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Salicylic acid (SA) is synthesized via the phenylalanine lyase (PAL) and isochorismate synthase (ICS) pathways and can influence the stress response in plants by regulating certain secondary metabolites. However, the association between SA and particular secondary metabolites in the Chinese medicinal plant Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi is unclear. To elucidate the association between SA and the secondary metabolites baicalin and baicalein, which constitute the primary effective components of S. baicalensis, we subjected seedlings to drought and salt stress and exogenous SA treatment in a laboratory setting and tested the expression of PAL and ICS, as well as the content of free SA (FSA), total SA (TSA), baicalin, and baicalein. We also assessed the correlation of FSA and TSA with PAL and ICS, and with baicalin and baicalein accumulation, respectively. The results indicated that both FSA and TSA were positively correlated with PAL, ICS, and baicalin, but negatively correlated with baicalein. The findings of this study improve our understanding of the manner in which SA regulates secondary metabolites in S. baicalensis.

In this paper, a fractional-order HBV model was set up based on standard mass action incidences and quasisteady assumption. The basic reproductive number R0 and the cytotoxic T lymphocytes’ immune-response reproductive number R1 were derived. There were three equilibrium points of the model, and stable analysis of each equilibrium point was given with corresponding hypothesis about R0 or R1. Some numerical simulations were also given based on HBeAg clinical data, and the simulation showed that there existed positive logarithmic correlation between the number of infected cells and HBeAg, which was consistent with the clinical facts. The simulation also showed that the clinical individual differences should be reflected by the fractional-order model.

Traditional dressings used for wound repair, such as gauze, have shortcomings; for example, they cannot provide a suitable microenvironment for wound recovery. Therefore, it is necessary to find a better dressing to overcome shortcomings. Hydrogel provides a suitable wet environment, has good biocompatibility, and has a strong swelling rate to absorb exudate. Nanomaterial in hydrogels has been used to improve their performance and overcome the shortcomings of current hydrogel dressings. Hydrogel dressing can also be loaded with nanodrug particles to exert a better therapeutic effect than conventional drugs and to make the dressing more practical. This article reviews the application of nanotechnology in hydrogels related to wound healing and discusses the application prospects of nanohydrogels. After searching for hydrogel articles related to wound healing, we found that nanomaterial can not only enhance the mechanical strength, antibacterial properties, and adhesion of hydrogels but also achieve sustained drug release. From the perspective of clinical application, these characteristics are significant for wound healing. The combination of nanomaterial and hydrogel is an ideal dressing with broad application prospects for wound healing in the future.

Key message NtTAS14-like1 enhances osmotic tolerance through coordinately activating the expression of osmotic- and ABA-related genes. Osmotic stress is one of the most important limiting factors for tobacco ( Nicotiana tabacum ) growth and development. Dehydrin proteins are widely involved in plant adaptation to osmotic stress, but few of these proteins have been functionally characterized in tobacco. Here, to identify genes required for osmotic stress response in tobacco, an encoding dehydrin protein gene NtTAS14-like1 was isolated based on RNA sequence data. The expression of NtTAS14-like1 was obviously induced by mannitol and abscisic acid (ABA) treatments. Knock down of NtTAS14-like1 expression reduced osmotic tolerance, while overexpression of NtTAS14-like1 conferred tolerance to osmotic stress in transgenic tobacco plants, as determined by physiological analysis of the relative electrolyte leakage and malonaldehyde accumulation. Further expression analysis by quantitative real-time PCR indicated that NtTAS14-like1 participates in osmotic stress response possibly through coordinately activating osmotic- and ABA-related genes expression, such as late embryogenesis abundant ( NtLEA5 ), early responsive to dehydration 10C ( NtERD10C ) , calcium-dependent protein kinase 2 ( NtCDPK2 ), ABA-responsive element-binding protein ( NtAREB ), ABA-responsive element-binding factor 1 ( NtABF1 ), dehydration-responsive element-binding genes ( NtDREB2A ), xanthoxin dehydrogenase/reductase ( NtABA2 ) , ABA-aldehyde oxidase 3 ( NtAAO3 ) , 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase ( NtNCED3 ). Together, this study will facilitate to improve our understandings of molecular and functional properties of plant TAS14 proteins and to improve genetic evidence on the involvement of the NtTAS14-like1 in osmotic stress response of tobacco.

