Analysing protein complexes in plant science: insights and limitation with AlphaFold 3.

AlphaFold 3 (AF3), an artificial intelligence (AI)-based software for protein complex structure prediction, represents a significant advancement in structural biology. Its flexibility and enhanced scalability have unlocked new applications in various fields, specifically in plant science, including improving crop resilience and predicting the structures of plant-specific proteins involved in stress responses, signalling pathways, and immune responses. Comparisons with existing tools, such as ClusPro and AlphaPulldown, highlight AF3's unique strengths in sequence-based interaction predictions and its greater adaptability to various biomolecular structures.

Lignocellulose degradation in bacteria and fungi: cellulosomes and industrial relevance.

Lignocellulose biomass is one of the most abundant resources for sustainable biofuels. However, scaling up the biomass-to-biofuels conversion process for widespread usage is still pending. One of the main bottlenecks is the high cost of enzymes used in key process of biomass degradation.

Pathologic Genetic Mutations May Correlate with Poor Visual Outcome in Patients with Hydroxychloroquine Retinopathy.

Introduction: To evaluate the progression rate and identify potential genetic risk factors for poor visual outcome in chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine (CQ/HCQ) retinopathy.

Methods: Ocular variables, including best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), hypoautofluorescent area in fundus autofluorescence (FAF) and others were analyzed in patients with a diagnosis of CQ/HCQ retinopathy based on comprehensive ocular and demographic examinations. Whole exome sequencing (WES) was used to investigate the candidate genes associated with inherited retinal diseases.

Early menopause is associated with higher disease activity independent of inflammation in postmenopausal-onset rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: Early menopause (EM, age ≤ 45 years) is associated with an increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We aimed to investigate its impact on disease characteristics in RA patients.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included natural post-menopausal RA patients from an observational RA cohort recruited between January 2015 and October 2023.

Impact of oral precancerous lesions on oral cancer development in patients with oral lichen planus: a retrospective cohort study of 318 oral lichen planus patients.

Background: Oral lichen planus (OLP) has been implicated as a potential risk factor for oral cancer. This study aimed to investigate the long-term determinants of oral cancer development following a diagnosis of OLP.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 318 patients with histopathologically confirmed OLP was conducted at a tertiary medical center from 1995 to 2018.

Maize unstable factor for orange1 encodes a nuclear protein that affects redox accumulation during kernel development.

The basal endosperm transfer layer (BETL) of the maize (Zea mays L.) kernel is composed of transfer cells for nutrient transport to nourish the developing kernel. To understand the spatiotemporal processes required for BETL development, we characterized 2 unstable factor for orange1 (Zmufo1) mutant alleles.

Dynamic changes in proresolving lipid mediators and their receptors following acute vascular injury in male rats.

Acute vascular injury provokes an inflammatory response, resulting in neointimal hyperplasia (NIH) and downstream pathologies. The resolution of inflammation is an active process in which specialized proresolving lipid mediators (SPM) and their receptors play a central role. We sought to examine the acute phase response of SPM and their receptors in both circulating blood and the arterial wall in a rat angioplasty model.

Bridging the gap in managing dry eye disease: a consensus report by the Taiwan society of cataract and refractive surgeons.

Background: An impaired ocular surface presents substantial challenges in terms of planning for cataract surgery. As a multifactorial ocular disorder, dry eye disease (DED) is common in the general population and prevalent in patients scheduled for lens replacement surgery. Cataract surgery can exacerbate DED and worsen several ocular parameters.

Zaxinone Synthase overexpression modulates rice physiology and metabolism, enhancing nutrient uptake, growth and productivity.

The rice Zaxinone Synthase (ZAS) gene encodes a carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase (CCD) that forms the apocarotenoid growth regulator zaxinone in vitro. Here, we generated and characterized constitutive ZAS-overexpressing rice lines, to better understand ZAS role in determining zaxinone content and regulating growth and architecture. ZAS overexpression enhanced endogenous zaxinone level, promoted root growth and increased the number of productive tillers, leading to about 30% higher grain yield per plant.

Establishing an optimized ATAC-seq protocol for the maize.

The advent of next-generation sequencing in crop improvement offers unprecedented insights into the chromatin landscape closely linked to gene activity governing key traits in plant development and adaptation. Particularly in maize, its dynamic chromatin structure is found to collaborate with massive transcriptional variations across tissues and developmental stages, implying intricate regulatory mechanisms, which highlights the importance of integrating chromatin information into breeding strategies for precise gene controls. The depiction of maize chromatin architecture using Assay for Transposase Accessible Chromatin with high-throughput sequencing (ATAC-seq) provides great opportunities to investigate cis-regulatory elements, which is crucial for crop improvement.

Exome sequencing and genome-wide association analyses unveils the genetic predisposition in hydroxychloroquine retinopathy.

Objectives: To unveil the candidate susceptibility genes in chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine (CQ/HCQ) retinopathy using whole exome sequencing (WES) and genome-wide association study (GWAS).

