Abundant arid natural habitats reduced aphid biocontrol by parasitoids: a case study of Gobi habitats in a desert-oasis farming ecosystem.

Background: In arid and hyper-arid regions, natural habitats with limited water availability are characterized by sparce vegetation, low host density, and harsh climatic conditions. Whether these arid natural habitats can support natural enemies and facilitate biological control in local agroecosystems is largely unknown. In this study, we determined the effects of landscape composition (the coverage of native Gobi habitats, water bodies and the Shannon's landscape diversity index) on the abundance of mummified aphids and the aphid parasitism rate in local conventional cotton fields under the desert-oasis landscape settings in southern Xinjiang, China.

NMOD: A Multi-Dimensional Omics Database for Disease Resistance Research in Nicotiana.

High-throughput sequencing has generated extensive omics data for Nicotiana species, a key model genus in the Solanaceae family. However, fragmented data and limited cross-species integration in current databases hinder the identification of disease-resistant genes and germplasm innovation. To address these challenges, we developed Nicotiana Multi-Dimensional Omics Database (http://biodb.

Seasonal blooms of in a temperate semi-enclosed bay: linking community succession to thermal and nutrient regimes.

is a key picocyanobacterium in coastal ecosystems, yet its seasonal bloom dynamics and environmental responses remain unclear in temperate coastal seas. Here, we integrated flow cytometry and gene analysis to investigate its bloom development and community succession in Laizhou Bay, based on 3 years of 10 seasonal surveys and a year-long monthly observation at a fixed station. blooms reached their peak in summer (up to 10 cells mL), particularly in the southern part of the bay, with high abundances in autumn as well.

Transcriptome profiling of mRNA and lncRNA involved in wax biosynthesis in cauliflower.

The leaf wax layer in cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. Botrytis L.) and other Brassica crops play an important role in environmental adaptation and defense.

Polyurethane Elastomers with Mechanochromic and Self-Healing Functions for Strain Sensor.

Polyurethane is formed by the reaction of a polyol and an isocyanate by covalent bonds, which have been rapidly developing due to their good processability and mechanical properties. However, polyurethane is subject to micro-damage due to external stresses during service, which can lead to rapid performance failure. Currently, the nondestructive assessment methods generally require complex and expensive equipment.

Heart Rate Variability's Value in Predicting Out-of-Hospital Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Patients With Chronic Heart Failure.

Chronic heart failure (CHF) involves changes in cardiac structure and function, along with extensive neuroendocrine adaptations and metabolic abnormalities. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a noninvasive measure of autonomic nervous system function and is associated with mortality in CHF. However, the significance of HRV in predicting major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in CHF patients has not been fully explored.

E3 ubiquitin ligase Pellino1 suppresses acinar cell necroptosis and alleviates severe acute pancreatitis by promoting ubiquitin-dependent receptor-interacting protein kinase 3 (RIP3) degradation.

Background And Purpose: Severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) is a critical abdominal condition with high mortality rates. The activation of necroptosis in acinar cells is an critical mechanism for SAP. Pellino1 (PELI1), as an E3 ubiquitin ligase, is involved in pathogenic mechanisms in various diseases.

Long-term survival outcomes of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in stage II-III HR+/HER2- breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor among women worldwide. Hormone receptor-positive/HER2-negative (HR+/HER2-) breast cancer is the largest subgroup among these cases. The application of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) has rapidly increased in recent years, but its impact on long-term survival in HR+/HER2- breast cancer remains debated.

Mechanistic Perspectives on Radiation-Induced Skin Injury and the Protective Effects of Berberine.

Background: Radiation-induced skin injury (RISI) is a common complication of radiotherapy, affecting up to 95% of cancer patients. It manifests as acute erythema and ulceration or chronic fibrosis and telangiectasia, severely compromising patients' quality of life. The pathogenesis of RISI involves oxidative stress, inflammation, DNA damage, and cellular senescence.

Silver-Conjugated-Polyarginine Anchored Cotton Fabrics Exhibit Durable and Efficient Antimicrobial Properties.

Due to the hierarchical alignment of cellulose fibrils, cotton fabrics used in clothing possess excellent moisture and thermal management properties. However, this property can retain sweat and sebum secreted from human skin, which may harbor harmful microorganisms and affect human health. In addition, the abuse of antibiotics leads to the emergence of drug-resistant pathogens and cross infections, which require new strategies and antibacterial materials to control this situation.

Simultaneous Boosting of Plant Growth and Immunity by Bacillus volatiles Through GLK-Mediated Enhancement of Chloroplast Functions.

Microbial volatile organic compounds (mVOCs) offer significant benefits to plants, such as promoting growth and activating immune responses, positioning them as promising tools for crop productivity. However, the mechanisms driving mVOCs-mediated plant growth promotion (PGP) and immunity remain unclear. Here, we demonstrated that VOCs produced by the rapeseed (Brassica napus)-derived endophyte Bacillus velezensis CanL-30 (BvVOCs) simultaneously stimulate PGP and immunity in both Arabidopsis thaliana and rapeseed under controlled and field conditions.

High-precision stereo calibration for 3D measurement via speckle-enhanced circular control point matching.

