Abstract Background Maize rough dwarf disease (MRDD), caused by rice black-streaked dwarf virus (RBSDV) belonging to the Fijivirus genus, seriously threatens maize production worldwide. Three susceptible varieties (Ye478, Zheng 58, and Zhengdan 958) and two resistant varieties (P138 and Chang7–2) were used in our study. Results A set of ATP-binding cassette subfamily B (ABCB) transporter genes were screened to evaluate their possible involvements in RBSDV resistance. In the present study, ZmABCB15, an ABCB transporter family...

Abstract Background Liver metastasis (LM) is a major obstacle to the prognosis of gastric cancer (GC) patients, but the molecular mechanism underlying gastric cancer liver metastasis (GC-LM) remains unknown. Exosomes have been identified as an important mediator of communication between tumor cells and the microenvironment. Therefore, we sought to investigate the effects of primary GC cells on the liver microenvironment and the role of exosomal microRNAs (exo-miRNA) in GC-LM. Methods Sequential differential centrifugation, transmission electron...

Abstract Background The functional alterations of eRNAs have been reported to be correlated with tumorigenesis. However, the roles of eRNAs in thyroid cancer (THCA) remain still unclear. This study aimed to construct an immune-related eRNA prognostic signature that could effectively predict the survival and prognosis for THCA. Methods The Weighted Gene Co-Expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) was performed to identify THCA-specific immune-related hub genes and immune-related eRNAs were obtained using Pearson correlation analysis. Univariate and least...

Abstract Background Dengue is the fastest spreading arboviral disease, posing great challenges on global public health. A reproduceable and comparable global genotyping framework for contextualizing spatiotemporal epidemiological data of dengue virus (DENV) is essential for research studies and collaborative surveillance. Methods Targeting DENV-1 spreading prominently in recent decades, by reconciling all qualified complete E gene sequences of 5003 DENV-1 strains with epidemiological information from 78 epidemic countries/areas ranging from 1944 to 2018, we established and...

The diffraction limit is a physical barrier for optical microscopy. In the past decade, microsphere-assisted nanoscopy has been developed rapidly to break through this limitation for the super-resolution imaging. This technology has great application potential due to its sample label-free, simple working principle, and easy integration with conventional optical microscopes. However, due to the tiny size and high surface curvature of microspheres, the magnified imaging cannot avoid the limited view scope, imaging distortion, and low...

Automated fine-grained diabetic retinopathy (DR) grading was of great significance for assisting ophthalmologists in monitoring DR and designing tailored treatments for patients. Nevertheless, it is a challenging task as a result of high intra-class variations, high inter-class similarities, small lesions, and imbalanced data distributions. The pivotal factor for the success in fine-grained DR grading is to discern more subtle associated lesion features, such as microaneurysms (MA), Hemorrhages (HM), soft exudates (SE), and hard exudates (HE)....

Abstract Background Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is an important curative therapy for adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). For patients who lack a human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched sibling donor, unrelated cord blood (UCB) is an alternative graft option. Previous studies have focused mainly on all T- and B-cell ALL (B-ALL) patients, while data related specifically to adult B-ALL patients after UCB transplantation (UCBT) are scarce. Methods We retrospectively compared the outcomes of UCBT and...

A wide field of view (FOV) is required to improve the user experience in mobile applications of light-field displays (LFDs). However, the FOV of liquid-crystal-display-based LFDs is narrow owing to the thick gap between the light-direction-control element and the pixel plane. The thin-encapsulated self-emissive displays, such as organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), are beneficial for widening the FOV without losing spatial resolution. With OLEDs, a 72-degree FOV, 12-view, 166-ppi LFD with smooth motion parallax is demonstrated....

Abstract Background Birth weight is considered not only to undermine future growth, but also to induce lifelong diseases; the aim of this study is to explore the relationship between birth weight and adult bone mass. Methods We performed multivariable regression analyses to assess the association of birth weight with bone parameters measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and by quantitative ultrasound (QUS), independently. We also implemented a systemic Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to explore the...

In general, 𝑘 lenses with different materials can achieve at most (𝑘+1)-color correction (𝑘≥2). In this paper, a superachromat containing three lenses is designed to achieve five-color correction in the 600 - 1600 nm waveband, where the maximum chromatic focal shift is controlled within 1/100,000 of the focal length, achieving an almost unprecedented result. Conditions for lens power combination of three thin lenses in contact are firstly derived based on the Buchdahl dispersion equation, then...

Abstract Background The aim of the study were to analyze the lumbar volumetric bone mineral density (BMD), fat distribution and changes of skeletal muscle with quantitative computed tomography (QCT) in postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and to evaluate the relationship between body composition and BMD. Methods One hundred seventy-seven postmenopausal women with T2DM and 136 postmenopausal women without diabetes were included in the study and were divided into two groups according to...

Abstract Background Single-cell transcription data provided unprecedented molecular information, enabling us to directly encode the ecosystem of colorectal cancer (CRC). Characterization of the diversity of epithelial cells and how they cooperate with tumor microenvironment cells (TME) to endow CRC with aggressive characteristics at single-cell resolution is critical for the understanding of tumor progression mechanism. Methods In this study, we comprehensively analyzed the single-cell transcription data, bulk-RNA sequencing data and pathological tissue data. In detail, cellular...

Abstract Background Mild hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) cases make up a relatively high proportion of HFMD while have often been overlooked. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiological and etiological characteristics of mild HFMD in Nanjing. Methods Data on mild HFMD cases, during 2010–2019 in Nanjing, were collected from the China Information System for Disease Control and Prevention. This study mainly focused on mild cases aged < 7 years. Descriptive analysis was used...