Background Blueberries are rich in anthocyanins, which have antioxidant properties. Anthocyanin content is an important indicator for evaluating blueberry quality. The mechanism of anthocyanin synthesis requires further clarification for blueberry breeding and cultivation regulation. Results This study mined the blueberry ERF gene family based on single-molecule real-time (SMRT) and Illumina transcriptome sequencing results, and further explored the gene function of VcERF061 . In this study, a transient injection experiment was conducted on blueberry leaves and fruits. Compared to the control, the injection sites of leaves and fruits overexpressing VcERF061 showed significant anthocyanin accumulation. Similarly, in the blueberry transgenic adventitious shoot experiment, the anthocyanin content in the blueberry shoots and lateral buds of adventitious buds overexpressing the VcERF061 gene was significantly higher than that of transgenic adventitious shoots transformed with the empty vector, and a significant increase in the expression of VcMYB1 , VcF3'5'H , VcDFR , VcANS , and VcUFGT . We then speculated whether VcERF061 interacts with structural genes to activate the expression of the structural gene VcANS promoter and promote anthocyanin synthesis. Unfortunately, after conducting a Y1H assay, we found that VcERF061 did not bind to the VcANS promoter, and there was no interaction between the two. Exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) and ethephon (ETH) treatment of blueberry fruit upregulated VcERF061 expression. Our previous study verified that VcMYB1 promotes the accumulation of blueberry anthocyanins, therefore, this study also analyzed VcMYB1 expression in ABA- and ETH-treated blueberry fruit, and found that the expression of VcMYB1 was also up-regulated in ABA- and ETH-treated blueberry fruits. The expression of VcMYB1 and VcERF061 were both up-regulated in ABA- and ETH-treated blueberry fruits, and both reached the maximum proportion after 12 h of treatment. The yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) experiment showed that VcMYB1 and VcERF061 did not interact with each other at the protein–protein level, but yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) experiment and tobacco leaf transient injection experiment demonstrated that VcMYB1 transcription factor can bind to the promoter sequence of VcERF061 and promote the expression of the VcERF061 gene. Conclusion In this study, we found that VcERF061 promoted blueberry anthocyanin accumulation, but did not directly bind to the promoters of structural genes such as VcANS . Both VcMYB1 and VcERF061 genes responded to exogenous ABA and ETH signals and exhibited similar expression patterns. There was an interaction between VcMYB1 and VcERF061 . The findings of this study enrich the regulatory network of anthocyanin synthesis in plants and provide theoretical support for blueberry quality improvement.

Chronic urticaria (CU) arises from a multifaceted interplay of immunological, neurological, and psychological components. Immune dysregulation, mediated through both immunoglobulin E (IgE)-dependent and IgE-independent pathways, plays a pivotal role in CU pathogenesis, involving key effector cells such as mast cells (MCs), basophils, and eosinophils. This dysregulation culminates in the release of histamine, prostaglandins, and other mediators, which precipitate pruritus. The chronicity of the disease leads to sustained pruritic symptoms, contributing to both central and peripheral sensitization. The excitation of the itch circuit is augmented, leading to the release of neurotransmitters and neuropeptides, which subsequently interact with immune cells. Psychological factors such as depression, anxiety, and stress exacerbate CU symptoms and diminish quality of life. These factors disrupt the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Furthermore, the act of scratching activates the reward circuit, resulting in the manifestation of the itch-scratching cycle. Current treatments, such as antihistamines, omalizumab, and cyclosporine, demonstrate variable efficacy and are often associated with adverse effects. A holistic approach addressing both psychological and physiological aspects is advocated. This review highlights the critical importance of understanding neuroimmune interactions and the influence of psychosomatic factors in CU. It aims to enhance diagnostic and therapeutic strategies by integrating psychological, neurological, and immunological perspectives.

Aflatoxin biosynthesis has established a connection with oxidative stress, suggesting a prevention strategy for aflatoxin contamination via reactive oxygen species (ROS) removal. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is one of the most active and the richest molecules in green tea with well-known antioxidant effects. Here, we found EGCG could inhibit aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) biosynthesis without affecting mycelial growth in Aspergillus flavus, and the arrest occurred before the synthesis of toxin intermediate metabolites. Further RNA-seq analysis indicated that multiple genes involved in AFB1 biosynthesis were down-regulated. In addition, EGCG exposure facilitated the significantly decreased expression of AtfA which is a bZIP (basic leucine zipper) transcription factor mediating oxidative stress. Notably, KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) analysis indicated that the MAPK signaling pathway target transcription factor was down-regulated by 1 mg/mL EGCG. Further Western blot analysis showed 1 mg/mL EGCG could decrease the levels of phosphorylated SakA in both the cytoplasm and nucleus. Taken together, these data evidently supported that EGCG inhibited AFB1 biosynthesis and alleviated oxidative stress via MAPK signaling pathway. Finally, we evaluated AFB1 contamination in soy sauce fermentation and found that EGCG could completely control AFB1 contamination at 8 mg/mL. Conclusively, our results supported the potential use of EGCG as a natural agent to prevent AFB1 contamination in fermentation industry.

