areas of jujubes during the pathogenic process.

This study investigates exercise-related knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) status and its determinants among type T2DM, with the goal of offering practical references to optimize the implementation of exercise-based interventions for this patient group. A questionnaire survey was conducted using cluster sampling among 383 hospitalized patients with type 2 diabetes in the endocrinology departments of seven tertiary hospitals across Guangdong, Guangxi and Hubei provinces, China. The study analyzed the current status and influencing factors of patients' knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding physical activity. Among the T2DM participants, the overall exercise KAP score reached 122.89 ± 24.33, corresponding to a score rate of 66.43%. Specifically, the exercise knowledge subscale obtained 49.10 ± 13.82 points (score rate: 54.56%), the exercise attitude subscale yielded 26.44 ± 7.66 points (score rate: 66.1%), and the exercise practice subscale achieved 47.34 ± 12.55 points (score rate: 67.63%). Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that long-term residence, educational attainment, monthly income, complications, regular exercise habits, diabetes exercise health education, and family support are related factors of exercise Knowledge-Attitude-Practice levels in T2DM patients ( = 0.284, <0.05). Exercise KAP levels among T2DM patients are generally suboptimal, necessitating timely targeted interventions. The key populations for exercise-focused health education include those with lower educational background, limited income, rural household registration, and no diabetes-associated complications. Tailoring exercise health education to the assessment findings, boosting family-based supportive measures, and encouraging peer communication among patients can effectively elevate their exercise-related KAP levels.