High-precision stereo calibration is essential for achieving accurate 3D vision measurements. Marker-based calibration methods, such as the checkerboard and circular markers, are widely adopted for their robustness and high accuracy. However, the checkerboard is relatively sensitive to noise, while circular markers suffer from eccentricity errors.

The Full Genomic Sequence of the HLA-DQB1*06:97 Allele Identified Using PacBio Sequencing.

We report the full genomic sequence of the HLA-DQB1*06:97 allele.

Advanced Dynamic Slurry Circulation System for Precision 3D Bioprinting of Osteogenic Ceramics: Enhanced Stability, Mechanical Performance Optimization, and In Vitro Bioactivity Validation.

This study presents an improved 3D printing technology that integrates a slurry circulation system (SCS) to optimize the quality of low-viscosity ceramic slurries and address the issue of slurry sedimentation during printing. The use of low-solid-content slurries, traditionally challenging due to sintering shrinkage, is a key feature of this work. The resin solvent completely burns off during sintering, while the remaining solid portion undergoes controlled shrinkage, enabling the production of high-precision ceramics with reduced demands on 3D printer accuracy.

Open-source, high performance miniature 2-photon microscopy systems for freely behaving animals.

Here we describe the UCLA 2P Miniscope, an open-source miniature 2-photon microscope capable of recording calcium dynamics from neurons in deep structures and from dendrites over a 445 µm × 380 µm field of view. The system utilizes two on-board silicon-based photon detectors for approximately 4-fold greater light collection compared to an optical fiber bundle-based approach. The microscope can electronically focus within a 150 µm range at a native working distance of 720 µm.

Functional hollow porous microfiber scaffold with BMP-2 for macrophages polarization and bone regeneration.

Artificial bone substitutes have garnered significant attention within the field of biomaterials, and the use of tissue engineering technology to repair bone defects has emerged as a promising alternative. However, when artificial bone substitutes are implanted in the body, they can induce many adverse cellular and tissue immune responses. In this study, we use coaxial electrospinning technology to fabricate microfiber with controllable diameter, excellent mechanical properties and surface porous structure.

Off-OAB: Off-Policy Policy Gradient Method With Optimal Action-Dependent Baseline.

The policy-based methods have achieved remarkable success in solving challenging reinforcement learning (RL) problems. Among these methods, the off-policy policy gradient (OPPG) methods are particularly important because they can benefit from off-policy data. However, these methods suffer from the high variance of the OPPG estimator, which results in poor sample efficiency during training.

Development and validation of a nomogram model to predict postoperative delirium after resection of esophageal cancer.

The study aimed to establish and validate a nomogram model to predict postoperative delirium (POD) among esophageal cancer resection patients. Clinical data of 396 patients with esophageal cancer who underwent esophagectomy from November 2020 to June 2023 in the electronic medical records of cardiothoracic Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University. Participants were randomly divided into training and testing sets in a 7:3 ratio.

A multimodal dataset for training deep learning models aimed at detecting and analyzing sleep apnea.

Sleep Apnea Syndrome (SAS) is a serious respiratory disorder that can lead to a range of complications, including hypertension, arrhythmias, cognitive impair- ment, and metabolic disturbances. Due to the insidious nature of its symptoms, patients often fail to recognize the condition, and clinical screening is both time- consuming and resource-intensive. To address these challenges, we have developed a comprehensive dataset that integrates data from Polysomnography (PSG) devices with synchronized audio recordings.

Investigation on tetrabromobisphenol A-bis(2,3-dibromopropyl ether) thermal decomposition behaviours: Evolutionary mechanisms of main pyrolysis products.

Tetrabromobisphenol A-bis(2,3-dibromopropyl ether) (TBBPA-DBPE), as a new type of flame retardant, is widely used in electronic equipment. During its degradation process, some toxic brominated compounds can be produced and released into the environment, causing great harm to human health and the ecological environment. There are relatively few in-depth theoretical studies on the pyrolysis mechanism of TBBPA-DBPE, therefore, the evolution mechanism of thermal degradation products of TBBPA-DBPE is studied in detail by using the density functional theory method in this paper.

Associations between nutritional status and cognitive impairment in older adults: results from the NHANES 2011-2014 cycles.

Background: The Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score is used to assess nutritional status. Given that malnutrition increases the risk of cognitive impairment, this study aimed to clarify the relationship between the CONUT score and cognitive impairment in older adults.

Methods: Older adults aged 60-80 years in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) cycles were included in this study.

Combined High Tibial Osteotomy and Transtibial Drilling of Tibial and Femoral Medial Compartment Cartilage Defect of the Knee.

As the indications for high tibial osteotomy expand, more patients with larger cartilage defects requiring combined microfracture surgery will also be seen. A method was developed to drill through the medial tibia to the medial femur to treat medial compartment cartilage defects in the knee. This method can be combined with high tibial osteotomy without additional incisions.

Finerenone ameliorates high-fat-induced myocardial lipotoxicity by suppressing ferroptosis through augmenting the system Xc/GSH synthesis pathway.

Obesity cardiomyopathy (OCM) is a distinct clinical entity in cardiovascular disease, yet targeted therapeutic options are scarce. Finerenone, a novel nonsteroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist, has shown cardioprotective effects, but its role in mitigating OCM lipotoxicity is unclear. To elucidate the underlying functions and mechanisms, rats were fed on an HFD for 16 weeks to establish the OCM model.