Developing the sensitive point‐of‐care testing (POCT) of oncogenic nucleic acids from human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is essential in preventing cervical cancer, especially in resource‐limited settings. Rolling circle amplification (RCA) is attractive in achieving POCT via nucleic acid‐based aggregation under isothermal conditions. However, the influence of RCA product structure on the aggregation remains unexplored resulting in limited sensitivity. Here, a minimum secondary structured RCA technique (MSS‐RCA) is developed by designing a unique circular template, demonstrating significantly enhanced detection sensitivity with only one amplification step and one primer under isothermal conditions. The amplification efficiency of MSS‐RCA could be kinetically manipulated by controlling the secondary structure of the circular template. Introducing the invertase probe to MSS‐RCA, HPV16 E6/E7 nucleic acid target was detected with a personal glucose meter (PGM) with a sensitivity of 5 fm (50 zmol in 10 µL). This integrated MSS‐RCA‐PGM detection system was successfully applied to detect HPV16 E6/E7 mRNA extracted from 54 cervical swab samples reaching a positive predictive value of 100.00% and negative predictive values of 96.00% (77.77% to 99.40%, 95% CI). MSS‐RCA‐PGM provides a sensitive POCT platform for the detection of nucleic acid biomarkers for screening of cervical cancer or other diseases. A minimum secondary structured RCA technique (MSS‐RCA) is introduced by designing a unique circular template with significantly enhanced amplification efficiency and sensitivity. By incorporating an invertase probe, MSS‐RCA detected HPV16 E6/E7 nucleic acid with high sensitivity and accuracy using a personal glucose meter, offering a valuable tool for cervical cancer screening in point‐of‐care.

The accurate estimation of near-ground ozone (O3) concentration is of great significance to human health and the ecological environment. In order to improve the accuracy of estimating ground-level O3 concentration, this study adopted a deep forest algorithm to construct a model for estimating near-ground O3 concentration. It is pointed out whether input data on particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations also affect the estimation accuracy. The model first uses the multi-granularity scanning technique to learn the features of the training set, and then it adopts the cascade forest structure to train the processed data, and at the same time, it adaptively adjusts the number of layers in order to achieve a better performance. Daily near-ground O3 concentrations in Shijiazhuang were estimated using satellite O3 column concentrations, ground-based PM2.5 and NO2 concentration data, meteorological element data, and elevation data. The deep forest model was compared with six models, namely, random forest, CatBoost, XGBoost, LightGBM, Decision Tree, and GBDT. The R-squared (R2), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of the proposed deep forest model were 0.9560, 13.2542, and 9.0250, respectively, which had significant advantages over other tree-based regression models. Meanwhile, the model performance was improved by adding NO2 and PM2.5 features to the model estimations, indicating the necessity of synergistic observations of NO2, PM2.5, and O3. Finally, the seasonal distribution of O3 concentrations in the Shijiazhuang area was plotted, with the highest O3 concentrations in the summer, the lowest in the winter, and the O3 concentration is in the middle of spring and autumn.

Background The limited response rates of immune checkpoint inhibitors in biliary tract cancers (BTC) highlight the need for effective biomarkers to optimize patient selection. Methods Baseline tumor tissues from 125 patients with advanced BTC treated with first-line chemoimmunotherapy (chemoIO) were analyzed using targeted DNA sequencing and bulk RNA sequencing. In vitro and in vivo experiments were conducted to investigate the role of identified biomarkers in BTC. Results Mutations in TP53 , BRCA2 , cytokine genes, and high tumor mutation burden were significantly associated with treatment response. In contrast, KRAS G12D and ARID1A mutations were linked to poorer survival outcomes. High expression levels of CXCL9 and CTLA4 expression were associated with improved treatment response, prolonged progression-free survival, and overall survival. Using these biomarkers, patients were categorized into three molecular subtypes, with Type I patients demonstrating the most favorable outcomes under chemoIO. Subsequent RNA analysis revealed that elevated CXCL9 expression was associated with increased immune checkpoint expression within the tumor and heightened immune activity in the tumor microenvironment. In the mouse orthotopic cholangiocarcinoma model, CXCL9 overexpression enhanced chemoIO efficacy. Immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry showed that CXCL9 promoted T-cell infiltration and activation. In vitro experiments using multiple BTC cell lines further demonstrated that CXCL9 was essential for maintaining T cell cytotoxicity. The immune-modulatory effects of CXCL9/CTLA4 and their predictive value for treatment efficacy were further validated in a multicenter BTC cohort. Conclusions This study identified several predictive biomarkers associated with the response and efficacy of chemoIO in advanced BTC, offering valuable insights into patient stratification and refining therapeutic strategies.