Methods: Patients with a diagnosis of CQ/HCQ retinopathy based on the comprehensive demographic and ocular examination were included. The peripheral blood was extracted for WES and GWAS analyses.

Pseudopterygia in Fuchs Superficial Marginal Keratitis: Clinical Course and Surgical Outcomes.

Purpose: Surgery for pseudopterygia in Fuchs superficial marginal keratitis (FSMK) bears the risk of corneal perforation, as described in a few case reports. The aim of this case series was to understand the clinical course and surgical outcomes of pseudopterygia in FSMK.

Methods: A retrospective case series included patients meeting FSMK criteria with pseudopterygia in at least 1 eye.

Risk factors for the development of oral precancerous lesions in a cohort of 293 oral lichen planus patients with or without chronic periodontitis in southern Taiwan.

Background/purpose: Oral lichen planus (OLP) may contribute to the risk of chronic periodontitis, and no reports have shown whether OLP patients with periodontitis have a greater risk of oral precancerous lesions, infection or other clinicopathological diseases. This study aimed to assess the risk factors for the development of oral precancerous lesions in a cohort of 293 OLP patients with or without chronic periodontitis in southern Taiwan.

Materials And Methods: The current study recruited 293 OLP patients without preexisting periodontitis at a tertiary institution from 1995 to 2018.

Compact single-panel LCD projector with high uniformity.

In this study, we introduce a single-panel LCD projector that employs a direct-lit LED array as its illumination system. Each LED in the array is coupled to a Fresnel lens to ensure light collimation. To create a uniform light distribution on the LCD panel, the LED array is arranged in a hexagonal pattern.

Guard Cell-Inspired Ion Channels: Harnessing the Photomechanical Effect via Supramolecular Assembly of Cross-Linked Azobenzene/Polymers.

Stimuli-responsive ion nanochannels have attracted considerable attention in various fields because of their remote controllability of ionic transportation. For photoresponsive ion nanochannels, however, achieving precise regulation of ion conductivity is still challenging, primarily due to the difficulty of programmable structural changes in confined environments. Moreover, the relationship between noncontact photo-stimulation in nanoscale and light-induced ion conductivity has not been well understood.

New Series of Zaxinone Mimics (MiZax) for Fundamental and Applied Research.

The apocarotenoid zaxinone is a recently discovered regulatory metabolite required for proper rice growth and development. In addition, zaxinone and its two mimics (MiZax3 and MiZax5) were shown to have a remarkable growth-promoting activity on crops and a capability to reduce infestation by the root parasitic plant through decreasing strigolactone (SL) production, suggesting their potential for application in agriculture and horticulture. In the present study, we developed a new series of MiZax via structural modification of the two potent zaxinone mimics (MiZax3 and MiZax5) and evaluated their effect on plant growth and infestation.

Novel Manifestation of Corneal Dystrophy After Keratorefractive Surgery.

Purpose: This study aimed to report cases of bilateral corneal Bowman layer deposits in 4 patients with a history of keratorefractive surgery. To our knowledge, this condition has not previously been reported and should be distinguished from granular corneal dystrophy type 2 and other corneal dystrophies.

Methods: We reviewed all available medical records that were collected between January 2010 and December 2021 at a tertiary referral center and performed whole-exome sequencing to provide diagnostic information.

There's more to it: uncovering genomewide DNA methylation heterogeneity.

Tweetable abstract Monitoring changes in methylation heterogeneity can be powerful in detecting disease progression early. This editorial highlights the importance of profiling methylation heterogeneity and identifies existing measures and research gaps.

Monitoring ambient air pollution and pulmonary function in asthmatic children by mobile applications in COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Several public health measures were implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little is known about the real-time assessment of environmental exposure on the pulmonary function of asthmatic children. Therefore, we developed a mobile phone application for capturing real-time day-to-day dynamic changes in ambient air pollution during the pandemic.

Differential characteristics among asymptomatic and symptomatic meibomian gland dysfunction and those with dry eye.

Purpose: To identify the characteristics of asymptomatic meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD), symptomatic MGD, and MGD coexisting with dry eye disease (DED).

Methods: This cross sectional study enrolled a total of 153 eyes of 87 MGD patients. Participants filled in ocular surface disease index (OSDI) questionnaires.

Patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms have reduced levels of microRNA 122-5p in circulating exosomes.

Objective: There are currently no specific biomarkers to identify patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). Circulating exosomes contain microRNAs (miRNA) that are potential biomarkers for the presence of disease. This study aimed to characterize the exosomal miRNA expression profile of patients with AAAs in order to identify novel biomarkers of disease.

MethylC-analyzer: a comprehensive downstream pipeline for the analysis of genome-wide DNA methylation.

DNA methylation is a crucial epigenetic modification involved in multiple biological processes and diseases. Current approaches for measuring genome-wide DNA methylation via bisulfite sequencing (BS-seq) include whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS), reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS), and enzymatic methyl-seq (EM-seq). The computational analysis tools available for BS-seq data include customized aligners for mapping bisulfite-converted reads and computational pipelines for downstream data analysis.