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The plant virus, Impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV), is an economically important pathogen of vegetables, fruits, and ornamental crops. INSV is vectored by the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis , a small insect pest that is globally distributed. In recent years, INSV outbreaks have reached epidemic levels in the Salinas Valley of California—an agriculturally rich region where most of the lettuce ( Lactuca sativa ) is produced in the United States. Due to the obligate nature in which virus transmission occurs, new tools that could rapidly detect INSV from thrips vectors would enhance our ability to predict where virus outbreaks may occur. Here, we report on the development of a reverse transcription-recombinase polymerase amplification (RT-RPA) assay that can detect INSV from individual thrips. The assay uses crude extraction methods, is performed at a single temperature of 42 °C, can be completed in 25 min, and provides sensitivity levels that are comparable to other available detection methods. When the assay was used on field populations of thrips, INSV was successfully identified and quantified from individual larvae and adults. The work provides a new cost-effective surveillance tool that can rapidly detect INSV from its insect vector and from plants.

L. (S.L.), a traditional Chinese medicine from the Rosaceae family, is recognized for its rich content of triterpenoids, which are known for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumor properties. Although its traditional uses and biological activities are well known, its role in preventing colon cancer and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study aims to elucidate the preventive mechanisms of triterpenoids in both raw (TR) and processed (TP) forms of S.L. against colon cancer. The AOM/DSS-induced mouse model of colon cancer was employed to elucidate the mechanism underlying the preventive effects of L. triterpenoids (ST) against colon cancer. A comprehensive suite of techniques, including hematoxylin-eosin staining (H&E), immunohistochemistry (IHC), TUNEL staining, Western blotting (WB), and DNA methylation analysis, was utilized to investigate the preventive effects of ST on colon cancer. The main active compounds were identified using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS, and potential active compounds were screened through network pharmacology and molecular docking. The stability of the protein-ligand complexes was further assessed using molecular dynamics simulations. experiments, treatment with ST significantly improved the clinical manifestations, Disease Activity Index (DAI) scores, and pathological lesions associated with colon cancer, with all drug administration groups outperforming the model group. Additionally, ST markedly enhanced gut barrier function by downregulating the levels of TNF- , p65, COX-2, and iNOS. Furthermore, ST dramatically ameliorated the colonic immune-inflammatory state, which was associated with decreased expression of proliferative proteins and increased expression of apoptotic proteins. Among the identified triterpenoids, compound 27 May be the main active compound. Notably, compound 27 can form a stable complex with TNF- . These results suggest that TP has a more pronounced colon cancer prevention effect than TR. TP play a role in preventing colon cancer by down-regulating TNF- and thereby inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway. This research not only fills the mechanism gap of S.L. in the field of colon cancer prevention, but also provides methodological support and theoretical foundation for its transition from traditional Chinese medicine to clinical practice through the integration of multi-disciplinary technologies and the verification of precise targets.

The lack of ductility is the main concern in the use of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) reinforcement as prestressing tendon in concrete members. To address this concern, a partially bonded concept has been proposed. In this approach, CFRP tendons are intentionally debondedfrom the concrete in the middle region of the prestressed concrete beam, -while remaining bonded at each end. In this study, eight post-tensioned beams, including five beams -with CFRP tendons and three beams with steel tendons, are tested under cyclic loading. Three bond conditions, including fully bonded, partially bonded, and fully unbonded, are considered. The results indicate that increasing the unbonded length of the tendon changed the failure mode from CFRP rupture to concrete crushing. There is a trend that the flexural capacity decreased with the increase of the unbonded length. The displacement ductility ([micro]) of partially bonded CFRP prestressed beams ranged from 5.38 to 5.70, which is significantly higher than that of the fully bonded beam ([micro] = 2.83) and slightly lower than that of the fully unbonded beam ([micro] = 6.10). Finally, by introducing a relative bond length coefficient into the ultimate tensile stress equation for internally unbonded tendons, a modified design approach for estimating flexural capacities of the partially bonded beams is proposed. The experimental flexural capacities are in close agreement with the values predicted using the modified design approach. Keywords: carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP); cyclic behavior; ductility; partially bonded; prestressed concrete beam.