Abstract Background Besides featured glucose consumption, recent studies reveal that cancer cells might prefer “addicting” specific energy substrates from the tumor microenvironment (TME); however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Methods Fibroblast-specific long noncoding RNAs were screened using RNA-seq data of our NJLCC cohort, TCGA, and CCLE datasets. The expression and package of LINC01614 into exosomes were identified using flow cytometric sorting, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The...

Abstract Background Although obesity is caused by different factors, individual susceptibility to obesity differs among people under the same circumstances. The microbiota in the caecum or fresh faeces and metabolites in blood or urine contribute to obesity resistance; however, the microbiota or metabolites in the small intestine have not been extensively studied. Methods To investigate the relationship between the microbiota or metabolites in the small intestine and susceptibility to obesity, eighty-eight male C57BL/6 mice were...

Abstract Background Recently, several systematic reviews (SRs) and meta-analyses (MAs) of Tripterygium wilfordii polyglycoside (TWP) have reported significant benefits on diabetic kidney disease (DKD). However, the adoption of TWP for DKD remains uncommon. This study aimed to evaluate and summarize the current evidence on TWP for DKD. Methods We searched PubMed, Web of Science, SINOMED, Embase, Cochrane Library, CNKI database, Wan Fang database, and VIP database, up to June 4, 2022. SRs of TWP on...

Abstract Background Although association of depressive symptoms with cigarette or alcohol is well documented, the dose–response relationship between them is rarely studied. This study aims to evaluate dose–response relationships of cigarette and alcohol consumption with depressive symptoms in Chinese middle-aged and elderly men, providing evidence to guide cigarette and alcohol control. Methods This multiple-center, cross-sectional study including 5965 Chinese men aged 40–79 years was conducted in 2013–2016 in China. Depressive symptoms were evaluated by Beck...

Abstract Background Autophagy regulators play important roles in the occurrence and development of a variety of tumors and are involved in immune regulation and drug resistance. However, the modulatory roles and prognostic value of autophagy regulators in pancreatic cancer have not been identified. Methods Transcriptomic data and survival information from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases were used to construct a risk score model. Important clinical features were analyzed to...

Abstract Background Few studies have demonstrated that the relationship between m6A-related genes and the prognosis, tumor microenvironment and drug resistance of LC. Methods The main results were analyzed with bioinformatics methods. Results Hence, we found 10 m6A-related genes expressed less in tumor samples in comparison with normal ones. Using consensus clustering, all LC patients were grouped into 2 subgroups according to the overall expression of 10 differential expressed m6A-related genes. In two clusters, the OS...

Abstract Background: The microbial symbionts of macrofungal fruiting body have been shown to play momentous roles in host growth, development, and secondary metabolism. Nevertheless, there is no report on the fungal diversity of Sanghuangporus, a medicinal and edible homologous macrofungus as “forest gold”, which has good effects on antioxidation, boosting immunity and curing stomachache. Here, the diversity and functional group of fungi associated with the fruiting body of the most widely applied S. vaninii were...

Abstract RNA methylation modifications, especially m6A mRNA modification, are known to be extensively involved in tumor development. However, the relationship between N3-methylcytidine (m3C) related genes and tumorigenesis has rarely been studied. In this research, we found that m3C-related genes were expressed at different levels and affected patients’ prognosis across multiple cancer types from The Cancer Genome Atlas and multi-omics levels. Importantly, methyltransferase-like proteins 2A (METTL2A) had a high amplification frequency (~ 7%) in patients with...

Abstract Background The identification of differentially expressed tumor-associated proteins and genomic alterations driving neoplasia is critical in the development of clinical assays to detect cancers and forms the foundation for understanding cancer biology. One of the challenges in the analysis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the low neoplastic cellularity and heterogeneous composition of bulk tumors. To enrich neoplastic cells from bulk tumor tissue, coring, and laser microdissection (LMD) sampling techniques have been employed. In...

Abstract Background Beta-1,3-galactosyltransferase-4 (B3GALT4) plays a critical regulatory role in tumor biology. However, the role of B3GALT4 in modulating the tumor microenvironment (TME) of neuroblastoma (NB) remains unknown. Methods Public datasets and clinical NB samples were collected to evaluate the expression and clinical significance of GD2 and B3GALT4 in NB patients. CCK-8, colony formation, and transwell assays and experiments in tumor-bearing mouse models were conducted to investigate the function of B3GALT4. Flow cytometry, ELISA, immunohistochemistry,...

Optical projection tomography captures 2-D projections of rotating biological samples and computationally reconstructs 3-D structures from these projections, where hundreds of views with an angular range of π radian is desired for a reliable reconstruction. Limited-angle tomography tries to recover the structures of the sample using fewer angles of projections. However, the result is far from satisfactory due to the missing of wedge information. Here we introduce a novel view prediction technique, which is able...

Abstract Background Limited data are available on the effectiveness of inactivated and Ad5-nCoV COVID-19 vaccines in real-world use—especially against Omicron variants in SARS-CoV-2 infection-naïve population. Methods A matched case-control study was conducted among people aged ≥ 3 years between 2 December 2021 and 13 May 2022. Cases were SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals, individuals with severe/critical COVID-19, or COVID-19-related deaths. Controls were selected from consecutively test-negative individuals at the same time as cases were diagnosed and were exact-matched...