Forty-eight pullout tests were conducted to examine the bond properties of high-strength carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) strands in different bonding agents, including normal concrete, high-performance concrete, epoxy resin, and grout. The bond properties were examined through measurements of slippages and corresponding bond stresses for CFRP strands as well as steel strands for comparison purposes. Studies show that bond stresses reach a maximum when the slippages of high-strength CFRP strands range from 0.012 to 0.016 in. (0.3 to 0.4 mm), and for steel strands, the slippages are approximately 0.787 in. (20 mm). Bar diameters 0.492 to 0.598 in. (12.5 to 15.2 mm) of CFRP strands have a moderate influence on allowable bond strength. The higher concrete compressive strength develops higher bond strength. The allowable bond strength (determined at 0.03937 in. [1.0 mm] slippage) of CFRP strands is 1.3 to 1.4 times that of steel strands, whereas the maximum bond stresses of steel strands are 30 to 50% higher than that of CFRP strands. Although the maximum bond stresses in steel strands are higher than those in CFRP strands, they occur at large slips, which explains why the allowable bond stresses are lower. In addition, on the basis of experimental tests, bond stress versus slip models for high-strength CFRP strands and steel strands are proposed. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

To reduce reconstruction errors during keyframe extraction and to control the optimal compression ratio, this study proposes a method for keyframe extraction from human motion capture data based on a multiple population genetic algorithm. The fitness function is defined to meet the goals of minimal reconstruction errors and the optimal compression rate, where multiple initial populations are subjected to co-evolution. The multiple population genetic algorithm considers global and local search. Experimental results showed that the algorithm can effectively extract the keyframe from motion capture data and it satisfied the desired reconstruction error.

The development of robust plant regeneration technology in cereals, dicots and ornamentals that is in turn coupled to a high-frequency DNA transfer technology is reported. Transgenic cereals that include maize, Tripsacum, sorghum, Festuca and Lolium, in addition to dicots that include soybean, cotton and various ornamentals such as petunia, begonia, and geranium have been produced following either somatic embryogenesis or direct organogenesis independent of genotype. Coupled with these regeneration protocols, we have also identified several interesting genes and promoters for incorporation into various crops and ornamentals. In addition, the phenomenon of direct in vitro flowering from cotyledonary nodes in soybean is described. In in vitro flowering, the formation of a plant body is suppressed and the cells of the cotyledonary node produce complete flowers from which fertile seed is recovered. This in vitro flowering technology serves as a complementary tool to chloroplast transformation for developing a new transgenic pollen containment strategy for crop species. Recently, the center has undertaken to screen the expression response of the 24 000 Arabidopsis genes to nitric oxide. This signaling molecule upregulated 342 genes and downregulated 80 genes. The object here was to identify a population of promoters that can be manipulated by using a signaling molecule. In addition, in keeping with the mission of enhancing greenhouse profitability for North West Ohio growers, we cloned a number of genes responsive for disease resistance from ornamentals that play an important role in disease management and abiotic stress. We have constructed a plant transformation vector with CBF3 gene under the rd29A promoter for engineering cold and freezing tolerance in petunia. Leaf discs of Petunia×hybrida v26 were used for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, and 44 hygromycin-resistant T0 plants were obtained. The presence of CBF3 gene was confirmed in all the transgenic plants by PCR and Southern analyses.

In this paper, we propose the motion sequence segmentation based on LLE (Locally Linear Embedding) algorithm. The method is to reduce the dimension of the high dimension motion sequence to obtain one-dimension feature curve. Then we use the feature curve to achieve motion sequence segmentation. Simulation results demonstrate that this method can achieve motion sequences segmentation and improve the accuracy rate greatly compared with the traditional algorithm.

Background Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is the most aggressive subtype of lung cancer. Although most patients are initially sensitive to first-line combination chemotherapy with cisplatin and etoposide, chemotherapy drug resistance easily develops and quickly leads to tumour progression. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms of chemotherapy drug resistance and how to reverse it is key to improving the prognosis of patients with SCLC. Moreover, N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most abundant mRNA modification and is catalysed by the methyltransferase complex, in which methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) is the sole catalytic subunit. Methods The effects of METTL3 on chemoresistance in SCLC cells were determined using qRT–PCR, Western blotting, immunohistochemistry, cell counting kit (CCK-8) assays, flow cytometry, and tumorigenicity experiments. Methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (MeRIP-seq), MeRIP qPCR, immunofluorescence, and drug inhibitor experiments were performed to confirm the molecular mechanism of Decapping Protein 2 (DCP2), which is involved in the chemoresistance of SCLC. Results In the present study, we found that METTL3 is a marker for poor SCLC prognosis, and it is highly expressed in chemoresistant SCLC cells. METTL3 promotes SCLC chemoresistance by positively regulating mitophagy. METTL3 induces m6A methylation of DCP2 and causes the degradation of DCP2, which promotes mitochondrial autophagy through the Pink1-Parkin pathway, leading to chemotherapy resistance. We also found that STM2457, a novel METTL3 inhibitor, can reverse SCLC chemoresistance. Conclusions The m6A methyltransferase METTL3 regulates Pink1-Parkin pathway-mediated mitophagy and mitochondrial damage in SCLC cells by targeting DCP2, thereby promoting chemotherapy resistance in patients with SCLC.

The oral cavity and the gut tract are interconnected, and both contain abundant natural microbiota. Gut microbiota may interact with oral flora and participate in the development of periodontitis. However, the specific role of certain gut microbiota taxa for periodontitis has not been investigated. Mendelian Randomization is an ideal method to explore causal relationships avoiding reverse causality and potential confounding factors. Thus, we conducted a two-sample Mendelian Randomization study to comprehensively reveal the potential genetic causal effect of gut microbiota on periodontitis. SNPs strongly associated with 196 gut microbiota taxa (18,340 individuals) were selected as instrument variables, and periodontitis (17,353 periodontitis cases and 28,210 controls) was used as the outcome. The causal effect was analyzed via random effect inverse variance-weighted, weighted median, and MR-Egger. The sensitivity analyses were conducted using Cochran's Q tests, funnel plots, leave-one-out analyses, and MR-Egger intercept tests. Nine gut microbiota taxa ( 7, UCG-008, , , , , S24.7 group, , and ) are predicted to play a causal role in enhancing the risk of periodontitis ( < 0.05). Besides, two gut microbiota taxa ( and 6) have potentially inhibitive causal effects on the risk of periodontitis ( < 0.05). No significant estimation of heterogeneity or pleiotropy is detected. Our study demonstrates the genetic causal effect of 196 gut microbiota taxa on periodontitis and provides guidance for the clinical intervention of periodontitis.

We evaluated a combination of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and solifenacin succinate versus solifenacin alone in the treatment of overactive bladder (OAB). Ninety-seven female outpatients with OAB were screened for this double-blind randomized controlled study. Eighty-six patients who met our inclusion criteria were divided randomly into two groups. In group A (43 patients), patients received oral solifenacin and \"fake\" TENS on the foot; in group B (43 patients), patients received oral solifenacin and effective TENS on the foot. Improvements in OAB symptoms were assessed by Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS), Overactive Bladder Questionnaire (OAB-q), voiding diaries and urodynamic tests. 70 of 86 patients (36 in group A, 34 in group B) completed the 2 months of treatment and 3 months of follow-up. Statistically, the maximum bladder volume and OAB symptoms of both groups improved significantly after treatment. The improvement in group B was significantly better than that in group A, as indicated by the maximum bladder volume, OAB-q score and voiding diary. Some mild adverse effects were observed, including dry mouth, stomach upset, constipation, muscle pain and local paresthesia. The combination of TENS and solifenacin was more effective in improving OAB symptoms than solifenacin alone.